CPAs all share a common background. Each CPA must complete some type of education program that includes a minimum number of accounting credits; unfortunately, practice…
ICYMI | Ethical Dilemmas Facing CPAs: Three Case Studies
Managing Risk and Resolving Conflicts
People are generally optimistic, and no one wants to think about a good situation falling apart. CPAs like the idea of doing clients a favor,…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/IASB News
FASB News Guidance for Bad Debt Reserves to Remain in U.S. GAAP FASB has agreed to drop a proposal that would have erased some guidance…
My Life as an Accountant—and More
It’s Amazing What CPAs Can Do
Editor's Note: The following is an extended version of an article originally published in the February 2018 print issue. I was born in Uzbekistan during…
Changes are coming on the international front for the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and Non-Compliance with Laws and Regulations (NOCLAR) standards. While the international code…
Realizing My American Dream
It’s Amazing What CPAs Can Do
Editor's Note: The following is an extended version of an article originally published in the January 2018 print issue. I will forever say that accounting…
Every CPA has probably dealt with this scenario: an initial meeting with a potential client who, while explaining their business or tax situation, asks a…
Shaping Financial Reporting Across the Globe
The Journey to Rediscovering a Passion
When I first enrolled for an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, in 1987, I never would have envisioned a…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/IASB/PCAOB News
FASB News Simplified Transition Method to New Lease Standard Still Requires Extensive Effort As the 2019 public company effective date for FASB’s lease accounting standard…
In a time when houses can turn on their own lights and cars can almost drive themselves, it is no wonder that new technologies are…
ICYMI | Opinion: AICPA Proposal Raises the Ethical Bar
Incorporating International Standards into the Code of Professional Conduct
In February 2017, the AICPA's Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) agreed to propose modifications to the Code of Professional Conduct that would require certain actions…
Update on Hedge Accounting Rules
FASB Addresses Effectiveness Concerns
In 1996, FASB underwent a major overhaul of its accounting rules pertaining to derivative instruments and hedging transactions; except for some minor tinkering, those rules…
The birth or adoption of a child brings joy to parents, grandparents, and other family members and friends. It also means financial challenges for families.…
In Brief The current upward trend of CPA firm merger and acquisition activity shows no signs of slowing down. CPA firms and individual professionals must…
A new series of cyber-related class action claims against at least 15 law firms could have serious implications into how CPA firms, and many of…
Three years ago, the server at the author's firm was hacked by a Russian scammer who got into the system by sending a phishing email…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/IASB/AICPA
FASB News Research for Performance Reporting Project Continues As FASB develops an outline for its project on performance reporting, the board wants its staff to…
Changes to Accounting for Employee Share-Based Payment
ASU 2016-09 May Increase Volatility of Diluted EPS
In March 2016, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The new guidance [codified under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 718,…
Changes to the New York City Commercial Rent Tax
A Victory for Small Business Owners
A new law, passed by the New York City Council on November 30, 2017, made significant changes to the New York City Commercial Rent Tax…
Clarifying Auditors’ Responsibility for Fraud
Commercial Lenders’ Perceptions of Changes to the Audit Report
In Brief The PCAOB recently issued changes to the audit report, one of which explicitly clarifies auditors’ responsibilities for fraud by adding the phrase “whether…
The Importance of Independence
Considerations for Growing Firms
The “urge to merge” has profoundly affected the public accounting profession in recent years, as firms combine, acquire smaller boutique firms, expand service lines, and…
ICYMI | Developing Ethical Leaders for the Accounting Profession
Finding Inspiration from the Coast Guard Academy
The public relies on professionals. Medicine, teaching, law, accounting, the military, the clergy, and public safety, among many others, have all been regarded as honorable…
CPAJ News Briefs
ASB/AICPA/IASB News
ASB News Much Work Remains for Lease Standard’s Implementation As the 2019 effective date of FASB’s new lease accounting standard looms, many public companies are…
In November 2014, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-17, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Pushdown Accounting, which became effective immediately. Topic 805 requires that in business combinations…
U.S. Tax Residency
Some Black-and-White Rules, Some Gray
When advising taxpayers or preparing returns, bright-line rules are generally the easiest to explain and to handle. In contrast, tax outcomes that depend on facts…
Questioning the Effectiveness of Independent Audit Committees
Does the Current Regulatory Regime Improve Reporting Quality?
In Brief At the root of over a decade of regulation and best practices is the premise that the structure and independence of a company’s…
The idea that CPA firms would allow non-CPAs to own a minority stake in a CPA firm and then refer to these non-licensees as “partners”…
ICYMI | Applying the AICPA’s Professional Standards to Tax Practice
Best Practices for Minimizing Risk and Penalties
The AICPA's Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTS) are now an authoritative part of the Code of Professional Conduct. As such, they are now…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/IASB News
FASB News Disclosure Framework Project Nears Completion At its March 21 meeting, FASB weighed the external comments on the draft of the final version of…
Considering the Tax Benefits of Medical Tourism
Additional Savings for Taxpayers Seeking Care Abroad
In Brief Medical tourism refers to travelling to a foreign destination for the purpose of receiving medical treatment. Americans are traveling abroad in record numbers…