This issue features our annual coverage of Baruch College's Financial Reporting Conference. Each year, leading regulators, issuers, auditors, and users discuss the most pressing issues…
In March, I announced to CPA Journal readers that the New York State Society's 119th Annual Dinner would be a bit different this year—a different…
Fair Value Accounting and Reliability
The Problem with Level 3 Estimates
FASB's efforts to expand the use of fair value accounting have rekindled the debate on the costs and benefits of the approach. Proponents argue that…
The State of FASB’s Simplification Initiative
Toward a Simpler GAAP
In Brief In recent years, FASB has made a priority of removing unnecessary complexity from FASB's accounting standards. The author gives a detailed accounting of…
Plan sponsors and investment committees must understand the way in which 401(k) plan assets are used to pay plan service providers and investment advisors in…
Often, some of the most valuable estate planning results are achieved not by using the big-picture items like bypass trusts, discounts, or note sales, but…
For most students, the price of higher education is steep and getting steeper. Annual increases in the cost of higher education have consistently outpaced the…
California Multitiered Partnerships
An Overview of a Complex Area
New York CPAs often have to address issues regarding California multitiered partnerships on behalf of their clients. This complex area of tax law has been…
It is not often in life that one is able to hit pause, rewind, and redo something that has already happened. To many taxpayers' surprise,…
The PCAOB’s Proposed New Auditor’s Report
A Sneak Peek at What Lies Ahead
In May, the PCAOB issued a proposed standard, “The Auditor's Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion,” which,…
A Historical Episode of Professional Skepticism
The SEC’s Thomascolor Case against Haskins & Sells
“To perform their role properly—to assure that reported financial and economic successes are not illusory—auditors must approach their jobs with independence and skepticism.” —PCAOB Chairman…
The Materiality Mystery
The Gap in GAAS
This article is intended primarily to provide an airing of omissions and other flaws in generally accepted auditing standards, primarily regarding the use of materiality…
The fourth panel of the 15th Annual Financial Reporting Conference assessed the status of recognition and impairment of financial instruments in light of FASB's new…
The third panel of the 15th Annual Financial Reporting Conference covered recent financial reporting developments in the private sector. Topics included the new revenue recognition…
Transforming the PCAOB’s Agenda
Keynote Address
Reliable financial reporting and high quality auditing is very important; it's critical to investor protection, critical to trust in our system, and critical to the…
Accounting for Leases
The New Standard
The second panel of the 15th Annual Financial Reporting Conference covered FASB's new standard on accounting for leases. The standard, which is 500 pages long,…
At the first panel of the 15th Annual Financial Reporting Conference, the panelists discussed the SEC's recent activities and plans for the future. Topics included…
Transition Issues, Non-GAAP Measures, and Disclosures
Opening Remarks from the SEC and FASB
Wesley Bricker Deputy Chief Accountant, SEC Credible, reliable, and useful financial reporting for investors requires not only high-quality accounting and auditing standards, but also robust…
Making Financial Reporting More Responsive to Users’ Needs
Highlights from the 15th Annual Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference
Every year, Baruch College's Annual Financial Reporting Conference brings together leading representatives of the regulatory, standards setting, and user communities. The 15th conference, held on…
This issue features our annual coverage of Baruch College's Financial Reporting Conference. We have published the highlights of the conference for several years now to…
On May 6, preeminent thought leaders, global standards setters, practitioners, auditors, issuers, and investors gathered in New York for the First Annual Sustainability Investment Leadership…
On May 6 in New York City, what I believe will be viewed as an historic event was held by the Foundation for Accounting Education…
As more organizations integrate sustainability into their business strategies, the traditional role of accountants is expanding to provide sustainability reporting and assurance services. To be…
Imminent Changes to Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
An Overview of the Updated GRI Guidance
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is the disclosure of business practices that fall outside of the activity normally disclosed in GAAP-based financial statements and that…
The Current State of Sustainability Reporting by Smaller S&P 500 Companies
What Do Businesses Choose to Disclose?
The financial performance of publicly traded companies is reported in accordance with SEC requirements. However, financial statements do not give much information about the impact…
RPA | Department of Labor Finalizes Retirement Advice Regulation
A Practical Perspective for 401(k) Plan Sponsors and Investment Committees
The retirement plan marketplace has confused, if not outright misled, CPAs, their plan sponsor clients, and investment committees with the many types of non-fiduciary and…
SLT | New York State and City Prior Net Operating Loss Conversion
An Overview of a Complex Area in Recently Enacted Legislative Reform
New York State and New York City's corporate net operating loss carryover rules have always been an area of confusion, and they have been made…
TPP | Avoiding the Worst-Case Scenario
The IRS’s Domestic Voluntary Disclosure Practice
Most CPAs are by now familiar with the IRS's heavily publicized Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP), which allows taxpayers with previously undeclared foreign assets to…
SEC | The Audit Committee Financial Expert
A Closer Look at What That Means
In 2003, the SEC adopted rules implementing section 407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), requiring a public company to disclose whether at least…
Risk management procedures are intended to protect a company's long-term viability amid dynamic markets and regulatory changes. In today's economy, companies face a rapidly growing…