In Brief The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses of every size in every country, and the United States has been hit particularly hard. Many…
Seven Years at the Forefront of Standards Setting
A Look Back from Outgoing FASB Chairman Russell G. Golden
In Brief For the last seven years, Russell G. Golden has served as FASB's chairman. During this time, and for the nine years previously, he…
In Brief Not-for-profit organizations receive financial donations as a matter of course, but the accounting for that revenue depends on whether the transaction is classified…
In Brief Key performance indicators (KPI), long familiar to corporate managers, are increasingly being used by financial managers at notfor-profit organizations to measure the effectiveness…
Effective for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2020, a new approach for accounting and reporting leases will be required for state and local governments under…
A Discussion of Practical Expedients in ASC Topic 842
The New Leasing Standard
The new lease accounting guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 842, “Leases,” is currently in effect for public business entities preparing financial statements for…
In Brief Examinations or audits of an organization's quality control assurance system (QCAS) are not presently required, despite the fact that defective products or services…
In Brief Financial statement fraud is often thought of as an “inside job,” something perpetrated by the management or employees of the organization being audited.…
In Brief Fraud continues to be a pervasive problem for businesses across the world. Nevertheless, most business ethics programs are compliance driven and thus fail…
About the Panelists Ron Hauben, JD, vice chair and general counsel at Ernst & Young LLP; Claudius B. Modesti, JD, partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld…
In Brief Many companies have increasingly turned to the reporting of non-GAAP measures, which fall outside the realm of generally accepted accounting principles and must…
About the Panelists Brandon Brown, CPA, CISA, managing director of the risk and financial advisory group at Deloitte & Touche LLP; Jeremy Goss, CPA, audit partner, banking and…
About the Panelists Beverly Bahlmann, CA(SA), deputy director at the IAASB; Bob Dohrer, CPA, CGMA, chief auditor at the AICPA; Shawn P. O'Brien, CPA, senior consultant for business development in…
ICYMI | Employee Versus Independent Contractor
The IRS and Department of Labor’s Focus on Worker Classification
In Brief Classifying a worker as an employee or an independent contractor has a significant effect on the cost of employing that individual. For this…
One of the most challenging issues facing leaders in the public accounting profession is the high rate of employee turnover. A recent survey finds that…
In Brief As CPAs continue to expand into providing financial and other advisory services, one area of interest is business valuation services. The author explains…
In Brief The proliferation of home-sharing platforms has allowed many property owners to make some extra money by renting out their homes, or portions thereof,…
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) was enacted on December 22, 2017. Among other things, the TCJA amended Internal Revenue Code (IRC)…
The Elastic Statute of Limitations on Claims for Refund
Why Old Claims May Still Be Open
In Brief Tax professionals have traditionally cited the statute of limitations on claims for refund to be the later of two years from the date…
CPA Exam Performance
The Effect of Graduate Education and Accounting Faculty Credentials
*** In Brief The debate over how well the accounting curriculum in the United States serves the needs of both students and practitioners continues unabated.…
About the Panelists Prabhakar Kalavacherla, a partner in the audit quality and professional practice group at KPMG; Mark LaMonte, former managing director at Moody's Investors Service; Sarah Ovuka,professional accounting…
Hedges of Recognized Foreign Currency–Denominated Assets and Liabilities
Applying ASU 2017-12
Accounting Standards Update 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities,modifies the accounting and reporting of foreign currency forward contract hedges…
About the Panelists Wesley Bricker, chief accountant at the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant; Kyle Moffatt, chief accountant at the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance; and Matt Jacques, chief…
The Challenge of Embedded Leases
Leases May Be Hiding in Supply and Service Contracts
As companies face the significant challenges in adopting Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 842, “Leases,” little has been written about the challenge posed by the…
The advertising industry has recently earned its place in corporate infamy, as several well-publicized disagreements between the largest agencies in the business and their clients…
In Brief One of the goals of GAAP is to present a full picture of a company's financial situation, but for various reasons, companies often…
The COSO Internal Control Framework and Sustainability Reporting
The Benefits of Good Governance and Internal Controls
In Brief Even as corporate reporting of sustainability information continues to gain in popularity, the practice still is not standardized, either domestically or globally. While…
The Expanding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Understanding their Utility and Regulatory Limitations
In Brief There is a long history of businesses reporting non-GAAP financial measures, often to highlight a change in operating structure or illuminate the impact…
Performing Tests of Internal Controls Using Process Mining
What Could Go Wrong?
Process mining provides a new approach to gathering audit evidence by automatically analyzing the entire population of event logs recorded in a company's IT system.…
Fraud in a World of Advanced Technologies
The Possibilities are (Unfortunately) Endless
In Brief For many years, internal controls have been the focus of auditors' risk assessment as they seek to attest that the control environment is…