IN BRIEF Budgeting is important to any organization, but particularly for nonprofits. Given the unique challenges that nonprofits face in the current environment of macroeconomic…
SALT Round-Up—Current Developments in Key Jurisdictions
Looking at Illinois, Texas
CPAs need to be aware of current developments in key states to properly advise companies doing business in multiple jurisdictions. As state and local tax…
Through the Lens of Litigation
What the KPMG-SVB Case Might Reveal About the Limits of Audit Assurance
This article uses the KPMG–SVB litigation as a case study to explore how audit firms evaluate going concern risks. While the case is specific, the…
Driving Excellence in Nonprofit Audit Quality
Challenges, Solutions, and Impact
IN BRIEF Nonprofits face many unique challenges, and auditors are a crucial component in ensuring they not only meet regulatory obligations but also strive for…
Fraud Risk Management Practices
A CPA Perspective on Organizational Priorities
IN BRIEF Fraud risk management has become increasingly important in the current business environment. How CPAs can best apply their expertise to this task remains…
IN BRIEF Fraud remains a serious risk for any entity, and not-for-profit organizations unfortunately make an easy target. This article explores the ways in which…
IN BRIEF Minimizing and mitigating fraud risks has evolved over the years, and this progress can be seen in the pages of The CPA Journal itself. The…
The Power of Organizing in Accounting for Social Justice and Equity
The European Perspective on Diversity
This column explores a much-needed book that examines DEI in accounting from the European perspective. All too often, DEI in accounting is presented in subtext…
The new year comes with a new list of cybersecurity and technology risk resolutions. Financial and risk management professionals annually rededicate their organizations and themselves…
This article provides a discussion of defined benefit (DB) pension plans, those retirement vehicles in which employers provide a benefit to former employees upon retirement.…
CPAs often talk about being proactive advisors, yet many firms still prepare returns with only the information clients hand over. In reality, much of a…
Organizations differ by many factors, including legal and operating structure, size, industry, and geographic markets. In any organization, the board of directors bears the ultimate…
Joint Venture Accounting
Valuation and Measurement Issues After Formation
IN BRIEF ASU 2023-05 addresses the accounting by a joint venture for the initial contribution of nonmonetary and monetary assets to the undertaking. This article…
What Is Audit Quality?
Reflecting on PCAOB Member George Botic’s Four Pillars
What is audit quality? This is not meant as a philosophical question, but rather as one that can be answered through definitions and evidence drawn…
Questions About the Classification of Joint Ventures for Accounting Purposes
An Analysis of the Existing Guidance
IN BRIEF FASB's recent guidance on accounting joint ventures, ASU 2023-5, is intended to resolve diversity in practice and simplify the accounting for these entities.…
A trust fund tax is a tax that is collected and accounted for by a third party, usually a business, which is then responsible for…
A Conversation with SEC Chief Accountant Kurt Hohl
Highlights from the 20th Annual Baruch College Audit Conference
The 20th Annual Audit Conference, hosted by Baruch College, New York, N.Y., on Nov. 20, 2025, once again featured the theme of “Ensuring Integrity.” Regulators,…
Addressing Capital Gains
Investment Trends
In 2026, many investors may find themselves looking for solutions to address their capital gains. This could be the result of Qualified Opportunity Funds that…
A First Look at the Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses
An Illustration of Typical Disclosures
On Nov. 4, 2024, FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40). Public business entities must implement this standard for annual reporting…
IN BRIEF Joint ventures have been a popular vehicle for businesses to work together to share competencies and knowledge to reach a mutually beneficial outcome.…
Redefining Audit Committee Effectiveness
A Modern Playbook for Committee Chairs and Directors
IN BRIEF Within the ever-expanding scope of corporate governance, the role of the audit committee has become more important than ever. Much more is expected…
Over the last several years, private equity (PE)-backed companies have become increasingly active within the accounting field. Many CPA firm partners and leaders have received…
IN BRIEF The shortage of individuals entering the CPA pipeline has reached a crisis stage. While professional institutions like the AICPA have been working on…
Reconciling Ambition with Reality
Addressing the Profession’s Diversity and Talent Pipeline Crisis
IN BRIEF For several years now, declining enrollments in universities and high turnover at firms have posed a serious threat to the accounting profession's viability.…
An individual may elect to defer some of their wages into a retirement plan through their employer's plan [e.g., 401(k) plan]. That deferral could be…
The Bipartisan Budget Act Audit Regime
Traps for the Unwary
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (BBA) created a “centralized system for audit, adjustment and collection of tax that [generally] applies to all partnerships,” with…
SALT Round-Up—Current Developments in Key Jurisdictions
Looking at California, DC, and Pennsylvania
CPAs need to be aware of current developments in key states to properly advise companies doing business in multiple jurisdictions. As state and local tax…
Remembering a Forgotten Leader and New York’s First African American CPA
The Legacy of General Wilmer F. Lucas
IN BRIEF When Brigadier General Wilmer F. Lucas retired from the United States Army Reserve, he did so as a war hero who had led…
Accounting for Disaster
Congress, the PCAOB, and the Lessons We Forgot
“Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing.” These words came from an Enron energy trader, caught on tape during the 2000–2001 California energy crisis celebrating…
IN BRIEF In the course of fulfilling its mandate to protect investors, the PCAOB has conducted inspections of public firm audits and collected this data…