The absence of female leaders in public accounting is well documented, and work/life balance issues are often cited as a significant consideration in turnover decisions…
Tax & Accounting Update is provided by Thomson Reuters and based on material published on Checkpoint, its online news and research platform. The Update is…
In the October 2017 CPA Journal (“Auditors Are Fiduciaries, but in No Way Can We Be Considered Truly Independent,”’ Letters to the Editor, p. 20), William Miller…
General Commentary On the whole, the most recent economic data portends a slight lessening of domestic growth. While employment trends are positive, the ISM manufacturing…
Having read Richard Kravitz's article in the April 2017 CPA Journal (“Serving the Public Interest,” http://bit.ly/2mrlWsk), Sam Gunther's response in the June 2017 issue (“Independent Auditors Are Not…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/PCAOB News
FASB News Tax Law May Lead to Changes in U.S. GAAP At its upcoming meeting, FASB plans to discuss whether it needs to make a…
ICYMI | How to Get Paid in a Fee Dispute
Playing Offense in a World of Defenses
Changing times and business practices are making it harder for professional advisors to get paid. The stack of past due accounts gathering dust in many…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook “Accountants and Auditors” page (http://bit.ly/2AghB1p) indicates that employment within the profession is expected to grow 10% through 2026, faster…
CPAJ News Briefs
FASB/PCAOB News
FASB News First Standards-Setting Meetings of New Year Scheduled FASB is scheduled to hold its first meeting of the new year on January 10. The…
Why Are African American Students Still Not Majoring in Accounting?
The Importance of Early Impressions
In 1969, the AICPA formed the Minority Initiatives Committee, whose mission was to encourage, provide educational opportunities for, and promote the hiring of high-potential minority…
Professional firms are frequently engaged as advisors in selling and acquiring businesses on behalf of their clients, as well as determining the value related to…
The role of retirement plan governance has become extremely important as employers face increased scrutiny of the way in which they operate their plans in…
Taxpayers and their advisors alike are focused on the potentially massive tax changes being discussed in Congress. As of this writing, it is uncertain what…
The Millennial Internship Experience
Balancing Technical Training with Soft Skills
The internship is a time-honored tradition among accounting students, an opportunity to put their hours in the classroom to the first real test. Internships provide…
Students today know much more about technology than their counterparts a generation ago. The advances in technology over the past two decades have forced them…
Hedge Accounting May Gain Fifth Benchmark Interest Rate
FASB/ISAB/GASB News
FASB News Hedge Accounting May Gain Fifth Benchmark Interest Rate In February, FASB plans to release a proposal to add a fifth benchmark interest rate…
Given the ongoing changes in accounting, auditing, tax and consulting standards; the scope of services provided; the proliferation of reporting frameworks; and the exponential increases…
Life insurance is one of the most important tools in modern financial planning, but it is not always the most appreciated. It has a role…
Employee Engagement in Public Accounting Firms
Getting Millennial Staff Excited about the Work Environment
Employee engagement is an important issue for leaders of organizations looking to foster a healthy and positive work environment. Engaged employees are excited and enthusiastic…
Advancing Diversity within the CPA Profession
An Interview with Alfonzo Alexander
While society has come a long way in its diversity efforts, the fact that many corporations have yet to implement diversity programs shows that the…
FASB News Costs of Implementing Revenue Standard to Receive Thorough Review On December 14, FASB chair Russell Golden said that the board plans to conduct…
Accounting professionals are keenly aware that the workflow in public accounting is cyclical and that reporting deadlines can lead to work weeks well in excess…
Private Company Accounting Standards
Survey of New York CPAs Finds Adoption Slow
The CPA profession has been debating the concept of separate accounting standards for closely held businesses for over 40 years. In the December 1972 Journal of…
IRS Form 3520, Penalties, and Whether to Make a Protective Filing
Information Reporting on Foreign Trusts and Gifts
Whether a taxpayer is required to file IRS Form 3520, Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, is…
Mergers and Acquisitions of Accounting Firms
When, How, and Why to Merge
It seems that every week, there is news of another merger within the accounting profession. Legally speaking, however, very few combinations of accounting firms are…
The CPA Journal is a submission-based, double blind, peer-reviewed monthly publication that features special themes throughout the year, including financial reporting, fraud, financial planning, technology, and…
The State of the Profession
Analyzing the Results of the 2017 Practice Management Survey
The results of the 19th Annual Rosenberg Practice Management Survey are in. For the third year in a row, the NYSSCPA has partnered with the…
The world is changing. The CPA profession is not, or at least it's changing far slower than the accounting profession as a whole. Sometimes it…
The Equifax Data Breach
What CPAs and Firms Need to Know Now
In the wake of the Equifax computer breach—in which key personal information of 145 million Americans was stolen—it may be correct to assume that anyone…
FASB News Nine Members Appointed to Advisory Council The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), FASB’s parent organization, has appointed nine members to the accounting board’s Financial…