Public company audit partners are trusted as watchdogs of the capital markets. A forthcoming study by the authors of this article finds that audit partners'…
ICYMI | The Audit Report Returns to Its Roots
An Historical Perspective on Critical Audit Matters
The evolution of the standard audit report has been slow and cautious over the past century. Most recently, in 2011, the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board…
ICYMI | 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…
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…
Auditors serving smaller businesses know that those clients often need help navigating the highly technical and overwhelming body of accounting standards. They also know that…
The Importance of Audit Partners’ Background
Insights from the New PCAOB Form AP
Public company audit partners are trusted as watchdogs of the capital markets. A forthcoming study by the authors of this article finds that audit partners'…
Auditors serving smaller businesses know that those clients often need help navigating the highly technical and overwhelming body of accounting standards. They also know that…
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…
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…
I was reading the December 2017 issue of The CPA Journal, and saw letters (“Continuing the Discussion on the Meaning of Fiduciary,” Vincent J. Love and…
The Audit Report Returns to Its Roots
An Historical Perspective on Critical Audit Matters
The evolution of the standard audit report has been slow and cautious over the past century. Most recently, in 2011, the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board…
Our Greatest Hits | Monetary-Unit Sampling Using Microsoft Excel
From The CPA Journal Archives
"Our Greatest Hits" is an effort to show our readers the most popular - and still avidly read - articles from our archives. This article…
Financial Reporting Issues for Preparers
Highlights from the 16th Annual Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference
The panel began with Thuener discussing the complexity of reporting standards from a preparer's point of view. Thuener attributed this complexity, in part, to the…
Has the DOL Pushed the ASB Too Far?
Push Back—Now!
In April 2017, the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued an Exposure Draft Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (the ED) entitled “Forming an Opinion and…
Editor's Note: The following guidance applies to non–publicly held entities. Guidance for SEC issuers under PCAOB standards may differ. Agreed-upon procedures engagements are a special type…
On June 1, the PCAOB proposed an expansion of auditors’ responsibilities for examining clients’ use of accounting estimates. The board said additional guidance is necessary…
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…
IRS Schedule UTP and the Legal Privileges of Tax Accrual Workpapers
Understanding the Risks for Auditors
The implementation of the Schedule UTP contributes perhaps the most significant increase in tax reporting in recent memory and will greatly affect the Service's audits…
“The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” —John Kenneth Galbraith “Economists are about as useful as astrologers in predicting the…