From the earliest accountants in Egypt and Babylonia to the father of modern accounting Luca Pacioli, the accounting profession has led efforts throughout history to…
Forté Capital's Selected Statistics Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index The Federal Reserve recently affirmed its commitment to a long-term inflation target of…
Quarterly Real U.S. GDP Growth The estimates for second quarter GDP growth range from −20% to −51%, with the average from the Blue Chip consensus…
In Brief With the popularity of and increasing reliance on data analytics to drive strategic business initiatives and achieve organizational objectives, the accounting profession's interest…
U.S. Treasury Yield Curve The financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic extended into the bond market, as investors drove yields down and raised…
U.S. Treasury Yield Curve The U.S. Treasury yield curve is inverted from 30 days to 3 years, reflecting the fear of an economic slowdown due…
Deception is the main tool of fraudsters and the hallmark of many types of fraud. When used skillfully, deception often leads to not one incident…
Non-farm payroll The U.S. economy continues its modest growth trajectory, with non-farm payroll growing by 195,000 per month on average. The overall labor market remains…
Industrial Production Index Industrial production improved in the latest report, due largely to better output of automobiles and parts following the settlement of the GM…
ISM Manufacturing Index The latest ISM data point confirms a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. While GDP grew by 2.1% in the third quarter, manufacturing…
Leveraging Data Analytics
Uncovering Hidden Opportunities, Generating Revenue, and Serving Clients
In Brief The use of technology continues to increase. In the financial service industry alone, electronic applications and signatures, robo-advisors, and client management systems are…
In 2015, the Department of Labor issued an audit quality study, “Assessing the Quality of Employee Benefit Plan Audits,” which concluded that 39% of audits…
Non-farm Payroll The U.S. labor market has remained tight. There are more jobs available than applicants; in particular, skilled labor positions remain unfilled in some…
Treasury Yield Curve The yield curve has inverted; that is, short-term interest rates are now higher than longer-term rates. This phenomenon can indicate the potential…
ISM Manufacturing Index The manufacturing sector is slowing, especially the export sectors. According to the ISM survey of purchasing managers, there is concern over the…
Quarterly Real U.S. GDP Growth Estimates for 2019 gross domestic product are coming down; while the first quarter ended with a 3.1% growth rate, evidence…
In Brief Sustainability investing continues to grow in popularity, but the lack of standardization in sustainability reporting poses a challenge for investors wishing to maximize…
XBRL Data Comparability
XBRL Data Comparability Current Use of Extensions and Opportunities for CPAs
In 2004, the SEC initiated the “Interactive Data Voluntary Program,” which encouraged publicly traded companies to voluntarily submit SEC filings using the Extensible Business Reporting…
A previous column discussed the value of data, how it is monetized by bad actors, and how executives typically do not understand the answer to…
ISM Manufacturing Index There are further signs of a slowing economy in 2019. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index, while still above 50%,…
ICYMI | Data Visualization Software
An Introduction to Tableau for CPAs
In Brief New software is constantly being developed to help users work with the ever-increasing volume of data produced by businesses. CPAs should be at…
In Brief With the popularity of and increasing reliance on data analytics to drive strategic business initiatives and achieve organizational objectives, the accounting profession's interest…
The advantages of evidence-based decision making are clear, but there are several reasons why data-driven decision making is a relatively new concept for many notfor-profit…
ISM Manufacturing PMI The most recent ISM Manufacturing Index increased 2.3% from December 2018, indicating expanding business strength fostered by stronger demand and output. The…
Where The Money Is
Doing What’s Right for the Profession
Editor's note: This month, we introduce a new column dedicated to the current state of cybersecurity and how cybercrime affects CPAs and auditors. Each installment will…
Real Wages—All Employees After many years of stagnant real wage growth (adjusted for inflation), the U.S. labor market saw improvement in wages paid. This was…
Treasury Yield Curve The yield curve continued to flatten as short-term interest rates rose relative to longer-term rates. The Federal Reserve has made clear its…
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…
Quarterly Real U.S. GDP Growth The U.S. economy is coming off of its tax cut–induced bump. Estimates of 2019 GDP are coming down, as indicated…
Quarterly U.S. GDP Growth Providing a counterpoint to the ISM data, second-quarter U.S. GDP was revised up from 4.1% to 4.2%, which was slightly better…