August 2012

FRAUD

There’s more to fighting fraud than being able to recognize red flags in a financial statement. It’s also important to understand the motives of—and emotional reactions, personality traits, and behavioral tendencies commonly seen in—people who are involved in fraud schemes. How well do you understand these factors? Take our quarterly fraud quiz to find out.

FRAUD

Criminal minds

Each of these six men held a position of trust in his business, and each violated that trust. They participated in schemes that defrauded organizations and investors of nearly $4 billion. After paying their debts to society, they come clean about their crimes, explaining their methods and motivations and offering advice for how CPAs can catch or prevent such schemes.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

From CGMA Magazine: New skills for an evolving profession

The corporate finance professionals who climb the value chain will be interpreters and collaborators, able to leverage data as a strategic asset while working across functions to solve problems and innovate.

TECHNOLOGY

Managing cybersecurity risks

Mobile devices and cloud computing are paving myriad paths to progress and profit for the accounting profession, but these technologies also have opened up two major new fronts in the war against cybercriminals. This article offers advice gathered at the AICPA Practitioners Symposium and TECH+ Conference on how to counter these threats.

FRAUD

Small business, big risk

Organizations with fewer than 100 employees significantly trail larger organizations in formal antifraud controls, according to a recent survey. Instituting basic antifraud measures could save small businesses from costly instances of fraud that could lead to bankruptcy.

ETHICS / COMPILATION AND REVIEW

Proposed revisions clarify responsibilities for preparers

Under revisions to professional standards proposed by two AICPA committees in June, CPAs who prepare financial statements for clients would consider that a nonattest bookkeeping service and would no longer be required to perform a compilation service with respect to those financial statements unless separately engaged to do so.

TAX / FINANCIAL REPORTING

Avoiding missteps in the LIFO conformity rule

The last-in, first-out (LIFO) method is a tax-advantaged way to value inventory. As the world moves from U.S. GAAP to IFRS (which prohibits LIFO), the LIFO conformity rule will create more difficulties for taxpayers. The authors provide illustrations of prepared financial statements that meet the conformity rule.

TAX / MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING

Tax compliance for acquisitions: Prepare before purchasing

Companies can grow through mergers and acquisitions, but to succeed, they must manage tax compliance throughout due diligence, integration, accounting and financial reporting, and the post-acquisition phase.