Randy G. Fletchall still remembers what attracted him to the CPA profession more than three decades ago—its focus on quietly and diligently serving clients, helping them solve challenging issues, and “getting it right,” while benefiting the public interest. “We’re not the kind of people who seek attention,” Ernst & Young’s
November 2007 - Journal of Accountancy
BUSINESS VALUATION
Refining Fair Value Measurement
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FASB Statement no. 157 defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” The standard does not require fair values to be
SOFTWARE
Tools for Financial Analysis
What do you do when a client asks you to look beyond the standard financial statements and help develop financial goals, forecasts and what-if scenarios? If you’re like many accountants, you’d hunker down with a spreadsheet and begin cobbling together an array of custom worksheets. Then you’d probably spend several
RISK MANAGEMENT
The Human Element: The Weakest Link in Information Security
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Social engineering attacks involve the use of deceptive or manipulative tactics on an individual to gain a result—often to gain unauthorized access to information assets. The practice sometimes is referred to as soft hacking and often is used to gather intelligence for a subsequent hacking
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Management Accounting Research for the C-Suite
This second installment in a series of columns on accounting research summarizes results from the field of management and cost accounting. The 2006 through June 2007 issues of five top-tier journals in management and cost accounting research were examined. Those publications included, alphabetically, Accounting, Organizations and
BUSINESS VALUATION
Building Long-Term Value
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To maximize the long-term financial performance and value of a business, CPAs should help management focus on two key components of value creation: revenue growth and achieving a return on invested capital (ROIC) in excess of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). A lower WACC
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Accounting for Gift Cards
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The accounting for gift card sales presents an emerging reporting dilemma for retailers. Unresolved reporting issues stemming from the reporting treatment of gift card sales and “breakage” (gift cards that consumers fail to redeem) potentially involve several accounting regulations, including standards for revenue recognition and the