April 2010 - Journal of Accountancy

The SEC’s unanimous approval in February of a new policy statement and staff work plan set the scene for a watershed vote next year on if and when the CPA profession will be required to transition to IFRS for U.S. public company financial reports. Though much remains uncertain, the SEC

In March 2008, Doug Shulman became the 47th commissioner of the IRS, after serving as vice chairman of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Within months, the financial crisis hit and the IRS was given the task of administering a number of new economic stimulus and tax relief provisions, in

Lewis A. Dulitz, vice president of accounting policies and research at Covidien—a $10.7 billion health care products company with 42,000 employees in more than 60 countries—was part of a team that implemented the necessary technology changes in Europe to help Covidien convert to IFRS and led a similar team in

Of the family-related “life events” with significant implications for taxes, adoption of a child ranks among the potentially most expensive. Most readers of Adoptive Families who answered the magazine’s request to report the costs of a completed adoption gave figures between $25,000 and $30,000 (tinyurl.com/yjxlvre). International adoptions tend to be

Project management is a client-focused process that significantly increases the probability of providing the desired results to the client. It can help an accounting firm plan its resources more effectively and ensure that work is delivered to clients in a timely manner. The project management methodology enables an accounting firm

While the SEC moves toward a 2011 vote on whether to require U.S. public companies to report using IFRS, a more compact version of the international standards is already an option, subject to state board approval, for U.S. private companies. Now there’s a free online tool to help preparers understand

Forensic accountants are frequently engaged to review insurance claims for business interruption or lost profits. Owners of privately held companies may inflate loss claims since they have control over the books and records. Business interruption (lost profits) insurance is intended to restore the claimants, not reward them with excess reimbursement.