May 2010 - Journal of Accountancy

Significant changes to the standards for compilation and review engagements will soon take effect. The AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) issued Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services no. 19, Compilation and Review Engagements, in December. The standard’s effective date is for compilations and reviews of financial

Expansions in the regulatory environment in recent years are forcing CPA tax practitioners to consider many new compliance issues. Those issues include expanded statutory penalty provisions, revisions to regulations, and modifications to binding AICPA ethics rules related to tax engagements. CPAs subject to this wide array of rules and regulations

Although the required knowledge, expertise, and roles of auditors and fraud examiners differ, CPAs occasionally find themselves in situations where evidence of fraud is right in front of them. Without a basic understanding of some methods for identifying and analyzing suspicious transactions, unsuspecting accountants might let the red flags of

More than 100 countries around the world, including all major U.S. trading partners, now use or have committed to adopting IFRS. Nearly as many use international auditing and assurance standards and international ethics standards developed by independent standard-setting boards under the International Federation of Accountants. To ensure that CPAs have

For years, finding and retaining staff were the top two concerns of management at public accounting firms. But when the economy soured, client retention quickly became the top issue for CPA firms of all sizes, according to the 2009 PCPS CPA Firm Top Issues Survey, a biennial survey of public

The IRS recently provided additional details and a timetable for its proposed requirements for registration of all paid, signing tax return preparers including CPAs. The target date for starting implementation of the registration requirement is September 2010. Preparers who don’t already have one will need to obtain a Preparer Tax

In March, Congress passed two pieces of legislation designed to reform the U.S. health care system. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148) was enacted on March 23, and was quickly followed by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (PL 111-152), which amended several portions

When it comes to improving employee retention and increasing profitability, my firm, San Francisco-based Eichstaedt & Devereaux, believes that investing in and developing our future leaders builds the foundation for success. Instead of top-down firm management, we use a grass-roots employee involvement program to engage employees in the firm’s business.

The CPA exam is undergoing its largest overhaul since moving from paper and pencil to computers. Jan. 1, 2011, will mark the launch of what people behind the exam are calling CBT-e (Computer-Based Testing evolution). While news of these changes is obviously important for those who plan to take the

Editor’s note: The AICPA Tax Division prepared this summary. IRS COMMISSIONER SHULMAN’S ANNOUNCEMENT ON UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS On Jan. 26, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman released a new proposal (see tinyurl.com/ydy4v7e) that would require companies to disclose “uncertain” tax positions in their annual income tax return filings (based on FIN 48