September 2012 - Journal of Accountancy

The future of international accounting standards for U.S. public companies remains uncertain after the release in July of a long-anticipated SEC analysis of IFRS. In a 127-page report released on the final day of Chief Accountant James Kroeker’s tenure, the SEC staff said the global financial reporting community considers the

In this year’s survey by the JofA and The Tax Adviser, more than 6,000 CPAs assessed the software they used to prepare 2011 tax returns, revealing what they liked and disliked about their software. Overall, respondents were pleased with their software: On average, the products rated 4.3 out of 5.

Maintaining the privacy and protection of customers’ and employees’ personal information is a risk management issue for all organizations. The increase in identity theft is also a concern for all organizations. Laws and regulations continue to place requirements on businesses for the protection of personal data. Myriad laws and regulations

Finding the right talent—from knowledge industries such as pharmaceuticals to heavy industries such as industrial manufacturing—is a problem worldwide, despite a large, easily accessible pool of educated people. Forty-three percent of 1,200 global CEOs surveyed by PwC late last year said hiring workers had become more difficult. A quarter of

During the past decade, many corporations have embraced enterprise risk management (ERM) processes to identify and prioritize risk. The prioritization of risk is typically done through “heat maps” showing which risks are most likely and which may have the most severe consequences. Effective ERM processes force an integrated consideration of

As the 2012 elections draw near, the IRS is once again increasing its oversight of the ban on political campaign activities by Sec. 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. An IRS work plan (Exempt Organizations 2011 Annual Report & 2012 Work Plan, available at tinyurl.com/bos7pb4) states that, in enforcing the ban this year,