September 2013 - Journal of Accountancy

For many, if not most, accounting firms, the quest to survive the Great Recession and its aftermath has ended. The focus now is on growth. That’s one of the overarching themes derived from the 2013 Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues survey, which found that accounting firms

A new study examining supply and demand trends in accounting found that the profession is thriving—with college enrollments, degrees awarded, and demand for new accounting graduates all reaching all-time highs. CPA firms hired 40,350 new accounting graduates last year, including 23,793 graduates with bachelor’s degrees and 16,557 with master’s degrees,

The recent AICPA supply and demand survey found that women constituted 44% of accounting employees at CPA firms but only 19% of the partners. The partnership percentage was a step back for women in public accounting. The percentage of female leaders in firms had risen from 1% (partners and principals)

When a longtime partner or employee retires from a CPA firm, a sense of loyalty often compels the existing partners to allow the individual to have a symbolic role at the firm. This can include a courtesy title, office space, and invitations to company soirees. While this may seem like

Get a B on a math test, and you understand how that grade was determined: You got 88% of the answers correct. Get a B on an art project, and you’re wondering exactly what could have been better or what the instructor was looking for. CFOs would rather be graded

Finance teams at large multinational companies can expect more and increasingly sophisticated tasks to come their way. The majority of those teams will have to perform those tasks with the same or fewer resources. Companies are focusing more on reducing overhead costs and improving operating margins, cash flow, and customer

Recent tax law changes have made accurately calculating and reporting clients’ capital gains even more critical with higher effective tax rates being imposed on those with higher adjusted gross income (regardless of source) and the new Sec. 1411 net investment income tax taking effect for tax year 2013. It had

As the IRS increases scrutiny of executive compensation, CPAs need to proactively advise their clients on how to withstand these inquiries. As a result of IRS training initiatives, three types of entities draw the most attention and therefore need good advice from CPAs. First, closely held C corporations are examined

Main Street businesses now have a new option for non-GAAP financial reporting. The AICPA Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (FRF for SMEs) was created to answer demands of CPAs, small business owners and managers, and their bankers and other stakeholders. The accounting framework is designed to offer:

Selecting the successor for a retiring partner in an accounting firm can take on many forms. The decision can be made by an individual CPA or by the firm leadership. It can involve the transfer of clients, ownership, and/or responsibilities internally or the sale of ownership to an outside entity.

In this year’s survey by the JofA and The Tax Adviser, more than 5,000 CPAs assessed the software they used to prepare 2012 tax returns. This year, tax preparers had to contend with a compressed filing season caused by late enactment of extender legislation in the American Taxpayer Relief Act