2015 - Page 18 of 22 - Journal of Accountancy

The magazines

February 1, 2015

Government

– Changes may be coming for state and local governments in financial reporting for leases and for the reporting of activities in which they have a fiduciary responsibility. GASB issued separate “Preliminary Views” documents on the subjects and is seeking public comment on each. The Leases document, available at tinyurl.com/ng8x4c7, includes proposals addressing

February 1, 2015

Fraud

There is no way to guarantee that an organization will not experience financial reporting fraud. But research shows that fraud-resistant organizations share three traits: A tone at the top that encourages an ethical culture. The presence of skepticism. Engagement of all participants in the financial reporting supply chain. That’s according

February 1, 2015

Financial reporting

– The SEC is considering the merits of an informal proposal that would allow voluntary filing of supplemental material in financial statements by U.S. public companies, according to SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr. U.S. GAAP would be retained as the required basis for financial statements under an idea Schnurr is

February 1, 2015

Economy / Management accounting

The fourth-quarter Business & Industry Economic Outlook shows gains across all nine indicators in the CPA Outlook Index (CPAOI).

February 1, 2015

Auditing

Revenue recognition, internal control over financial reporting, and professional skepticism are among the seven key areas for 2014 audit consideration, according to an alert sent by the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), which is affiliated with the AICPA.

February 1, 2015

Highlights

In an address in Rome to participants of the World Congress of Accountants, Pope Francis reminded accountants that their work is a service to the community and encouraged accountants to use this perspective, along with their creativity, to tackle the urgent problems facing society.

February 1, 2015

Decision-making quiz

Learn about your decision-making process with this short quiz.

February 1, 2015

5 ways to overcome confirmation bias

Following this five-step process can help auditors avoid a common psychological trap and the risk that they will overlook important contradictory evidence.

February 1, 2015

Evolving practice monitoring to improve quality in A&A engagements

A new vision for practice monitoring in the future aims to prevent quality issues in accounting, auditing, and attestation engagements. A new technological platform is being developed to provide more timely feedback to peer reviewers and firms.

February 1, 2015

Kiddie tax complexity grows

Complexity begins with the option for parents to “simplify” matters by allowing them to include the child’s income on the parents’ own return instead of filing a separate return for the child.

February 1, 2015

Michael K. Syracuse, CPA

A conversation with Michael K. Syracuse, CPA, CFO, Harlem Globetrotters International.

February 1, 2015

I’m not biased, am I?

Five common judgment biases can have a negative impact on accounting and auditing decisions. Learn how to spot these biases, and take a short quiz to see how they can affect your judgment.

February 1, 2015

Lost and found

Gift cards are a source of convenience for customers and a source of revenue for companies. But accounting for gift cards can be inconvenient. Finance must pay attention in particular to the recognition of breakage income related to unredeemed amounts on cards.

February 1, 2015

Bringing analytics to life

The use of analytics has been recognized as a crucial part of any decision-making process in businesses. The explosion in transactional and nontransactional data that organizations have access to has made the need for new tools and technologies vital for organizational success.

February 1, 2015

3 iPhone camera tips

1. When operating the iPhone camera, the volume buttons can also be used to take a picture. 2. You can also take a picture using the volume buttons on your iPhone headphones. 3. Holding the camera’s picture button down will take a series of pictures. J. Carlton Collins (carlton@asaresearch.com) is

February 1, 2015

5 iPhone tips

1. When typing on the iPhone, double-tap the space bar to insert a period. 2. Your iPhone will charge faster in airplane mode. 3. Shake your iPhone to undo what you recently typed. 4. Swipe the iPhone Compass app to the left to use your iPhone as a level. 5.

February 1, 2015