2017 - Journal of Accountancy

December 22, 2017

President signs tax overhaul into law

President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation, thereby making it law.

December 20, 2017

How tax overhaul would change business taxes

The tax reform bill that Congress is expected to vote on this week contains numerous changes that will affect businesses large and small.

December 20, 2017

What the tax reform bill means for individuals

The tax reform legislation that Congress will consider this week contains many provisions affecting individuals—and many changes from both the House and Senate bills.

December 20, 2017

Congress passes tax reform

The House of Representatives reapproved tax reform legislation on Wednesday, sending the bill to President Donald Trump for his signature.

December 20, 2017

Senate passes tax reform bill; House must revote

The Senate voted early today in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, which the House of Representatives had approved Tuesday.

December 19, 2017

GASB issues OPEB implementation guide

GASB issued a guide that addresses questions and answers about the new state and local government standard for other postemployment benefits.

December 19, 2017

Keep pets from chewing a hole in your budget

Seventy-six percent of pet owners would make a financial sacrifice to rescue a pet from a health crisis, an AICPA survey found.

December 15, 2017

Conference committee approves tax reform legislation

House and Senate conferees agreed to legislative language of a tax reform bill that is expected to be voted on by Congress next week.

December 15, 2017

New working draft discusses revenue recognition issue for broker-dealers

The AICPA issued a new working draft that discusses helpful considerations for broker-dealers implementing FASB’s new revenue recognition standard.

December 15, 2017

Proposed federal standard designed to protect classified information

The FASAB issued a proposal that’s designed to protect national security information from being disclosed in publicly issued financial reporting by federal agencies.

December 14, 2017

IRS issues 2018 standard mileage rates

The IRS issued the standard mileage rates for business, medical and moving expenses incurred in 2018.

December 14, 2017

A 2017 federal tax deduction for prepaying anticipated 2018 state income taxes? Not likely!

In anticipation of the possible elimination or reduction of the state and local income tax deduction, some are suggesting that taxpayers should prepay their 2018 state taxes in 2017. Here’s why that probably won’t work.

December 12, 2017

PCAOB gets new chairman, complete new board membership

William Duhnke will chair the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and will be joined by board members J. Robert Brown, Kathleen Hamm, James Kaiser, and Duane DesParte.

December 12, 2017

Using audit data analytics in performing a risk assessment procedure

In this excerpt from the AICPA’s new Guide to Audit Data Analytics, learn how to apply the techniques to a risk assessment procedure.

December 8, 2017

GASB proposals address capitalization of interest costs, implementation

GASB issued separate proposals on capitalization of interest costs and an upcoming guide to implementing recent pronouncements.

December 7, 2017

US finance executives strongly positive about 2018

Economic optimism in a quarterly survey has reached new heights. Find out why US finance decision-makers feel good about the coming year.

December 6, 2017

How firms can continue to improve audit quality

PCAOB member Jeanette Franzel is calling for audit firms to dedicate additional resources to ensure high-quality audits.

December 6, 2017

Audit committee considerations for the PCAOB’s new audit report

A new Center for Audit Quality tool provides audit committees with important considerations related to the new auditor’s report.

December 6, 2017

FASB supersedes steamship entities guidance

FASB superseded guidance for US steamship entities because a 25-year limit has expired, making the guidance irrelevant.

December 5, 2017

Last-minute revenue recognition implementation tips

Time is running short in the revenue recognition implementation effort as public companies must adopt FASB’s new standard at the beginning of 2018.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

What small firm CPAs need to know

In a new JofA column, the AICPA’s small firm advocate answers questions about making A&A services and peer review more manageable, dealing with frequent tax law changes, and planning for retirement.