The Federal Reserve chairman holds considerable influence over the U.S. economy, which is why many business leaders are keeping a close eye on whether Ben Bernanke, whose term as Fed chairman expires Jan. 31, will step down or whether President Barack Obama will even reappoint him to another term as
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AICPA committee disagrees with FASB credit impairment proposal
The AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) expressed significant objections to FASB’s financial instruments impairment proposal. The high-profile project is designed to address some of the causes of the recent financial crisis and calls for measurement and reporting of expected losses rather than incurred losses. Although the project began as
AICPA recommends changes to net investment income tax
Jeffrey Porter, chair of the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee, submitted comments to the IRS on behalf of the AICPA on Monday, recommending many changes to the proposed regulations on the new net investment income tax. Starting in 2013, Sec. 1411(a)(1) imposes a tax equal to 3.8% of the lesser of
CFO pay rises, but subjective bonuses rankle finance chiefs
CFO pay is rising steadily, but some finance chiefs are not happy with how their bonuses are determined. Median CFO compensation in 2012 increased 6% relative to 2010, according to the 2013 CFO Compensation Survey, which was released by the AICPA and Arizona State University on Monday. The largest compensation
FASB nonpublic EBP vote meant to guard private companies’ proprietary information
FASB on Wednesday voted to indefinitely defer certain disclosures about investments held by a nonpublic employee benefit plan (EBP) in the plan sponsor’s own equity securities. Stakeholders have expressed concerns to FASB that certain disclosure requirements for nonpublic EBPs would reveal sensitive proprietary information of private companies. FASB in the
Oral surgeon cannot deduct expenses for traveling between home and job
The Tax Court upheld IRS-assessed deficiencies caused by the disallowance of a number of travel expenses an oral surgeon deducted on his Schedules C, Profit or Loss From Business, for 2008 and 2009, and its imposition of a negligence penalty under Sec. 6662(a) (Bigdeli, T.C. Memo. 2013-148). Javad Bigdeli lived
Proposed PFP services standards available for public comment
The AICPA released an exposure draft of a Proposed Statement on Standards in Personal Financial Planning Services on Tuesday as part of an initiative that’s expected to help boost the profile of CPA personal financial planning (PFP) practitioners. The proposal outlines members’ responsibilities in PFP engagements. These responsibilities include: General
How to maintain independence when auditing a conflict minerals report
An auditor of an SEC issuer’s financial statements is not precluded from performing an independent private-sector audit of that client’s conflict minerals report, according to nonauthoritative guidance prepared by an AICPA task force. Seven new questions and answers the AICPA has issued on its Conflict Minerals Resources webpage provide nonauthoritative
Staffing, succession emerge as top CPA firm concerns
Succession planning and staffing joined new client acquisition and dealing with the complexities of rapidly changing tax regulations as the top issues facing U.S. accounting firms, according to an AICPA survey released Tuesday. The 2013 Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues survey found evidence that CPA firms
Indoor tanning tax final regulations issued
On Monday, the IRS issued final regulations on the 10% excise tax that has been in effect for amounts paid for indoor tanning services since July 1, 2010 (T.D. 9621). The regulations, which apply to amounts paid on or after June 11, 2013, finalize proposed rules issued in 2010 when
AICPA unveils framework designed for streamlined reporting
The AICPA on Monday launched the Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (FRF for SMEs), a new option for small business financial reporting. Designed to help smaller, privately held, owner-managed businesses, the FRF for SMEs accounting option is intended for businesses that do not need to prepare GAAP-compliant
FASB agrees to advance three private company alternatives for public comment
The march toward possible exceptions and modifications to U.S. GAAP for private companies continued Monday when FASB voted to issue three Private Company Council (PCC) initiatives for public exposure. FASB expects to issue the exposure drafts later this month. After the exposure period, the PCC will review comments of stakeholders
FASB clarifies characteristics of investment companies
A FASB standard released Friday identifies characteristics a company must assess to determine whether it is considered an investment company for financial reporting purposes. Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-08, Financial Services—Investment Companies (Topic 946): Amendments to the Scope, Measurement, and Disclosure Requirements, takes effect for fiscal years beginning after Dec.
CPAs expect modest difficulty applying revenue recognition standard
Finance executives in the United States expect modest difficulty implementing the sweeping, global changes in revenue recognition that are coming their way, according to a new survey. In the second-quarter AICPA Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey, released Thursday, CPA executives explained their expectations for the assimilation of the new
How have CPAs responded to regulatory overload?
Andrew Barbe, CPA, CGMA, wishes he had more time to devote to strategic planning and development as vice president for accounting and senior controller of NorTex Midstream Partners LLC, a natural gas midstream service company. But as the senior manager in charge of finance, accounting, treasury, tax, human resources, information
U.S. finance execs upbeat about their businesses, economy
For much of the past year, U.S. finance executives have been optimistic about their companies’ prospects, but they’ve been somewhat lukewarm on the prospects of the overall economy. That dichotomous view is changing, according to results of the second-quarter AICPA Business & Industry Economic Outlook Survey, which was released Thursday. The
TIGTA criticizes the IRS on conference overspending
In the latest in a series of bad news days for the IRS, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report Tuesday on the IRS’s wasteful spending on conferences (TIGTA, Review of the August 2010 Small Business/Self-Employed Division’s Conference in Anaheim, California, Rep’t No. 2013-10-037). TIGTA focused
Protiviti exec Hirth named COSO chairman
Robert Hirth, CPA, a founding managing director of global consulting firm Protiviti, has been named chairman of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). COSO is a joint initiative of five private-sector organizations, including the AICPA, that provides thought leadership by developing frameworks and guidance on enterprise
Taxpayer can contest trust fund penalty where son tossed Letter 1153 into basement
A taxpayer successfully challenged the IRS’s filing of a notice of federal tax lien against him for a trust fund recovery penalty on the basis that he did not have an opportunity to contest the liability on which the assessment underlying the lien was based. The taxpayer argued he had
FASB to consider business combination concerns
FASB has promised to give consideration to various stakeholder concerns that arose during a recent post-implementation review (PIR) of its business combinations standard. The review report, released last week, described concerns about FASB Statement No. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations, also known as Statement 141(R). In a response released Thursday,
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