July 2018

July 31, 2018

New AICPA technical corrections clarify independence requirements

Technical corrections issued by the AICPA clarify the definition of “covered member” in the AICPA Professional Standards and the independence rules for agreed-upon procedure engagements under the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements.

July 30, 2018

FASB attempts to make lease accounting implementation easier

FASB has issued targeted changes to its new lease accounting standard that are designed to make implementation easier and reduce costs for financial statement preparers.

July 30, 2018

Final rules govern adequate substantiation for charitable contributions

Final regulations address how taxpayers can comply with the requirements for adequate substantiation of charitable contributions of money or property.

July 26, 2018

News quiz: Wayfair, cybersecurity, and a shorter 1040

See how much you know about the news (or catch up with recent developments) with this short quiz.

July 26, 2018

Job growth helps push Americans’ financial well-being to record high

Stock market gains and increased job opportunities improved the financial outlook of the average American in the second quarter of 2018 despite rising inflation.

July 25, 2018

Stock-based compensation cost-sharing regs. valid

The Ninth Circuit reversed a Tax Court decision invalidating a cost-sharing regulation that requires allocation of stock-based compensation costs between related parties.

July 25, 2018

In unified voice, leaders reaffirm profession’s commitment to audit quality

Leaders in the auditing profession are committed to continuous improvement in audit quality at a time of significant change, seven prominent executives in the profession said in a joint statement.

July 24, 2018

Tips for understanding critical audit matters

A new report explains what audit committees and financial statement users need to know about critical audit matters.

July 19, 2018

FASB issues 16 minor amendments to lease accounting standard

FASB clarified rules and corrected application of guidance for its lease accounting standard.

July 18, 2018

SEC provides disclosure relief, considers employee stock compensation rules

The SEC raised a disclosure threshold and sought public comment on other ways to modernize its rules for employee stock compensation.

July 17, 2018

GAO issues revised Yellow Book standards for government auditors

The revised standards are designed to provide a framework for high-quality work by government auditors.

July 17, 2018

States sue over state and local tax deduction cap

Four states have sued in U.S. district court, asking to invalidate the $10,000 limit on the deduction for state and local taxes enacted as part of last year’s tax overhaul.

July 17, 2018

Many tax-exempt organizations no longer need to list donor information

News IRS procedures eliminate the requirement for many exempt organizations to list certain substantial donors’ names and addresses on some forms.

July 16, 2018

FASB issues standard devoted to minor codification improvements

FASB made clarifying changes and corrected unintended application of guidance in a standard that updates its Accounting Standards Codification.

July 12, 2018

FASB memos shed light on private company revenue recognition issues

Two FASB staff memos issued last month provide insight to private company financial statement preparers on how to overcome implementation challenges that some have encountered with the new revenue recognition standard.

July 12, 2018

AICPA: 2019 Form W-4 needs to be simplified

The AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee sent a letter to the IRS, urging the Service to simplify the proposed draft 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

July 11, 2018

Proposed SSAE would increase flexibility for practitioners in performing attestation engagements

The AICPA Auditing Standards Board issued a proposal that would make numerous changes to the attestation standards, including changing the terminology for what have been known as “review engagements.”

July 10, 2018

Avoid these common not-for-profit financial statement mistakes

Here are five tips that can help not-for-profits prevent some financial statement errors mistakes.

July 10, 2018

Tax practitioners are warned to safeguard client data

The IRS warned that it is increasingly difficult for it to recognize fraudulent tax returns as cybercriminals succeed in getting more and more accurate information.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

AI risks CPAs should know

Are you ready for the AI revolution in accounting? This JofA Technology Q&A article explores the top risks CPAs face—from hallucinations to deepfakes—and ways to mitigate them.