Tax, accounting, auditing news - Journal of Accountancy

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.

December 5, 2017

FASB aims to ease pain of implementing lease accounting, other standards

Changes and proposed changes to FASB’s new lease accounting standard that were announced last week addressed financial statement preparers’ most pressing implementation concerns.

December 5, 2017

Corporate board members expect major changes

Changing business models, cybersecurity, and competition for talent are just a few of the things expected to concern corporate directors in the next year.

December 5, 2017

Debt is causing Americans significant stress and anxiety

More than half of Americans with debt said that owing money has had a negative impact on their lives, according to a recent AICPA survey.

December 4, 2017

Blockchain considerations for management and auditors

Distributed ledger technology, also known as blockchain, presents a twofold challenge for accountants and auditors.

December 4, 2017

PCAOB issues staff guidance on new auditor’s report

The PCAOB issued staff guidance that describes important considerations related to the new auditor’s reporting model.

December 2, 2017

Senate passes tax reform bill

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bill by a vote of 51–49.

December 1, 2017

New working drafts address 5 revenue recognition issues

Working drafts for a total of five revenue recognition implementation issues in four industries were exposed by the AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee.