Clarified and revised standards for compilations and engagements to prepare financial statements released Thursday create a bright line between accounting (preparation) and reporting (compilation) services. The AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) released Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) No. 21, which contains significant changes for
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When does Section 70 of SSARS No. 21 apply?
Section 70, Preparation of Financial Statements, of Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 21, Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services: Clarification and Recodification, applies when an accountant in public practice is engaged to prepare financial statements. The following table provides examples of services that the
Global Management Accounting Principles seek to guide better benchmarking, decision-making
Effective management accounting practices can improve decision-making in organizations, which need sound fundamentals but also speed when trying to decide which strategic paths to follow. In short, organizations need principles that can be applied to help produce favorable outcomes. The Global Management Accounting Principles, released Wednesday, represent the first set
Reducing unnecessary complexity remains a key focus of FASB
Taking unnecessary cost and complexity out of the U.S. financial reporting system has been a primary objective for Russell Golden since he became FASB’s chairman in July 2013. FASB plans to continue its efforts to reduce complexity—while maintaining usefulness of reporting to financial statement users—in the coming years, Golden said
COSO’s ERM framework to undergo update
A well-known framework for risk management is scheduled for another update. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) announced Tuesday that it is undertaking a project to update its Enterprise Risk Management—Integrated Framework, which debuted in 2004. Organizations use the framework to help them manage uncertainty, consider
How to deliver successful diversity and inclusion results and benchmark your progress
As leaders in the accounting profession come to understand the business case for diversity and inclusion, they often have a similar quandary. “The next natural question is, ‘So what do I do about it?’ ” said Kenneth Bouyer, CPA, chairman of the AICPA National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion and
Examine clichés in approach to innovation
Spot-and-react strategies are better than no strategies at all, but organizations should have a “rebellious instinct for change” in approaching innovation, entrepreneurship expert Luke Williams said. Williams, speaking Monday at the AICPA’s fall Council meeting in Boston, said entities should challenge their common practices in order to be leaders in
Council vote conforms resolution in AICPA code with revised UAA attest definition
Representatives at the AICPA fall Council meeting Sunday voted to approve changes to the “Council Resolution Concerning the Form of Organization and Name Rule” of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct that will conform the code to the recently revised definition of attest in the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA). The
SEC filed record number of enforcement actions in fiscal year 2014
With the help of new investigative approaches—and data and analytical tools—the SEC filed a record 755 enforcement actions totaling $4.16 billion in disgorgement and penalties in fiscal year 2014, the securities regulator announced Thursday. The totals for the 2014 fiscal year, which ended in September, are preliminary figures. The SEC
How to prepare for auditing in a digital world of Big Data
Rapid changes in technology are a reality of the current business environment. In addition to affecting how business is done, these changes present new challenges to auditors. The internet, cloud computing, and the pervasive use of mobile devices enable auditors to practice in a globally connected environment. Technology can be
Proposed regs. would eliminate 36-month testing period from COD reporting requirements
Because the IRS believes that requiring the filing of Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt, at the expiration of a 36-month nonpayment of debt testing period “creates confusion for taxpayers” and does not increase tax compliance, the Service released proposed regulations to eliminate the rule (REG-136676-13). Under Sec. 6050P and its
Changes made to IRS streamlined offshore compliance procedures
The IRS updated its streamlined offshore compliance program to provide procedures taxpayers residing both inside and outside the United States should use to participate in the program. The streamlined offshore compliance program is for taxpayers whose failure to comply with requirements to report offshore assets is nonwillful. It is designed
Certain FATCA deadlines are postponed
The IRS announced its intention in Notice 2014-59 to amend temporary regulations it issued under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on March 6, 2014, to modify the effective dates of (1) the standards of knowledge that apply to a withholding certificate or documentary evidence to document a payee
Investors’ confidence in U.S. public companies grows
Investors’ confidence in investing in U.S. public companies—and in audited financial information released by those companies—has risen to a seven-year high in 2014. According to the Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ’s) Main Street Investor Survey, 80% of 1,049 investors surveyed said they have some, quite a bit, or a great
Notice defines terms for economic substance doctrine
On Thursday, the IRS provided guidance defining “transaction” for purposes of applying the Sec. 7701(o) economic substance doctrine and “similar rule of law” for purposes of the Sec. 6662(b)(6) accuracy-related penalty (Notice 2014-58). The economic substance doctrine is a common law judicial doctrine that disallows tax benefits of a transaction
AICPA asks for raise in repair regulations’ de minimis safe harbor threshold
Jeffery Porter, CPA, chair of the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee, wrote to Andrew Keyso, IRS associate chief counsel, on Wednesday, raising the AICPA’s concerns about the low amount of the de minimis safe harbor threshold in the tangible property regulations (T.D. 9636) that were issued in September 2013, and about
Global cyberattacks rose 48% in 2014
It should be no surprise amid the constant barrage of headlines about cybersecurity incidents that the number and cost of breaches is on the rise. Security incidents cost businesses an average of $2.7 million each year, according to a survey by PwC. Despite the burgeoning threat, information security is an
Ibanez ruling set precedent for right of CPAs to advertise dual credentials
This June marked the 20th anniversary of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that remains of interest to the accounting profession because the litigants included a state board of accountancy and a dually credentialed attorney advertising that she was both a CPA and an attorney. In Ibanez v. Florida Board of
Continued rise projected for accounting salaries in 2015
Starting salaries for accounting and finance professionals in the United States and Canada across a wide range of positions are expected to trend upward again in 2015, according to forecasts in salary guides published by staffing services firm Robert Half. Average starting salaries for corporate accounting positions are projected to
Regulation, inflation drove audit fees higher in 2013
Regulatory oversight and inflation have played significant roles in the rise in fees U.S. companies paid in 2013 to external auditors, according to new research by Financial Executives International. The 87 public companies participating in the survey reported an average rise in audit fees of 4.5% over the previous year,
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