Tax, accounting, auditing news - Journal of Accountancy

December 14, 2021

Decoding the Senate Finance Committee’s Build Back Better text

The Senate Finance Committee has released language for its portion of the reconciliation bill, which some lawmakers would like to pass before Christmas. Here’s what you need to know about the timeline and the bill, which includes several key tax provisions.

December 13, 2021

PEEC delays interpretation, adopts temporary policy statement

The effective date of the “Information Systems Services” interpretation has been further delayed by the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee, which also issued a temporary policy statement related to employment statutes that may conflict with independence interpretations.

December 13, 2021

Senate Finance Committee releases tax provisions of Build Back Better Act

The Senate Finance Committee’s text includes changes from the House’s version of the bill, including a removal of the House’s increase in the SALT deduction cap.

December 10, 2021

Attributes of top-performing firms revealed

MAP survey finds big differences in revenue, profit, and owner compensation.

December 8, 2021

Audit tips for a pandemic-changed environment

Auditors have a lot to think about as clients experience supply chain disruptions, staff shortages, and new processes and procedures. Here’s what firms need to focus on in this challenging environment.

December 7, 2021

FASB working to balance desires of investors and preparers

Investors want more disaggregated information. Financial statement preparers are concerned about the costs of preparing that information. FASB Chair Richard Jones is seeking to balance those priorities.

December 7, 2021

Tips for avoiding trouble with non-GAAP reporting

Non-GAAP measures in public company reporting continue to be scrutinized carefully by SEC staff, according to information presented at the AICPA & CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments.

December 6, 2021

Early sunset of the employee retention credit gets penalty relief

The IRS describes how employers may avoid failure-to-pay and failure-to-deposit penalties for ERC claimed or anticipated in the fourth quarter but eliminated by the Infrastructure Act.

December 6, 2021

AICPA tax advocacy gets results in 2021

The AICPA Tax Policy and Advocacy group worked with the AICPA Congressional Affairs group to represent the interests of practitioners and the public.

December 6, 2021

Revenue recognition: Tips for challenging circumstances

Certain issues related to revenue recognition are causing enough application problems that the Financial Accounting Standards Board may choose to adjust the standard. But in the meantime, financial statement preparers need to apply the current rules correctly.

December 6, 2021

What auditors need to know about ESG issues

Regulators and standard setters are making ESG disclosures a bigger area of emphasis. But even current standards require ESG-related risks to be considered, and auditors need to know how to audit this information.

December 3, 2021

3 key points from the new ‘gold rush’ for intellectual property

Navigating complex deals in rapidly changing markets is a high-pressure challenge. Due diligence remains essential, and it may need to be conducted in a compressed time frame.

December 2, 2021

SEC increases scrutiny of issuers whose auditors aren’t PCAOB-inspected

The SEC issued rules that create new disclosure requirements for companies that issue public securities in the US but are audited by firms that are not subject to inspection by the PCAOB.

December 2, 2021

Finance experts’ outlook softens amid supply chain, labor challenges

The CPA Outlook Index dipped slightly but remained in positive territory.

December 1, 2021

E-signing for forms, tax compliance documents extended

Temporary pandemic-related procedures are reauthorized through October 2023 for certain paper returns and forms and documents in exams and similar taxpayer interactions.

December 1, 2021

Revenue, SPACs, and LIBOR pose year-end accounting challenges

Some new and complex accounting issues are facing financial statement preparers as 2021 draws to a close.

November 30, 2021

FASAB clarifies federal accounting rules for debt cancellation

Debt cancellation is a nonexchange activity that should be reported by federal entities on the statement of changes in net position, according to an interpretation issued by FASAB.

November 29, 2021

Spring-loaded awards merit accounting scrutiny, SEC staff says

“Spring-loaded” awards are share-based compensation that companies award to executives shortly before announcing market-moving information. The SEC staff says that when measuring compensation, companies must consider the impact that the information will have upon release.

November 29, 2021

Commemorating 100 years of Black CPAs and looking forward

The Black CPA Centennial celebration highlighted the inspiring stories of Black CPAs who broke through barriers and paved a path for others to join the accounting profession. Against the backdrop of the commemoration, work continues to be needed to improve recruiting, retention, and advancement of Black CPAs.

November 24, 2021