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March 17, 2015

“Pervasive” pressure challenges internal audit’s objectivity

Fifty-five percent of North American chief audit executives have been asked at least once to omit or modify an important audit finding, according to new research.

March 9, 2015

GAAP taxonomy adopted by SEC

The 2015 GAAP financial reporting taxonomy has been adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be supported immediately. The taxonomy is a set of computer-readable tags for data included in financial statements.

March 5, 2015

FASB to propose new not-for-profit reporting requirements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to propose new requirements designed to make not-for-profit financial statements more useful.

March 2, 2015

GASB tackles fair value in state and local government reporting

New guidance issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board defines fair value and how it should be measured in state and local government financial reporting.

March 1, 2015

New challenges in a delicate process

FASB’s new going-concern standard creates many challenges for CPAs to consider. The Center for Plain English Accounting examines the new look-forward period, disparities with audit guidance, and a new triggering threshold.

March 1, 2015

Financial reporting

A FASB initiative designed to simplify GAAP has yielded a standard that eliminates the concept of extraordinary items from GAAP.

March 1, 2015

News highlights for March 2015

FASB issued a new GAAP alternative that is designed to make accounting for certain intangible assets acquired in a business combination less costly and less complicated for private companies.

February 27, 2015

FASB task force to consider whether the new revenue standard applies to certain prepaid cards

FASB’s Emerging Issues Task Force is expected to consider whether the new, converged revenue recognition standard applies to certain prepaid cards.

February 26, 2015

FAF seeks assessments of Private Company Council

The Financial Accounting Foundation board of trustees issued a request for comment on the effectiveness, accomplishments and future role of the Private Company Council.

February 25, 2015

Proposed FASB disclosures would link bifurcated embedded derivatives to host contracts

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a proposal that would require disclosures linking each bifurcated embedded derivative to its host contract.

February 25, 2015

Revenue recognition: New differences emerging

International convergence of the new revenue recognition standard may decrease as a result of clarifying revisions that will be proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board.

February 20, 2015

Revenue recognition implementation concerns finance executives

A recent KPMG survey shows that 64% of U.S. companies are uncertain about the path they’ll take to adopt the new, converged revenue recognition standard. Also, regulation is cited as the top compliance concern for 51% of corporate finance executives.

February 18, 2015

FASB, IASB to propose clarifying revenue recognition guidance

FASB and the IASB decided to propose clarifying certain areas of the converged revenue recognition standard that are causing implementation problems for some financial statement preparers.

February 18, 2015

FASB issues targeted consolidation guidance changes

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a standard that is intended to make targeted improvements to consolidation guidance for certain legal entities.

February 13, 2015

FASB, AICPA working to clarify uncertain tax position guidance

The staffs of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the AICPA will work together to clarify guidance for certain disclosures regarding uncertain tax positions.

February 13, 2015

FASB addresses income tax disclosures for undistributed foreign earnings

FASB has made tentative decisions on certain disclosures it plans to require related to income taxes, with a focus on undistributed foreign earnings. The board is attempting to simplify financial reporting by streamlining disclosures.

February 11, 2015

AICPA releases Q&A on effect of new mortality tables

The Society of Actuaries’ Retirement Plans Experience Committee released in 2014 its RP-2014 Mortality Tables Report, which includes new mortality tables developed for use by pension plans.

February 11, 2015

New conflict minerals guidance developed

New questions and answers developed by the AICPA Conflict Minerals Task Force provide nonauthoritative guidance to practitioners performing independent private-sector audit engagements of conflict minerals reports.

February 10, 2015

IASB proposal would clarify how entities classify a liability

An IASB proposal issued Tuesday is designed to improve presentation in financial statements by clarifying how entities classify debt, particularly when it is coming up for renewal.

February 9, 2015

SEC proposes requiring companies to disclose hedging policies for personnel

The proposal is designed to inform investors whether company personnel can receive incentive compensation through hedging even if the company performs poorly and the stock value drops.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Tax-efficient drawdown strategies in retirement

Want to stretch retirement funds and avoid tax pitfalls? This article shares tips and models for smarter drawdown strategies that maximize after-tax wealth, manage Social Security and Medicare impacts, and minimize surprises. Also see: Tax season preview and quick guide.