he scenario: During a routine audit of a client, you discovered the company was paying twice the market price for widgets. By looking further, you believe—but are not sure—the purchasing agent is engaging in a pass-through billing scheme, in which he buys the widgets from the supplier, marks up the
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Forensic services
Sherlock Holmes, CPA, Part 1
f Sherlock Holmes—the world’s most famous fictional detective—were solving today’s biggest corporate crimes, he probably would be a CPA, too. That’s because it takes both accounting knowledge and the unique skills of a detective to resolve allegations of fraud. This article addresses how investigating fraud differs from the field of
Start a BV Engagement the Right Way
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EACH VALUATION ASSIGNMENT IS UNIQUE, and often there’s more than one way to answer a question, interpret a fact or approach a problem. How the valuator prepares the client for the BV engagement sets its direction and becomes the foundation of the engagement letter and, ultimately, a responsible
Turn Excel Into a Financial Sleuth
One of our small business clients—we’ll call him Bob—recently expanded his one-store, family-run retail operation into a four-store chain. As many small business owners have to do, Bob had to relinquish some hands-on control when his business grew. He had to hire new employees for each store, and he worried
The New Accounting Environment
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NEW ACCOUNTING REGULATIONS BROUGHT ABOUT by Sarbanes-Oxley and SAS no. 99 will force many companies to change how they do business. Compliance with these and other rule changes will expand the burden of corporate CPAs. ONE NEW REGULATION THAT WILL AFFECT ALL public companies is the proposed NYSE
Accounting
For news from the AICPA and state societies, visit www.cpa2biz.com , which also offers online CPE, AICPA professional literature, practice management aids and links to state society Web sites. FASB issues Statement no. 150, Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity (available for download
JofA Recognizes Top Authors, Including 2002’s Best.
Joseph T. Wells, CPA, CFE , received from AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon, CPA, the Journal of Accountancy’ s 2002 Lawler Award for the year’s best article. In “ Occupational Fraud: The Audit as Deterrent ” ( JofA , Apr.02, page 24), Wells used actual case studies to
Privacy
The AICPA issues an exposure draft of the privacy framework it developed with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. The framework includes privacy standards designed to help organizations better manage their clients’ and customers’ personal information and mitigate associated risks. The ED is available at www.aicpa.org . Comments are due
Technology
Beginning July 1, accountants and other professionals who had registered a trademark or service mark before September 30, 2002, can secure a .pro domain name, or Internet address suffix, that exactly matches their registered mark. For example, a firm with a trademark such as Smith & Jones, CPAs, would qualify
Fraud
The AICPA publishes a series of actual case studies involving poor judgment or illegal accounting practices. In them, managers face a variety of ethical dilemmas. The cases cover accounting and auditing, as well as professional ethics, corporate leadership and regulatory, legal and financial analysis. The series, which the AICPA developed
Government Accounting
The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) issues an exposure draft, Accounting for Fiduciary Activities ( www.fasab.gov/pdf/trustf1.pdf ). The proposed standard shows how to distinguish, in a federal context, fiduciary activity from program activity that, in many cases, is called “trust fund” activity but actually represents taxes or other resources
Professional Issues
The AICPA, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and Prometric, a developer of electronic testing systems, present an online tutorial for the computerized uniform CPA examination ( www.cpa-exam.org/lrc/exam_tutorial.html ). Its purpose is to familiarize accounting students and exam candidates with the test’s design and operation. The tutorial reviews
Audit
The AICPA launches its “audit committee matching system” (ACMS) to foster better communication between Institute members and companies (both public and privately held), not-for-profit entities and other organizations in need of candidates qualified to serve on their boards of directors and audit committees. The ACMS, part of a comprehensive Institute
Financial Reporting
According to a tentative FASB decision in April, goods and services received in exchange for all forms of stock-based compensation result in a cost companies should recognize as an expense if they consume such goods and services ( www.fasb.org/opening_statement.pdf ; www.fasb.org/full_text.pdf ). The board’s determination comes as it begins a
Money Laundering: Ring Around the White Collar
oney laundering is so widespread CPAs are likely to encounter it at some point in their work. It is an essential element of the “underground economy,” which, worldwide, amounts to trillions of dollars. An independent auditor’s responsibilities in the area of money laundering, because it is a criminal act, are
The World’s Dumbest Fraudsters
n Wichita, Kansas, police arrested a 22-year-old male who tried to pass two counterfeit $16 bills at an airport hotel. And in St. Louis, a bus carrying five passengers was involved in an accident. However, when the police arrived, 14 more people were aboard the bus, all complaining of whiplash
Business Bookshelf
A White-Collar Profession: African American Certified Public Accountants Since 1921 By Theresa A. Hammond 146 pages; hardcover; $39.95 The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2002 Theresa A. Hammond, PhD, the author of this history, is an associate professor of accounting and Ernst & Young Research Fellow
Accounting
For news from the AICPA and state societies, visit www.cpa2biz.com , which also offers online CPE, AICPA professional literature, practice management aids and links to state society Web sites. The Institute’s accounting standards staff, with the assistance of industry experts, releases the sixth set in a series of questions and
JofA Taken to Task
Has the editor lost all sense of professionalism? The title of the article, “ Make ’Em Pay Up ” ( JofA , Oct.02, page 67), smacks of the style used by the New York Post or a London tabloid. Shame on the JofA ; more shame on our profession. David
Corruption: Causes and Cures
ou’ll never catch Burgin,” television investigative reporter Marsha Halford said to me during an off-camera interview regarding rumors of bribery in the Mississippi senate. “He is the smartest and most corrupt politician in the state.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation had Senator William G. Burgin Jr., chairman of the Mississippi
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How to find the right CAS clients
The key to success with CAS is selecting the best clients. Tools like ideal client profiles (ICPs), buyer personas, and even artificial intelligence can help identify the businesses that best fit each CAS practice.
From The Tax Adviser
March 31, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
March 31, 2026
Current Developments in Taxation of Individuals: Part 1
March 6, 2026
