Tips for conducting a forensic interview
A properly conducted forensic interview turns a potentially reluctant subject into an information-providing source.
Professional standards & frameworks
Compilation reports for valuation engagements?
Business valuation (BV) reports frequently include information presented in the form of financial statements. The reporting requirements for such financial statements have drawn increased attention as a result of the issuance of Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 19 (SSARS 19), Compilation and Review Engagements. When conforming
IRS, Historic Hotel Face Off Over Facade
The Tax Court held that the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) are not the sole measure of an expert witness’s reliability. The witness had been called upon to provide a value of a conservation easement restricting the use of real property, or “servitude.” Based on that testimony, the
50 Examples of When to Apply SSVS1
SSVS1 applies to any AICPA member who performs “an engagement to estimate value.” According to the statement, any member who performs such an engagement is called a valuation analyst . The statement applies to any engagement to estimate value when the valuation analyst (1) “applies valuation approaches and valuation methods”
Risk Assessment Standards in Action
Eight standards rolled out in 2006 by the Auditing Standards Board are sparking a cultural shift for auditors. The standards—Statement on Auditing Standards nos. 104–111—are designed to enhance auditors’ responses to audit risk and materiality and encourage them to focus on areas with the greatest risk of misstatement. The standards
Professional Guidance in Business Valuation: Applying SSVS1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs perform valuation services for numerous purposes, including transactions, financings, taxation planning and compliance, intergenerational wealth transfer, ownership transition, financial accounting, bankruptcy, management information, and planning and litigation support . SSVS1 applies to all members and is effective for engagements to estimate value accepted after Jan. 1, 2008.
Managing Time-Sensitive Engagements
Have you ever accepted a time-sensitive business valuation project then spent many late nights finishing the engagement? These suggestions may help your effectiveness: Assess the risks. Time-sensitive engagements tend to elevate risks. Make sure the project is worth the risks that will be assumed to complete it and that the
New Fraud Guidance
January 2006 > New Fraud Guidance COMPILATIONS / REVIEWS Communication is the name of the game where fraud is suspected. New Fraud Guidance BY J. RUSSELL MADRAY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SSARS NO. 12, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services2005, amended SSARS no. 1, making specific changes regarding the
Ethics Rules Get Tighter
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The PCAOB in April 2006 issued a set of seven rules for auditors of public companies. The rules focus primarily on tax services, but also address contingent fees, audit committee preapproval of tax services and fundamental requirements for ethics and independence. Individuals who contribute directly and substantially to
New Fraud Guidance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SSARS NO. 12, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services—2005, amended SSARS no. 1, making specific changes regarding the practitioner’s consideration of fraud and illegal acts in compilation and review engagements. ALTHOUGH COMPILATION AND REVIEW performance standards don’t require CPAs to assess the risk of fraud,
Get Your BV Niche Out There
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs WHO SEEK TO DEVELOP A BV NICHE should first determine the areas in which the firm can demonstrate expertise to referral sources. Prospects want to know that a firm understands their business. CPAs need technical training and specific valuation credentials to become credible providers of BV services.
Peer Review Is Stronger and Better Now
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AICPA REVISED ITS STANDARDS for performing and reporting on peer reviews for firms that do not audit SEC registrants. The revised standards, effective for reviews commencing on or after January 1, 2005, will enhance the quality of peer reviews and increase the usefulness of peer review reports
An Update on Review Engagements
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SSARS NO. 10, PERFORMANCE OF REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS, effective for reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2004, amends SSARS no. 1, Compilation and Review of Financial Statements, by introducing new requirements for performing such services. CPAs MUST APPLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF FINANCIAL and
Tell Us More
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CUSTOMER CASE RESEARCH (CCR) can reveal how a company’s people and circumstances influenced it to engage one CPA and not another or to obtain one accounting, tax or consulting service and not another. Such case studies illustrate situations business managers must solve all the time, and CPAs can
Audit Redux
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AN INCREASE IN AUDITOR CHANGES HAS LED t o an increase in reaudits, raising unique practice considerations for the CPAs that perform them. Reauditors can use the guidance in SAS no. 84, Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors and Practice Alert 02-3, Reauditing Financial Statements to help with
Teaming Up for the Bottom Line
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR A MODEST INVESTMENT within reach of any small to midsize firm, a 48-member, seven-partner office of J.H. Cohn drew on football as a model for a team incentive program (TIP). THE FIRM'S GOALS WERE to bring in new business and develop a team approach, encourage nonpartners to
A Nice Niche—If You Minimize Liability Risk
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INCREASED ACTIVITY IN ESTATE and succession planning and mergers or acquisitions involving small to midsize businesses has fueled demand for business valuation (BV) services. BV malpractice claims arise most often from a tax planning or consulting engagement that—at the client’s request—morphs into a BV in mid-transaction. THE PREDOMINANT
IFAC Issues Standard on Assurance Engagements
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released in July its first international standard on assurance engagements. Developed by IFAC's international auditing practices committee, its objective is to help accountants worldwide provide assurance on an increasing range of information, including data, systems and processes and behavior. Wherever specific standards do not
Profitable Communication
hat a difference a decade makes: Just 10 years ago, most managing partners didn’t consider marketing key to their business plans. Now firms not only employ marketing professionals but also expect them to deliver value beyond traditional functions. Yet many firms need to realize that one area still requires their
Measuring Public Companies
PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT/BUSINESS VALUATION Skills you need to value businesses. Is Business Appraising For You? BY ELIZABETH DANZIGER EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BV IS A VERY CHALLENGING BUSINESS that requires an unusual set of skills. CPAs SUCCESSFUL AT OFFERING BV tend to: — Function well under intense pressure. — Communicate well, both orally
