Regulators in many parts of the globe have increased enforcement of anti-corruption laws. Anti-corruption experts offered the following tips on how companies doing business overseas can step up vigilance to reduce corruption risks. Assess internal and external risks. Enforcement actions by the Department of Justice and the SEC highlight
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Management accounting
Saving face in the Facebook age
Businesses are focusing more on reputational risk today than in the past. But many companies do not vigorously monitor social media and lack processes to calculate the financial impact of not managing reputational risk. Seventy-six percent of the 1,300-plus CGMA designation holders who took part in a recent survey said businesses in
How to do as the Chinese when you’re in China
Four years after expanding into China, Merkle, a U.S. company that specializes in customer relationship marketing, employs more than 200 people in Shanghai and Nanjing. Sally Shanks, CPA, vice president and controller at Merkle, will always remember one of the challenges she encountered doing business in China: The document to
SEC proposes rules to compare pay of CEO, median employee
A rule proposed Wednesday by the SEC would require U.S. public companies to disclose the ratio between what companies pay their CEOs and their median employee. SEC commissioners voted 3–2 to propose the rule, which was mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, P.L. 111-203. If
How finance and accounting can boost innovation
Five years ago, Jimmy Keeter, CPA, was concerned about what he saw after performing a worst-case scenario analysis on the trucking operations of Daylight Donut Flour Co. of Tulsa, Okla., which he serves as CFO. The company, which provides ingredients and equipment to licensed doughnut shop operators in 38 states
Hiring optimism up among U.S. finance professionals
U.S. companies expect to make more money, and spend more of it, in the year ahead—and that could translate into more jobs. At the same time, finance executives’ outlook of the overall economy has cooled. Those are the key takeaways from the third-quarter Business & Industry Economic Outlook Survey, released
The opaque CFO bonus
Get a B on a math test, and you understand how that grade was determined: You got 88% of the answers correct. Get a B on an art project, and you’re wondering exactly what could have been better or what the instructor was looking for. CFOs would rather be graded
The global finance function: Five focal points
Finance teams at large multinational companies can expect more and increasingly sophisticated tasks to come their way. The majority of those teams will have to perform those tasks with the same or fewer resources. Companies are focusing more on reducing overhead costs and improving operating margins, cash flow, and customer
How critical access hospitals might choose to recognize revenue from meaningful-use incentive payments
In the absence of authoritative GAAP on the subject, a diversity in practice has been observed with respect to how critical access hospitals (CAHs) recognize revenue from meaningful-use incentive payments. Various viewpoints exist on how to account for the economic substance of these arrangements. This article describes three of them—although
From CGMA Magazine: Finance’s role in fostering innovation
The finance function is rarely expected to be the originator of a breakthrough product or technology. But it has an important role in ensuring that great ideas are spotted, encouraged, financed, and delivered efficiently to the market. “A finance function needs to be able to understand the business well enough
Internal audit oversight
One of an audit committee’s most important responsibilities is to oversee the organization’s internal audit function. Here are 10 steps audit committees can take to facilitate proper oversight and direction of internal audit: Evaluate the current and projected scope of internal audit coverage of risk management and governance. Internal
A breach of client data: Risks to CPA firms
You walk into your office on a Saturday morning during tax season to find a staff member waiting for you with sweaty palms and a look of terror on her face. She takes a while to get the words out, but you soon learn that she backed up some client
Applying business provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act
While the comprehensive corporate tax reform desired by the business community remains highly elusive, businesses did receive a number of concessions via the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), P.L. 112-240, which was signed into law Jan. 2, 2013. The act extends through 2013 an assortment of expired or
Leases: What should companies do now?
When important new accounting standards are under development, forward-thinking companies often look ahead to anticipate possible changes and work ahead so they don’t have to scramble when the standard takes effect. Some companies already are doing some of that work with leases, experts say. But the lease accounting proposal—a joint
Court upholds SEC’s conflict minerals rule
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled against business groups’ court challenge to new conflict mineral rules, which require U.S. issuers to monitor their supply chains in an effort to curtail human rights abuses in Africa where the raw materials are mined. Judge Robert Wilkins of the U.S. District Court for
Three reasons finance should focus more on business intelligence
Many organizations recognize the value in harvesting data, whether the information is about customers’ buying habits or workers’ performance measures. But some of those companies haven’t been able to tap into the full potential of business intelligence, i.e., getting the right information from the data to make better business decisions.
Embrace uncertainty to develop more business acumen
A mere accounting professional is not the same as a full-fledged finance professional. At least that’s how consultant David Axson sees it. The more evolved finance professional, Axson says, considers the business environment, embracing its volatility, and then adapting to it. “Being comfortable with uncertainty is, to me, the difference
Can you succeed in finance without international experience?
As commerce increasingly transcends borders, international experience is becoming a valuable asset for accounting and finance professionals. Almost seven in 10 (69%) of more than 2,100 CFOs in large U.S. metropolitan areas said international experience will be at least somewhat necessary for accounting and finance staff five years from now,
Increased cooperation builds momentum for integrated reporting
An agreement between the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and two organizations devoted to corporate environmental impact disclosures is the latest advancement in the growing momentum for integrated reporting worldwide. The IIRC on Thursday announced that it has reached a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation with CDP, an international
New duties on horizon for internal auditors
Even as assurance and compliance responsibilities are expanding for internal auditors, a significant shift in their strategic duties is on the horizon, according to a new survey. More than half (54%) of respondents expect that in the next two years, internal audit’s primary mandate will be providing stakeholders with business
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SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
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