During the past decade, many corporations have embraced enterprise risk management (ERM) processes to identify and prioritize risk. The prioritization of risk is typically done through “heat maps” showing which risks are most likely and which may have the most severe consequences. Effective ERM processes force an integrated consideration of
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National securities exchanges have been directed to adopt listing standards for public company boards of directors and compensation advisers under a rule approved by the SEC. The rule is required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, P.L. 111-203. For listed companies to continue having their shares
Sense of direction is critical to employee satisfaction
People like to know where they are going—and how they are going to get there. This sense of direction, path, and destination is just as important for employees in the workplace as it is for travelers on a journey, according to a new survey from temporary accounting, finance, and bookkeeping
PwC: Internal audit has to play a more substantial role in information security
Most companies fail to adequately monitor and update their defenses against cybercriminals, raising the risk of costly data security breaches, according to PwC. Fortifying Your Defenses: The Role of Internal Audit in Assuring Data Security and Privacy, a PwC white paper, asserts that the increasing frequency and sophistication of hacker
SEC considers rules that pit human rights groups against business interests
A controversial measure on so-called “conflict minerals” that has pitted human rights groups against business interests is among the regulations the SEC will consider implementing during an open meeting on Aug. 22. The SEC is considering adopting regulations that would implement Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
PCAOB adopts rules on communication between audit committees, external auditors
A new auditing standard approved unanimously Wednesday by the PCAOB is designed to encourage two-way, effective communication between external auditors and audit committees during public company audits. With the aim of improving audit quality, the PCAOB approved Auditing Standard (AS) No. 16, Communications With Audit Committees, and amendments to other
Protect “crown jewels” by integrating risk management into strategy
In an environment where risks are growing—and growing in complexity—few companies are fully considering risk in their business strategies. The percentage of companies adopting enterprisewide risk oversight has almost tripled in three years but remains small; implementation has yet to take place in more than three out of four organizations,
Most U.S. small businesses lack disaster-recovery plans
More than 60% of U.S. small businesses do not have a formal emergency-response plan and fail to back up their financial data off-site, leaving them vulnerable to catastrophic data loss in the event of a natural disaster. The Small Business Disaster Preparedness Study, conducted by software maker Sage North America,
Four steps to formalize internal audit’s strategic impact
Internal audit isn’t just about compliance anymore. Increasingly, the function’s role is being incorporated into the broader business strategy – from mulling over major capital projects to advising on mergers and acquisitions. But executives say they need to do a better job of formally describing the role internal auditors will
PCAOB gives audit committees guidance on inspections of audit firms
In an effort to help audit committees make informed decisions, the PCAOB on Wednesday released a 26-page report describing how its inspections of audit firms work and how to gather information from audit firms about those inspections. PCAOB inspection reports are partly public and partly private. In the release, Information
Criminal minds
This is more than a story about six men, all of them admitted white-collar criminals. It is more than a story about their fraud schemes, which resulted in total combined losses of nearly $4 billion. This is the story of what CPAs can learn from these men—from their motives and
What’s your fraud IQ?
Fraud is not an accounting problem or an internal control problem; it is a human problem. Not even the strongest system of controls can eliminate all risk of organizations’ being defrauded by employees who are sufficiently motivated to find loopholes, ways to override controls, or opportunities for collusion. While most
Tax compliance for acquisitions: Prepare before purchasing
Fears of a “double-dip” recession in 2012 may have subsided, but the overall economic forecast remains uncertain. Therefore, companies are looking beyond organic, internal growth to external growth sources to bolster company performance. A recent study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) touted the power of acquisitions for growth during
From CGMA Magazine: New skills for an evolving profession
The corporate finance professionals who climb the value chain will be interpreters and collaborators, able to leverage data as a strategic asset while working across functions to solve problems and innovate. As the volume of information increases, they will play a critical role in determining the integrity of information and
Small business, big risk
Small businesses are significantly more likely than their larger counterparts to neglect instituting basic antifraud controls that could save them from costly losses, a recent worldwide survey shows. Organizations with fewer than 100 employees were significantly outpaced by larger organizations in every fraud control measured in the Association of Certified
Lawmakers reflect on Sarbanes-Oxley’s effect on corporate culture
Former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes and former U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley say the regulations they sponsored and saw signed into law a decade ago are not perfect, but led to changes in the corporate culture in the United States and abroad. Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat, and Oxley, an Ohio Republican,
SOX’s anniversary marked with congressional debate on benefits and costs
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Thursday debated the benefits and costs of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)—and a bill that would decrease its scope—as the corporate governance law approached its 10th anniversary. The House Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises heard sharply divided opinions from
Employers hiring managers from outside more often than promoting from within
Management job seekers in accounting and finance may need to get away from their current employers to get ahead in their careers. CFOs are filling management roles in their departments with candidates from outside the company far more often than they are promoting internal candidates, according to a new survey
Eight questions for a holistic risk assessment
Internal control has emerged from isolation. In recent years, according to an International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) report, internal control has come to be viewed as an integral part of risk management and governance rather than a separate concept unto itself. This integration demands that individual risks be assessed holistically
Corporate governance best practices 10 years after SOX
You could hardly go to a Washington hearing related to an accounting or auditing issue this spring without someone singing the praises of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). At a House subcommittee meeting on accounting and auditing oversight, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., said SOX has
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FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Right-sizing risk management
Sole practitioner or small firm? Risk management doesn’t have to be “one size fits all.” Learn how to help protect your practice without adding unnecessary admin time.
From The Tax Adviser
July 31, 2026
Current developments in S corporations
July 31, 2026
