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What to expect from the Supreme Court ruling on health care reform

In the coming days, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of portions of the  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), P.L. 111-148. Whatever the justices conclude—whether they uphold the law, rule that Congress doesn’t have the power to require citizens and legal residents to

COSO sheds light on managing cloud risks

Management should begin control-related activities before an organization contracts with a cloud-computing service provider (CSP), according to guidance provided in a new thought paper released Wednesday by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The paper, Enterprise Risk Management for Cloud Computing, provides a thorough examination of

SEC requires listing standards for compensation committees, advisers

National securities exchanges have been directed to adopt listing standards for public company boards of directors and compensation advisers under a rule approved Wednesday 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

Execs less optimistic about hiring, U.S. economy, AICPA survey shows

Lower hiring expectations and a steep drop in optimism about the U.S. economy summed up the uncertain mood of CPA financial executives who took part in the AICPA’s Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2012. Optimism about the U.S. economy dropped significantly after rising for

The CPA’s role in restoring fiscal sanity

CPAs are uniquely positioned to enhance public understanding of government spending—and advocate for transparency, accountability, and improvements to government financial reporting.

CFO round table: Managing uncertainty

Three CFOs from three very different industries offer insight into the fickle global marketplace—and how their roles are changing because of it.

CFOs report difficulty finding accounting and finance talent

Staffing levels in corporate accounting and finance are expected to remain stable in the third quarter, according to a recent survey of CFOs. But the same executives increasingly are reporting difficulty finding qualified professionals. Sixty-nine percent of U.S. CFOs surveyed for the staffing services firm Robert Half’s Professional Employment Report

In pursuit of inclusion: New initiative will focus on racial diversity

Even as Ken Bouyer looks with pride at the progress Ernst & Young LLP has made in recruiting minority candidates over the past 20 years, he realizes that his profession’s work to promote ethnic and racial diversity is far from over. Bouyer, E&Y’s Americas director of Inclusiveness Recruiting, said that

Data breaches emerge as tech sector’s fastest-rising risk factor

Concerns over technology breaches and data security are soaring among the largest U.S. tech companies, according to a new report from accounting and consulting firm BDO.   An examination of the most recent SEC 10-K filings for the 100 biggest publicly traded technology companies found that 71% listed data-security breaches as

Eight steps for implementing a technological overhaul

Author, venture partner, and consultant Geoffrey Moore made a pitch for a technological revolution Friday afternoon in the closing speech at the AICPA’s spring Council meeting. Consumer-facing business processes in professional services need to be re-engineered to accommodate the digital needs of clients and employees who already are using consumer

Finance and accounting workers feel secure in jobs, according to survey

Workers in finance and accounting feel secure in their jobs, but more than half say the economy has hurt their careers and nearly half plan to explore other positions when the job market opens up, according to a new survey. Finance and accounting employees are among the least likely professionals

Entrepreneur brings attitude to economic discussion

When panelists at the AICPA’s spring Council meeting in Washington were asked Wednesday how to fix the economy, business leaders and politicians talked about familiar themes: balancing the federal budget and avoiding deficit spending. They said complex regulations are crippling some businesses. But Traci Lynn, CEO and founder of Traci

Going concern evaluations, auditor’s reporting model on the week’s agenda

Auditors’ going concern evaluations and the auditor’s reporting model project will be among the topics discussed Thursday at a meeting of the PCAOB’s Standing Advisory Group (SAG). Established in 2003 to advise the PCAOB on the development of standards, the SAG includes auditors, investors, public company executives, and others. The

To prevent fraud, offer a hotline, train employees on fraud prevention, report says

Providing individuals a means to report suspicious activity and conducting targeted fraud awareness training for employees and managers are two key elements in detecting and preventing fraud, a new report says. Fraud is most commonly detected through employee tips, and organizations that have anti-fraud training programs for employees, managers, and

What’s your fraud IQ?

The inherent and evolving risks in the banking environment—especially concerning online transactions—command that account holders keep abreast of threats to their accounts, understand their rights and responsibilities as account holders, and take appropriate security measures to protect themselves from fraudulent bank account activity. Are you prepared to help your clients

From CGMA Magazine: Executives turn data into internal insight

Prolonged economic sluggishness—which has limited organic growth and stymied mergers and acquisitions the world over—has given many companies something they didn’t have when things were busier: time, and reason, to think differently about new ways to build value. One place they’re increasingly applying the magnifying glass: their own ranks. More

Hire a hero, enjoy the benefits

Most provisions of the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) expired on Jan. 1, 2012, but the program was modified and partially extended by the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, P.L. 112-56, to cover military veteran hires. Under Sec. 51, as amended, employers may be eligible for a credit

COSO postpones release of internal control framework until 1Q 2013

After receiving extensive feedback, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) announced Monday that it expects to delay the release of its updated internal control framework until the first quarter of 2013. That’s a slightly later debut than COSO predicted for the framework in December, when it

AICPA seeks some changes to COSO’s updated framework proposal

The AICPA is suggesting changes to the proposed, updated internal control framework of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In a comment letter, the AICPA wrote that the framework will be a valuable resource for practitioners. But the AICPA also described concerns, some of which are

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

Build reusable Skills in Anthropic’s Claude AI

Instead of rewriting prompts each time, CPAs can turn routine tasks into reusable AI Skills. This Technology Q&A walks through how to build Claude Skills that process files, ask setup questions, and export clean Excel outputs.