The Institute’s Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC) released three statements on standards for accounting and review services (SSARSs) and an interpretation (see Official Releases, page 109). SSARS no. 12, Omnibus Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services—2005 (# 060650JA); SSARS no. 13, Compilation of Specified Elements, Accounts, or
Advertisement
TOPICS / TAX
IRS practice & procedure
Employee Benefits
The Institute and the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) are conducting seminars with state CPA societies for small business clients on how to establish and administer pension, health and other employee benefit plans. Ian MacKay, director of the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center ( http://ebpaqc.aicpa.org
Financial Reporting
The SEC invited mutual funds to join other registrants already voluntarily submitting their filings electronically in extensible business reporting language (XBRL) format ( www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl.htm ). The commission will assess registrants’ ability to properly tag their data in XBRL and will weigh the benefits of tagged data. Information on XBRL is
Internal Controls
The AICPA Audit Committee Effectiveness Center issued “SOX Section 404: Responding to an Adverse Report—A Checklist for the Audit Committee,” which can be downloaded free at www.aicpa.org/audcommctr . The checklist provides an overview of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s internal control evaluation requirements and specifies actions audit committees should take in response
FYI
The Institute launched the AICPA Tax Center ( www.aicpa.org/tax ), offering news related to taxation, information on tax professional standards and the Institute’s tax advocacy activities, and access to premium resources, including The Tax Adviser magazine, tax practice guides and checklists, and discussion forums focused on specific aspects of taxation.
International
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued one standard and amended three others ( www.iasb.org ). International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures, introduces requirements to improve information on financial instruments in entities’ financial statements, replacing International Accounting Standard (IAS) 30, Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks
The Value Proposition
CYNTHIA HARRINGTON is a freelance business writer. Her e-mail address is cynharrington@mindspring.com . or most large companies, the setup work to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is history. While no one says the process was easy or cheap, some companies are seeing added benefits from the enormous compliance effort. For
New Horizons: Enterprise-Wide Compliance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMPLYING WITH SARBANES-OXLEY HAS LED many companies to search for a better way to manage all the regulatory demands they face. Some are doing so on an enterprise-wide basis by coordinating and integrating compliance into all facets of their business. COMPANIES NEED A FRAMEWORK TO HELP them manage
Compliance Is Expensive
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers Barometer Survey of 151 CFOs and managing directors of U.S.-based multinational companies, New York, www.barometersurveys.com , 2004.
Assessing Company-Level Controls
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE ASSESSMENT OF COMPANY-LEVEL CONTROLS is a critical part of complying with section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. The PCAOB says public companies must assess the design and operating effectiveness of these controls in addition to examining detailed process- and transactional-level control activities. COMPANY-LEVEL CONTROLS ARE THOSE THAT PERMEATE an
“Outsourcing, Offshoring, Nearshoring: What to Do?”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FANS OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING SAY it lowers labor costs; it’s efficient; and it lets firms accept new work during periods of peak demand. SOME LONG-TERM CONCERNS CPAs VOICE ARE: How will outsourcing affect the traditional CPA career path? How will it affect U.S. employees’ training? How will accountants
No Longer an Option
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IN DECEMBER 2004, FASB ISSUED ITS NEWEST standard, Statement no. 123(R), Share-Based Payment. It is proving to be as controversial as its predecessors. The most significant change is the requirement that companies use the fair value method to account for share-based compensation. STATEMENT NO. 123(R) ELIMINATES THE USE
SmartStopsOnTheWeb
Keep Tabs on Their Money www.carsonwealth.com The Carson Wealth Management Group Web site’s Research section offers CPA investment advisers news headlines and market summaries from Dow Jones, the Nasdaq and Standard and Poor’s—with the latest index figures and most recent changes, a stock quote center and a mutual fund lookup.
XBRL: A Multitalented Tool
PAs have a rare opportunity to help the business world take a giant leap forward. The extensible business reporting language (XBRL) can vastly improve the timeliness, accuracy and flexibility of data in financial statements and other business reports. Many experts think it will boost today’s commerce just as double-entry bookkeeping
Smart Stops On The Web
Articles on the Act www.fmsinc.org/cms/?pid=3253 CPAs and compliance officers can enter this site through the back door to find ten pages of links to SOX news articles, including “Sarbanes-Oxley: A Sense of Siege” and “FEI CEO’s 2005 Top 10 Financial Reporting Issues.” Users also can click on Web Resources for
IRAs and 401(k)s: How to Pick the Best Plan
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY RETIREMENT PLANS ARE OFFERED BY a variety of providers, including financial institutions, insurance companies and payroll service providers. But adherence to IRS regulations is the responsibility of the business owner. ANY BUSINESS WITH ONE EMPLOYEE that does not have any other type of retirement plan can set up
Trust Services: A Better Way to Evaluate I. T. Controls
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SARBANES-OXLEY REQUIRES MANAGEMENT to include an assessment of internal controls over financial reporting, using a suitable framework, in the annual report. While a number of frameworks are available, some do not adequately assess technology controls. SEC RULES SAY MANAGEMENT MUST BASE its evaluation of the effectiveness of internal
Smart Stops On The Web
Keep Abreast of New Rules www.sarbanes-oxley.com CPAs and compliance officers can find a link at this PCAOB Web site to a free Sarbanes-Oxley section 202 audit fee disclosure calculator, as well to the latest SEC rules and regulations cross-referenced to other specific sections of Sarbanes-Oxley, such as section 208 for
Selling To Audit Committees
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SARBANES-OXLEY HAS CHANGED the relationships CPAs have with the entities that employ them. Before, an audit committee was essentially an extension of a company’s board of directors, often rubber-stamping the CFO or CEO’s choice of auditor. Since the act, corporate boards and audit committees have taken
Section 404 Compliance in the Annual Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BEGINNING IN 2004, MANY PUBLICLY traded companies must comply with SEC rules by reporting on the effectiveness of their internal controls in the annual report. The content should contain A statement of management’s responsibilities for establishing and maintaining an adequate system. The identification of the framework used to
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Create interactive dashboards with Excel PivotCharts and slicers
Leave the static spreadsheets behind. This JofA Technology Q&A article with video walkthrough provides a step-by-step guide for creating interactive dashboards in Excel that decision-makers can use.
From The Tax Adviser
January 31, 2026
Trust distributions in kind and the Sec. 643(e)(3) election
January 31, 2026
Effects of the OBBBA on higher education
December 31, 2025
