1. TOPICS

Corporate Finance and Treasury Management

Analyzing liquidity using the cash conversion cycle

A good assessment of a company’s liquidity is important because a decline in liquidity leads to a greater risk of bankruptcy. FASB describes liquidity as reflecting “an asset’s or liability’s nearness to cash” (Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 5, Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises). Creditors

Treasury basics for an overseas expansion

Understanding regulatory requirements and standard operating procedures in international locations is essential for domestic corporations expanding into overseas markets. The following tips, compiled by Wells Fargo’s international banking division, can help companies establish an effective global treasury policy: Consult with key advisers early. Draft the overall scope and plan for

Three common currency-adjustment pitfalls

Although the rules on accounting for foreign-currency translations have not changed in many years, mistakes in this area persist. Such mistakes can result in misstatements in financial reporting, hurting the bottom line, creating false understandings of business results, and exposing companies to possible regulatory scrutiny. A key factor raising the

How to Manage Fluctuations in Foreign Currency Rates

Managing the P&L and cash flow impacts related to foreign exchange exposures can appear daunting. The following steps, while not all-inclusive, make this task easier: Develop a foreign currency policy and procedure. Include the company goals related to foreign exchange management, types of derivatives that may be employed, and personnel

CPAs Can Help Builders Increase Profits, Cash Flow

At a time when the construction industry is faced with unprecedented economic conditions, companies must do everything possible to remain profitable and maintain positive cash flows. Consider the following tips to help your clients in this industry: Take every available tax credit. These include, for example, various Enterprise Zone tax

Best of Both Worlds?

Over the past several years many companies pursued extremely aggressive growth, resulting in an accumulation of fixed assets on balance sheets. Many of these assets (especially land and buildings) have enjoyed an unprecedented appreciation in value. However, the current recession and accompanying credit crunch have caught some companies in a

Optimizing Company Cash: A Guide for Financial Professionals

by Michèle Allman-Ward and A. Peter Allman-Ward AICPA, 2007, 271 pp. Cash flows, liquidity, the banking system and other touchstones of business finance are laid out in this comprehensive and easy-to-follow guide to cash management, with copious exhibits and examples. Of particular interest to practitioners in this increasingly specialized field

Golden Business Ideas

The Right Way to Use PowerPoint Do you use PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation software, to make sales pitches for new clients? Or do you use it, as a consultant would, to lay out in-depth analyses in an effort to convince a client or your boss to adjust complex business strategies?

Maximize Your Global IP

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES NEED TO PLAN for issues involving identification, use, reporting and valuation of their intellectual property (IP) in order to avoid misdirecting internal investments or depriving their international business units of the use of such intangible assets. CPAs CAN ASSIST BUSINESSES in planning IP strategies by using

Recovery of Embezzled Assets Half a World Away

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE FIRST STEP IN A FORENSIC INVESTIGATION is to gather as many details as possible about the facts of an alleged misappropriation. But CPAs need to be systematic to guard against “information overload,” which can lead to important factors being overlooked. CPAs, INVESTIGATORS AND ATTORNEYS need to develop

The Station Never Sleeps

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A TREASURY WORKSTATION INCLUDES both hardware and treasury management applications. Systems that go by that name generally allow companies to automate most of their core treasury operations seamlessly with a database and communicate directly with banks, other financial institutions and sometimes even customers and suppliers. They can typically

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Why cybercriminals are targeting CPAs

This free report expands on the most commonly found scams, why education and specialized IT knowledge help to lessen security vulnerabilities, and why every firm should plan carefully for how it would respond to a breach.

PODCAST

How tax reform — and Excel — are changing the CPA Exam

Mike Decker, the vice president of examinations at the AICPA, discusses changes being made to the exam as a result of tax reform — and about how Excel will now be available for use on the test.