All Accounting & Auditing articles – Page 95
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Blog
OECD Measures Would Tie Off International Tax Loopholes
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has offered the G-20 nations measures intended to plug the holes that let companies engage in offshore tax planning that reduces the total global tax base. The package includes minimum standards to thwart the use of conduit companies to channel investments. It also ...
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Article
Frustrating Risk With the Right Internal Control Framework
Image: As cyber-security and IT controls rise up the priority list in corporate audits, a new wrinkle is emerging: numerous frameworks (COSO, NIST, CoBIT) used by numerous parties, all trying to build effective control systems. That could lead to painful detours in mapping controls, if compliance executives don’t plan carefully. ...
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Blog
Companies Meet Their Match in Cyber-Security, IT Survey Shows
Image: A recent survey from Protiviti found that only 28 percent of 700 senior IT managers saw a high level of engagement and understanding of cyber-security risks by the board of directors. According to the company, board members are trying to understand complex technical issues, the investments necessary to address ...
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Blog
SEC Charges Grant Thornton Affiliates for Auditor Independence
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged two Grant Thornton affiliates in India and Australia with violating auditor independence rules based on their activities in the tiny island nation of Mauritius off the east coast of Africa.
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PCAOB Lays Bare Its 2015 Inspection Strategy
Image: The PCAOB has published a staff inspection brief mandating that inspectors scrutinize the audit of internal control over financial reporting, the auditor assessment of (and response to) risks of material misstatements, and the audit of accounting estimates. “We hope that audit firms and other stakeholders find this information about ...
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Blog
FASB Proposes More Changes to Revenue Standard
FASB is asking for feedback by Nov. 16 on its planned fixes to the revenue recognition standard to address implementation challenges around collectibility, taxes, non-cash consideration, contract modifications, and other technical issues. The board says its proposed amendments should reduce the degree of judgment necessary to apply the new revenue ...
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Blog
FASB Simplifies Business Combinations Accounting
FASB has approved a change that simplifies accounting for business combinations, so companies will no longer be required to make retrospective adjustments to historical data as if the facts of the acquired unit had been known from the date of the acquisition. Instead, the acquiring company will recognize adjustments to ...
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Article
SEC Accounting Enforcement: Bigger and Badder
Image: Perhaps some public companies haven’t yet taken to heart the (numerous) signals from regulators to button up their internal controls. A recent legal analysis of accounting-related enforcement actions from the SEC should do the trick. Sanctions are happening more frequently, and penalties are bigger. “The SEC is effectively ...
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Blog
eOriginal Launches Real-Time Auditing and Compliance Solution for Financial Services Firms
eOriginal, a digital transaction management solutions provider, announced the launch of Datalytics, a new real-time asset-level auditing and compliance solution for the financial services industry. Datalytics provides analysis, monitoring, and reporting of origination data for faster audit request response and to prevent errors and re-submissions. More inside.
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Blog
FASB Proposes Aligning Guidance on Materiality
Image: FASB has issued two new exposure drafts—one to help firms use discretion when deciding which footnote disclosures should be considered material; the other to clarify the concept of materiality for standard-setting purposes. The proposals are intended to help organizations improve the effectiveness of their disclosures by steering them away ...
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Blog
McGladrey Backslides in Latest PCAOB Inspection
Of inspections performed in 2014 on McGladrey’s 2013 financial statements, the PCAOB found that seven of the 15 audits failed to meet auditing standards. One particularly problematic audit for McGladrey involving failures in auditing inventory led to six separate violations of auditing standards. The majority of audit mistakes occurred in ...
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Article
Today’s Revenue Rule Surprise: Non-Financial Assets
Image: Companies are starting to awaken to yet another wrinkle in the new revenue recognition standard: how it will affect the sale of non-financial assets, such as when you sell off an old property or intangible asset. “If you’re not in the real estate business, you don’t think of the ...
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Blog
A Focus on Transparency—of Auditing
Expect lots of talk about transparency into auditing this fall. The SEC and PCAOB both have proposals to expand the disclosure to investors of how audits work, and what roles audit firms and audit committees play. Substantive changes are almost certainly coming, columnist Scott Taub says, so it’s time to ...
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Blog
Managing Outside Counsel: How Internal Audit Can Assist
Litigation and compliance risk brings something else beyond headaches: legal fees. The internal audit team can help there, even with tricky tasks such as monitoring the performance of outside counsel while they conduct an investigation. Inside, columnist Jose Tabuena offers recommendations on benchmarking what internal audit can do, analytics to ...
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Blog
SEC Frets Over Split in Revenue Recognition Adoption Efforts
Image: Looking for consistency in application of the new revenue recognition standard, SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker said companies need to do their homework and apply appropriate professional judgment. Bricker called on companies to move forward with implementation efforts “without delay” by understanding the key principles of the new ...
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Blog
New Tipalti W-8 Solution Fully Integrates With Global Payments
Tipalti, a global payments management platform provider, has fully integrated the first-ever intelligent Form W-8 collection solution into its platform. The solution helps U.S. companies automate the accounts payable process by both paying suppliers who are nonresidents, foreign alien or entities while ensuring W-8 tax form compliance. Details inside.
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Blog
SEC Calls for Attention to Credit Impairment Rules
Image: With a new standard expected before the end of the year to change the way financial institutions account for credit impairments, the SEC will be looking for strong processes and controls around critical judgments. Recently, SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr told accountants at a conference to get ready to ...
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Blog
Doty Supporters Tell SEC: Let PCAOB Chair Stay Seated
Image: In response to SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s recent remarks that the SEC might replace Jim Doty as chairman of the PCAOB, nearly 30 individuals with heavy credentials in financial reporting from numerous policymaking groups fired off a letter to White, stumping for Doty’s reappointment. They credit Doty with ...
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Blog
PCAOB Defends Regulatory Approach Amid Persistent Problems
PCAOB Chairman Jim Doty said recently he will meet with the U.S. Chamber of Congress if participants will discuss their own direct experiences with complaints outlined in the Chamber’s 19-page letter calling for a new inspections approach. “Hearsay is not helpful. We want to know where preparers really have been ...
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Article
Lease Modifications Trigger New Headaches
Image: Beware when negotiating with your landlord: Accountants are noticing an uptick in lease modifications and are warning companies to heed the accounting and financial reporting consequences. The nuances of lease accounting are many and even trip up large retailers. That can be especially true when your lease negotiators are ...