All articles by Tammy Whitehouse – Page 36
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Blog
Companies sweat data details more than IT under new lease rules
Preparers seem more concerned about how they will gather and manage the data they need to comply with new lease accounting rules than they are about new IT system needs, according to a recent Deloitte poll. Tammy Whitehouse has an in-depth look at the survey.
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Inside the struggle to define, measure, and manage corporate culture
An organization’s culture is an important cornerstone of any compliance effort, but it remains a notoriously slippery thing. Experts at the Compliance Week 2016 conference provided their insights on how to better define culture so it can be adequately managed and measured. Tammy Whitehouse has more.
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Recent XBRL data improvement seen as first of more to come
According to the XBRL U.S. Data Quality Committee, public companies reduced the number of errors in their filings by 64 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared with first quarter 2015. Tammy Whitehouse spoke with Committee Chair Mike Starr, who says he anticipates bigger improvements ahead due to continued ...
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ArticleSpotting the difference between ‘significant deficiency’ and ‘material weakness’
Material misstatements involve mistakes large enough, surely, to involve some kind of internal control shortcoming that allowed the misstatement to occur in the first place. So why aren’t more internal control reporting and auditing processes helping to identify control lapses in advance of material misstatements? Tammy Whitehouse explores.
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SEC offers views on adopting new lease rules
Getting a jump start on adopting the new accounting requirements for leasing? Good news: According to the SEC, companies will need to apply the rules to just the three years presented in the complete set of financial statements, not the five years worth of selected data provided in the financial ...
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Transparency penalty? Companies pondering revenue adoption, beware
Companies that are considering how they will adopt the new revenue standard should take into account whether they might expect to access the capital markets in a stock offering anytime soon after putting the new accounting to work. It could affect just how much revenue they’ll need to restate. Tammy ...
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Fraudsters have tech edge over companies, KPMG study shows
A study from KPMG that looks at fraudster’s typical profile says perpetrators are gaining an edge over corporate anti-fraud controls by making better use of technology than the companies they route. The report says weak controls were a factor in 61 percent of frauds through 2016. More study details from ...
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ArticleAccounting leaders need a wake-up call on revenue recognition
New revenue recognition standards will come into force within 18 months, but accounting leaders everywhere don’t seem to be in a hurry to undertake the huge amount of work it will take to get ready. Tammy Whitehouse reports from the Compliance Week 2016 conference.
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Largest companies more often miss filing deadlines, new report shows
A recent report from Audit Analytics finds that large accelerated filers, or those with a public float greater than $700 million, are finding it difficult to get their annual reports filed on time. In 2010, says Tammy Whitehouse, only 10 large accelerated filers gave notice to the markets that their ...
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PwC proposes SOC 2+ to dig into third-party risk
PwC has developed a framework to add to the assurance provided by an SOC 2 report (an AICPA report focused on controls around security, processing integrity, and privacy). PwC calls it an “SOC 2+” approach, building on the SOC 2 reporting principles by allowing a more independent, standardized assessment. Tammy ...
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FASB looks to cut out that ‘second step’ of goodwill accounting
A proposed rule might remove the costly, complex, and time-consuming calculations of a company’s fair value that are required when its fair market value drops below its carrying value. In other words, goodwill accounting is about to get a little goodwill of its own. Tammy Whitehouse reports.
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SEC issues new guidance on use of non-GAAP accounting
The SEC has updated its Compliance & Disclosures Interpretations guidance with a dozen new Q&As focused on how companies might report financial information outside the realm of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles without also running afoul of financial reporting requirements. More from Tammy Whitehouse.
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Restatements take another turn for the better, Audit Analytics says
The total number of restatements that were serious enough to undermine reliance on prior financials fell to 161, the lowest level since 2006, according to the latest data from Audit Analytics. And the overall number of restatements dropped 12.7 percent in 2015 from the year before. Tammy Whitehouse has more ...
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PCAOB sanctions Hong Kong firm, U.S. affiliate
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has settled a disciplinary action against a Hong Kong firm and its U.S. affiliate over audit problems involving a U.S.-listed company based in China. Tammy Whitehouse has more.
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FASB rolls out more technical corrections to revenue recognition rule
After the Financial Accounting Standards Board spent months working through amendments to the revenue recognition standard that is set to take effect in 2018, it turns out there are still more small changes coming.
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FASB drops simplification idea around equity method
FASB’s proposal on simplifying equity accounting garnered 40 comment letters, nearly half from preparers. But while most expressed support for dropping the retroactive adoption requirement, responses to accounting for the basis difference were all over the map. Tammy Whitehouse reports.
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New PCAOB audit report raises the question: What exactly is a ‘critical audit matter’?
As the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board revises its standard, boilerplate audit report, providing a more narrow definition of “critical audit matters” should go a long way toward giving investors better insight into some of the more challenging, subjective, and complex aspects of financial statements. Tammy Whitehouse provides an in-depth ...
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FASB proposes easier way to measure goodwill impairment
FASB is proposing a new, simpler way to measure any reduction in the value of goodwill that companies should recognize on the balance sheet. Under the proposal, companies would perform their annual or interim goodwill impairment testing as they do under current guidance. Tammy Whitehouse has more.
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PCAOB tries again for rule to expand audit report
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a new proposal to expand the current pass-fail audit report in a way that would give investors more information about what auditors do and what they learn during the course of their work.
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SEC approves PCAOB rule on naming engagement partners
The SEC has given final approval to a PCAOB rule requiring audit firms to complete a new filing on Form AP to provide the name of the engagement partner on each audit engagement. Meanwhile, Tammy Whitehouse reports, the PCAOB is attempting once again to expand the audit report.