All articles by Tammy Whitehouse – Page 40
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Blog
FASB hits pause on revenue recognition disclosure provision
Image: FASB met recently to consider proposed guidance around collectibility, non-cash consideration, contract modifications, and more. It did not come to a final decision, however, on whether to add a practical expedient to certain disclosure requirements regarding remaining performance obligations. FASB member Marc Siegel offered some concern: “We tried to ...
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Blog
Monsanto settles $80 million accounting charges with SEC
Image: Without admitting or denying wrongdoing, Monsanto Co. has agreed to an $80 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over charges that it failed to properly report millions of dollars in rebates related to its Roundup weedkiller product line. “This type of conduct, which fails to recognize expenses ...
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Article
The new VIE evaluation process is here, but what does it really change?
Image: With yet another change in the guidance on when a company needs to consolidate a particular entity onto its balance sheet, all public companies need to walk through a new evaluation process in the first quarter, even if it doesn’t change the outcome. “It is a thicket,” says Adam ...
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Blog
FASB Takes Heat on Impairment Proposal
Image: FASB is facing some fresh political pressure from Congress, this time to answer the outcry of smaller financial institutions objecting to the planned change to financial instrument impairment rules. According to FASB Chairman Russ Golden, a recent open meeting on the topic of impairment produced “insightful discussion that resulted ...
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BlogFASB Proposes Eight New Cash Flow Classification Rules
Current accounting rules are either unclear or silent on how to classify cash flows in certain instances, so FASB is proposing an update to the Accounting Standards Codification to fill the gaps. The board is looking to clarify several issues with such transactions as debt prepayments, settlement of zero-coupon bonds, ...
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Blog
IIA Seeks to Raise Bar on Internal Audit Practices
The Institute of Internal Auditors is proposing a change to its professional practice standards to give internal auditors some new guidance in light of evolving business demands. The IIA says the proposed changes are focused on enhancing existing standards on communications and quality assurance, and creating new standards addressing objectivity ...
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Article
Revenue recognition: full retrospective, modified retrospective, or somewhere in-between
Companies looking to implement the new revenue standard are faced with the difficult choice of going full retrospective, modified retrospective, or somewhere in-between. Those at the forefront of implementing the standard are starting to favor the idea of presenting three complete years of historical data under the new rules, but ...
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Blog
SEC Nudges Companies on XBRL Calculation Relationships
The SEC has updated its ongoing “Frequently Asked Questions” document on interactive data disclosures to address when calculation relationships, which provide key information to show relationships among elements and their corresponding numeric facts, are required in XBRL filings. The FAQs come in response to the SEC’s issuance of a “Dear ...
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Blog
IIA Offers Latest Intelligence on Outsourcing Functions
As talent and staffing challenges persist for the internal audit profession, 43 percent of public companies other than those in financial services reached outside the organization for help, according to the latest data from the Institute of Internal Auditors. Financial institutions, public and private alike, make the greatest use of ...
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Blog
Where Audits Go Awry, Internal Control Audit is Faulty Too, Analysis Shows
Image: Big 4 firms exhibited problems in 35 percent of all audit engagements inspected in 2014, and a whopping 84 percent of those deficient audits involved problems with internal control over financial reporting, according to an analysis by Dan Goelzer, a former member and acting chair of the PCAOB. The ...
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Blog
FASB Proposes Changes to Pension Accounting, Disclosures
For companies that still carry defined benefit pension plans, FASB is proposing an update to accounting standards to require companies to separate the service cost from other components of the net benefit cost for purposes of presenting it in financial statements. The proposal outlines specific guidance on how to break ...
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Article
Companies Prep for FASB’s New Take on Leases
Still knee-deep in preparing for the massive new revenue recognition standard, public companies have plenty of reason to start revving up now for another major accounting change on the horizon—the new leasing standard. “As soon as possible—even prior to the issuance of the new leases standard—preparers should consider creating a ...
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Blog
Internal Controls Trump New Rules in List of Worries, KPMG Finds
According to a recent KPMG poll, continued pressure on internal control over financial reporting is the most pressing concern for financial reporting executives. Nearly one-third of 400 respondents, or 31 percent, said internal controls are at the top of their worry list beyond their basic financial reporting responsibilities. One-fourth, or ...
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Blog
Deloitte Finds Shift to Full Retrospective Adoption of Revenue Recognition
Image: According to a recent questionnaire from Deloitte of more than 170 technology, media, and telecom firms, 38 percent said they were leaning toward or had firmly decided on adopting the new revenue standard following the full retrospective approach. That means companies would present three full years worth of financial ...
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Article
Congress’ Year-End Tax Package Has Something for Everyone
Companies have some work to do as they are closing their books on 2015 to tally up the benefits of the annual year-end tax package from Congress and determine how they will reflect those in their tax filings and financial statements. This week, CW accounting writer Tammy Whitehouse looks at ...
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Blog
CAQ Chooses Path Forward on Identifying Quality Indicators
The Center for Audit Quality, which represents auditors, has issued a new report on its effort to pilot test its approach to defining audit quality indicators and its suggested path forward on how to identify the most effective way to define and then measure audit quality. The CAQ says it ...
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Blog
PCAOB Sanctions China-Based Firm for Stalling Investigation
With its negotiations over regulatory access to China stalled, the PCAOB has settled a disciplinary order against Hong Kong audit firm PKF HK and three employees accused of failing to cooperate with an investigation. The board has revoked the registration of the company and censured the firm, contending that PKF ...
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Blog
With IASB Leasing Rule Final, FASB Calls on US Companies to Plan Adoption
As the IASB has released its final leasing standard, FASB is now calling on U.S. companies to begin planning to adopt FASB’s incoming lease rules. The board is retaining an accounting model that contemplates two types of leases similar to the way they are categorized in GAAP currently; on the ...
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Blog
Going Concerns Fall in 2014 in “Mixed Bag” of Results
According to the latest data from Audit Analytics, the number of audit opinions that included a question from auditors regarding whether the company could remain in business another year appears to have fallen in 2014 from 2013. Based on this estimation, the research firm says 2014 going-concern opinions finished out ...
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Article
New Accounting Standard Provides a Host of Potential Changes for Financial Reporting
Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-01 is here, and its impact on how to classify and measure financial instruments will mean different things to different companies, especially when it comes to setting valuation. But with a lack of universal impact, this update will require everyone to take a look at their ...