All articles by Tammy Whitehouse – Page 44
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 ...
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Doty Projects Year-End Completion of Engagement Partner ID
Image: More than a decade after regulators began mulling how to give some transparency to investors around who actually performs public company audits, PCAOB Chairman James Doty said he is hopeful that the board is on track to “get this done by the end of the year.” Doty recently said ...
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EY Finds More Voluntary Audit Committee Disclosures
According to a recent report from EY, audit committees for the largest companies continue to raise the bar on what they voluntarily say in their reports about their responsibility for and oversight of the external audit. In its analysis, EY says 21 percent of audit committees disclosed in 2015 that ...
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Audit Fees Are Up; What’s Interesting Is Why
Audit fees are rising—which you probably already knew—but the latest data on audit fees raises questions about what’s behind that increase. PCAOB audit firm inspections are part of it; but many big jumps in fees seem due to external events like a merger more than vigorous audits for SOX compliance, ...
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FASB Plans Disclosure Changes for Uncertain Tax Positions
FASB has tentatively decided to revise disclosure of uncertain tax positions, by dropping the current requirement for companies to disclose the nature and estimate of the range for a reasonably possible change in the unrecognized tax benefit balance in the next 12 months. More inside.
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FASB Explains Changes to 2016 GAAP Taxonomy
FASB has issued notes explaining the changes to the proposed 2016 XBRL taxonomy, including simplifying the income statement and the presentation of debt issuance costs, among other changes. “While some of these changes may impact a significant number of filers, the feedback received from constituents was to eliminate inconsistencies and ...