All articles by Tammy Whitehouse – Page 54
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Blog
FASB Finalizes Rules on Shares With Embedded Derivative Features
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has finished its hedge accounting guidance meant to eliminate the use of different accounting methods when companies raise capital by offering shares that include embedded derivative features. The new guidance will help sort out whether the host contract of a hybrid instrument issued as a ...
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ArticleAccounting and Audit Suffering a Talent Shortage
With the improving economy and increased regulatory burden, accountants and auditors are in high demand once again, and the resulting labor crunch is pushing up audit costs. To make matters worse, long hours, the threat of litigation, and regulatory pressure are pushing some accountants out of the profession. “Turnover is ...
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Blog
Study Says CFOs Still Control Audit Fees at Many Companies
Image: Title: MauldinNew academic research suggests the CFO, not the audit committee, still often negotiates the audit fee, despite Sarbanes-Oxley Act provisions meant to put audit committees in the driver’s seat. “At many companies it is still primarily the CFO who calls the shots,” says Elaine Mauldin, professor at the ...
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Blog
Companies Need to Consider New Mortality Data in Pension Costs
Companies that sponsor retirement plans have some new, hard-to-ignore information to consider that promises to increase the cost of their plans. The Society of Actuaries has released updated mortality tables that show pension plan participants are living longer. The SOA estimates that could produce a 4- to 8-percent increase in ...
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Blog
OECD Completes FATCA-Like Regime With More Reporting Obligations
Image: Title: PlowgianThe Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development has finished the Common Reporting Standard to govern the exchange of tax information among more than 50 countries. While the United States is not a participant, says KPMG principal Michael Plowgian, subsidiaries or branches of U.S. entities will need to comply ...
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Blog
Goodwill Impairment Drops to Five-Year Low
Public companies reported the lowest levels of goodwill impairment last year since the financial crisis touched off a downward spiral in corporate values beginning in 2008. According to Duff & Phelps’ annual study, public companies recorded writedowns totaling $21 billion in 2013, down nearly 60 percent from the $51 billion ...
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Article
All Eyes on Internal Controls as Year-End Close Approaches
Image: Title: DurbinAs companies begin preparing for the year-end close, audit experts are warning them to take these final months of the year to check documentation. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is pressuring audit firms to scrutinize internal controls and other areas, and that scrutiny is likely to trickle ...
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Blog
Boards Show More Interest in Cyber-Security Threats
Boards are watching cyber-security risks more closely, with nearly 60 percent of board members in a recent BDO USA survey saying they are more involved in the discussion now than they were just last year. Still, many boards aren’t getting the information they want; just one-fourth say they get a ...
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Blog
McGladrey Sees Improvement in 2013 Inspection Report
Oct. 24—While KPMG was dinged by the PCAOB, McGladrey saw some improvement. The PCAOB studied 13 audits at McGladrey and found fault with four of them during its 2013 inspections of the firm. That deficiency rate of 31 percent is a step up from failure rates of 44 percent in ...
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Blog
KPMG Draws Ire in 2013 Report; New Carping Over Old Quality Issues
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board says KPMG failed to arrive at an adequately supported audit opinion in 46 percent of the audits the agency inspected in 2013, and it failed to satisfy quality control issues raised in earlier inspections. The PCAOB flagged 23 of the 50 audits that inspectors ...
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Blog
SEC Plans Early 2015 Concept Release on Audit Committee Upgrades
Image: Title: WhiteThe SEC expects to issue a concept release in early 2015 exploring possible avenues for elevating the work of public company audit committees, according to SEC Chair Mary Jo White. In recent remarks, White said the staff will address issues around the relationship between the audit committee and ...
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Article
Here We Go Again: Regulators Looking Anew at Audit Firm Consulting
Image: Title: TurnerRegulators are taking a fresh look at whether the quality of public company audits is threatened when audit firms also focus on selling consulting services. Revenue from audit services has remained flat, while revenue from consulting services is rising again. “They’re driven by the fact that management is ...