Business

For years, there was talk of converging U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). While the formal convergence project lost steam about a decade ago, Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Chair Richard Jones assured stakeholders at a recent Financial Accounting Foundation meeting that convergence discussions are still regularly taking place behind the scenes. Working together Multinational companies have routinely [...]

Timely, accurate financial information is essential to running a successful business. There are a number of accounting methods you can use to record and track your business’s financial performance. Here’s an overview of cash, tax and accrual basis accounting to help you choose a method that’s appropriate for your situation. Cash basis Often startups and sole proprietorships default to the cash method of accounting because [...]

What do Tesla cars, smart TVs and equipment used for making french fries have in common? The answer is embedded software, according to recent comments by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Vice Chair James Kroeker. He also told the Private Company Council that today’s mixed accounting model for software costs is outdated and should be modernized under one model. Here’s an update on the FASB’s [...]

If you ask some business owners why they do things a certain way, they might answer, “Because we’ve always done it that way.” But with all the changes that have taken place in the financial and accounting realm, doing things the way you’ve always done them could be costing your business in terms of lost efficiency and profits. Here are five considerations to help modernize [...]

A leadership departure in your accounting department can create turmoil, at least temporarily. However, it also provides an opportunity to assess the department’s performance and create a vision for how it should perform in the future. Here are four questions to address if your CFO or controller leaves. 1. Is the job description up to date? During the prior leader’s tenure, the needs of your [...]

Financial reporting isn’t all about profits. Not-for-profit entities can also benefit from implementing formal accounting processes. From preparing budgets and monitoring financial results to paying invoices and handling payroll tax, there’s a lot that falls under the accounting umbrella. Are these tasks, and others, being managed as efficiently at your organization as they could be? Start with invoicing A good first step toward accounting function [...]

How accurate is the amount reported in your company’s perpetual inventory system? To best answer that question, a physical count is essential at year end. For calendar-year entities, year end is fast approaching on December 31. Planning tips Though physical counts may be seen as time consuming and disruptive, a well-executed count of what’s on-hand can provide valuable insight into operational efficiency. Here are five [...]

One of the best ways to tackle financial statement fraud is to conduct periodic surprise audits. In fact, surprise audits were associated with at least a 50% reduction in both median loss and median duration, according to Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations published by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) earlier this year.   Surprisingly, however, less than half of respondents [...]

What do you do with your financial statements when your auditor delivers them? Resist the temptation to just file them away — they’re more than an exercise in compliance. With a little finagling, you can calculate key financial ratios from line items in your company’s financial statements. These metrics provide insight into historical trends, potential areas for improvement and how the business is likely to [...]

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler spoke during a recent webcast to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Gensler recommended that the SEC take a “fresh look” at its rules on the issue of auditor conflicts of interest. He also asked the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to add auditor independence standards to its 2023 agenda. Here’s why independence matters [...]

Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases, requires organizations to report the full magnitude of their long-term lease obligations on their balance sheets — a historic first. For private companies and nonprofits, the changes take effect this year. Public entities adopted the rules in 2019. While the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) conducts its post-implementation review of the new-and-improved lease standard, the guidance is concurrently being [...]

An interesting tool called Benford’s Law can be effective in detecting fraud. But it also can be used during external auditing procedures to test journal entries for unusual numeric patterns. Here’s what you should know about this statistical technique, including its potential limitations. Random data sets According to Benford’s Law, in sets of random data, numbers beginning with smaller digits occur more frequently. For example, [...]

Your CPA offers a wide menu of services. One flexible offering, known as an “agreed-upon procedures” engagement, provides limited assurance on a specific aspect of an organization’s financial or nonfinancial information. What’s covered? Agreed-upon procedures can cover various items. For example, a CPA could provide a statement about the reliability of a company’s accounts receivable, the validity of the sales team’s credit card payments, the [...]

Auditing standards require financial statement auditors to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement due to fraud — and to determine overall and specific responses to those risks. Here’s why face-to-face meetings are essential when assessing these risks. Audit inquiries Fraud-related questions are a critical part of the audit process. The AICPA requires auditors to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement due [...]