Winter 2010

New rules codified for reporting subsequent events

In preparing financial statements, it’s important to implement the new guidance in FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 855, Subsequent Events. The new guidance establishes general standards to account for, and disclose, events that occur after the financial statement date but before the financial statements are issued or available to be issued.

Time out for review of significant audit judgments

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) released its Auditing Standard No. 7 on July 28, 2009. The standard requires a review of “significant judgments made by the engagement team and the related conclusions reached in forming the overall conclusions on the engagement and subsequent engagement report.”

Forming an audit committee? Know what’s involved

Five simple words have created not just ripples – but waves – of audit committee activity. Embedded within Section 301 of H.R. 3763, our nation’s 107th Congress set forth language amending the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 by adding “Standards Relating to Audit Committees.”

FIN 46R: Changes are much more than skin deep

Amendment, of course, means change. But, at some point, the extent of the changes can mean a complete replacement. When the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46R, in June 2009, the amendments actually replaced the guidance in FIN 46R, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities.

Private companies now have ‘the Standard’ to follow

Financial reporting standards for private companies have finally arrived, thanks to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

Out with the old, in with new codified standards

Have you ever felt as if you’re on the outside looking in? That’s the situation for all the formerly authoritative guidance that was superseded when the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 168 at the end of June 2009.

New guidance provided for fair value accounting

Fair value accounting and reporting gained attention in April 2009 when the Financial Accounting Standards Board addressed guidance issues in three newly released FASB Staff Positions (FSPs). The FASB had been under intense pressure, from a variety of different sources, to provide additional application guidance, along with enhancing disclosures, related to fair value measurements and impairments of securities. The proposed documents had an inordinately short exposure period so that the guidance could be finalized on a timely basis.

Preparing for risk assessment puts your audit on the road to success

Knowing what is expected when the auditors enter your business to assess the risks of material misstatements in your financial statements creates a good opportunity for advance preparation. Your awareness of what the auditors are looking and testing for should help your business obtain an unqualified opinion.

Changes ahead: Accounting for leases under scrutiny

End users of financial statements have expressed concerns about the way reporting entities account for lease arrangements. As a result, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working together to change the authoritative technical literature. With these changes, financial statements will more accurately reflect the substance of lease accounting transactions.

Companies should prepare for a tale of two audits

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. …” Exactly 150 years after Charles Dickens penned A Tale of Two Cities, he is still half right – we may indeed be in the worst of times economically. Conducting an audit engagement in the current business climate is about as risky as being an aristocrat in Paris during the French Revolution.

Let’s get down to basics: Do you know how to read financial statements?

Most people have little experience or know-how when it comes to reading a financial statement. For some, it seems a foreign language; for others, a task best left to someone else. At some point, almost everyone in the business world will need to read and understand a financial statement or, more accurately, a set of financial statements.

New fair value guidance impacts not-for-profit

The challenge of implementing SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, is significant for any entity, but not-for-profit organizations might face unique issues in applying the guidance.

These articles are published for the use of our clients, advisors and friends. The technical information they contain is necessarily brief. No final conclusion on these topics should be drawn without further review and consultation. For additional information, please contact our firm.

© 2010 CPAmerica International