News
IFRS Foundation ready for next chapter in sustainability reporting
August 02, 2022
The effort to establish a global baseline for sustainability disclosures took another step forward Monday with the consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) into the IFRS Foundation.
More companies obtaining ESG assurance, according to global survey
August 01, 2022
The percentage of companies worldwide providing assurance on ESG information continues to rise, according to the latest round of data, but the United States and the United Kingdom continue to lag behind when it comes to having auditors provide ESG assurance.
New sustainability rules attacked for protecting profits over planet
July 29, 2022
The organization aiming to set worldwide climate reporting requirements for decades to come is under fire for putting corporate interests ahead of the planet’s.
FASB proposes to improve certain transaction requirements in long-duration insurance guidance
July 15, 2022
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued on July 14, 2022 a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that would amend transition guidance in Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-12, Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944): Targeted Improvements to the Accounting for Long-Duration Contracts (LDTI), for contracts that have been derecognized because of a sale or disposal of individual or a group of contracts or legal entities before the LDTI effective date.
Exposure Draft: Proposed 2024 CPA Exam changes
July 14, 2022
The Exposure Draft (ED), Maintaining the Relevance of the Uniform CPA Examination® - Aligning the Exam with the CPA Evolution Licensure Model, presents an informed and thoughtful proposal for the 2024 CPA Exam. Interested parties may comment on the ED by sending responses to practiceanalysis@aicpa.org no later than September 30, 2022.
A sharper focus on ESG
July 07, 2022
ESG is not new. Business and government leaders have been discussing corporate social responsibility for decades. But the heightened turbulence of the last two years has ignited a sharper focus on environmental, social and governance matters that’s shaking up every organization and industry around the world — and presenting significant opportunities for the accounting and finance profession.
GASB issues enhanced concepts for notes to financial statements
July 07, 2022
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) today issued a Concepts Statement to guide the Board when establishing note disclosure requirements for state and local governments. The document is part of the GASB’s response to the results of its research reexamining existing note disclosure requirements.
The Rise of ESG: Where It Is Now and How It Got Here
July 05, 2022
Calls for corporate reform are as old as the corporation itself, so why now are companies pushing for more ESG efforts in their organizations?
FASB Issues standard to improve fair value guidance for equity securities
June 30, 2022
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that improves financial reporting for investors and other financial statement users by increasing comparability of financial information across reporting entities that have investments in equity securities measured at fair value that are subject to contractual restrictions preventing the sale of those securities.
PCAOB reveals selected areas of focus for 2022 inspections
June 30, 2022
The PCAOB released its Staff Overview for Planned 2022 Inspections on Thursday, highlighting 10 areas of focus.
Cannabis: Opportunities for CPAs in a multibillion-dollar industry
June 28, 2022
Despite the differences between state and federal cannabis laws, "cannabusinesses" are at the expanding forefront of a $25 billion industry with enormous potential.
Exposure Draft: Proposed 2024 CPA Exam changes
June 28, 2022
The Exposure Draft (ED), Maintaining the Relevance of the Uniform CPA Examination® - Aligning the Exam with the CPA Evolution Licensure Model, presents an informed and thoughtful proposal for the 2024 CPA Exam. Interested parties may comment on the ED by sending responses to practiceanalysis@aicpa.org no later than September 30, 2022.
AICPA publishes Q&A to explain SEC guidance on cryptoassets
June 26, 2022
The AICPA has published a set of questions and answers that explains recently released SEC staff guidance regarding the accounting for entities that have obligations to safeguard cryptoassets held for their platform users.
PCAOB Adopts New Requirements for Lead Auditor’s Use of Other Auditors
June 21, 2022
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today adopted amendments to its auditing standards(PDF) to strengthen requirements that apply to audits involving multiple audit firms. The amendments, which benefited from three comment solicitations, aim to improve the quality of audits where other accounting firms or individual accountants perform important work on the audit.
Addressing continued rise in Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance costs
June 14, 2022
Technology tools have the potential to stem the tide of rising costs and time spent complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), but current conditions faced by companies may be slowing the rate of progress.
FASB Stakeholders Invited to Share Their Views on Accounting for Government Grants
June 13, 2022
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published an Invitation to Comment (ITC), Accounting for Government Grants by Business Entities: Potential Incorporation of IAS 20, Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance, into Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
GASB Improves and Clarifies Standards for Accounting Changes and Error Corrections
June 13, 2022
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) today issued guidance designed to improve the accounting and financial reporting requirements for accounting changes and error corrections.
Certain tax services do not violate US ban on provision of accounting services in relation to Russia sanctions
June 10, 2022
A U.S. accounting firm is not prohibited by a White House executive order regarding U.S. sanctions against Russia from providing tax advisory and preparation services to the U.S. subsidiary of a Russian company in certain scenarios, according to guidance issued Thursday by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
GASB Posts Paper on Intersection of ESG Matters with Governmental Accounting Standards
May 31, 2022
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is an area of growing focus for a wide range of interested parties, including investors, credit rating agencies, preparers, and auditors of state and local government financial statements, the citizenry, policy influencers, and policymakers (the stakeholders of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, or GASB).
A needed push into remote auditing
May 27, 2022
Accounting professionals have debated how, or if, to conduct audit work from remote locations for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic quickly accelerated the practice when travel and in-office work suddenly became infeasible for most. We spoke with the leaders of three small firms about the lessons they learned when they increased remote auditing work during the pandemic, including what they plan on continuing or doing differently as they move forward.