News

Completing the monthly or quarterly close activities can be lengthy and cumbersome. Many steps are repetitive and manual, which leads to inefficiencies making it difficult to close the books in a timely manner. The good news is there have been significant technology advancements enabling organizations to shorten the financial close cycle while enhancing accuracy and efficiency. Various technological solutions can streamline financial close operations while maintaining financial information integrity. There are specific actions you can take to move forward in terms of people, process, and technology to create efficiencies, reduce cost, and improve employee morale all while maintaining proper controls.

GASB on Monday issued Implementation Guidance Update — 2025, a guide updated for the first time in nearly two years that features questions and answers addressing how to apply GAAP to a variety of GASB standards.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is juggling a variety of projects to improve accounting for state and local governments as they come under pressure from the threat of reduced funding from the federal government.

The PCAOB has released its “Annual Report on the Interim Inspection Program Related to Audits of Brokers and Dealers(PDF).” Under federal law, the PCAOB has the responsibility to oversee firms that audit broker-dealers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) on Thursday released an exposure draft of proposed revisions to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (the Code). The exposure draft is the first of a five-phase approach to clarify independence requirements for engagements subject to the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAEs).

With sustainability disclosures no longer optional extras, the responsibility for reporting them is shifting to become a finance function issue.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) Board of Trustees today announced the search for a new member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The seven-member, part-time Board will have an open seat beginning on July 1, 2026, when Jeff Previdi completes his second term on June 30, 2026.

A new PCAOB publication – “Audit Focus: Auditing Accounting Estimates” – provides auditors with reminders and good practices about accounting estimates, an especially challenging aspect of financial statements.

Audit CTO and global solutions group leader Thomas Mackenzie explains how updating technology is reshaping audit quality, talent and regulatory strategy.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today published an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that improves the requirements for identifying the accounting acquirer in FASB Accounting Standards Codification® Topic 805, Business Combinations. The ASU is based on a recommendation of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF).

Approximately three-quarters of large global companies are receiving assurance services on their sustainability reporting, according to a new report.

With major retailers recently brought to their knees by hackers, accountants would do well to think about what could happen to their businesses and take precautions.

The PCAOB has posted a new set of staff presentation videos designed to help firms implement four areas of their quality control (QC) system under QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control.

CFOs should keep these priority areas in mind as they undergo internal audits and look to set themselves up for long-term ESG reporting success.

AICPA leadership is monitoring a legislative proposal that would defund the PCAOB, saying in a statement Monday that it “is committed to supporting the drivers of audit quality.”

The new datasets, which contain public inspection information from inspection reports going back to 2018, are machine-readable and can be used to analyze PCAOB inspection findings.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) annual report details its activities throughout 2024, highlighting how FASB and GASB engage with stakeholder groups to create and improve GAAP. The report includes an update to FAF’s 2022 strategic plan and includes perspectives from FAF leadership.

A small business advocacy organization that sued over beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements asked the federal government to destroy BOI reports filed before the government dropped the requirement for domestic entities.

External auditors have long been tasked with ensuring financial integrity, detecting fraud and providing an independent opinion on a company's financial statements.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the release of an FASB Staff Educational Paper that addresses questions about how to apply revenue recognition guidance about presentation and disclosures to construction contracts that contain retainage (or retention) provisions. The educational paper, which does not change or modify current generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), was prompted by input from private company stakeholders, including the Private Company Council.