Bricker returns to PwC; Teotia named permanent chief
Wes Bricker, former SEC chief accountant, has rejoined PwC as vice chair and assurance leader for the United States and Mexico.
Estimation vs. precision: tension in accounting grows
It’s more than big change prompting major deferrals for pending accounting rules. It’s also about the growing tension between estimation and precision.
FASB to push CECL to 2023 for small public companies
FASB has signaled it plans to extend CECL for smaller public companies to 2023, along with delaying a number of other effective dates.
Webcast: Quality Reviews: Getting the Audit Scores you Want
Webcast details: August 20, 2019 – 2 p.m. ET | CPE Credit(s): 1
IIA seeks comments on update to ‘three lines’ model
Internal auditors are buffing up their longstanding Three Lines of Defense model for how to provide organizations with optimal coverage of risk and control functions.
FASB tees up CECL delay for small public companies
FASB is formally considering delaying the required effective date of some of its standards, including credit losses for small public companies.
U.K. audit regulators see no improvement in audit quality
U.K. audit regulators saw no improvement in audit quality in their most recent inspections, indicating none of the major firms achieved targeted pass rates.
Another CECL sleeper? Auditors get new rules on estimates
While companies adopt CECL, auditors are gearing up for new rules requiring them to more closely scrutinize estimates and the specialists who produce them.
SEC charges former Illumina accountant with insider trading
The SEC has filed insider trading charges against a former Illumina accountant and friend whose alleged scheme resulted in $6.2 million in profits.
FASB seeks comment on how to sort out goodwill issues
FASB is looking for input on how to address ongoing problems in the reporting of certain intangible assets, especially goodwill.
Regulatory events: What’s hot this summer!
Here’s a look at some upcoming events and training from regulators like the SEC, DOJ, and PCAOB.
SEC approves new audit rules on estimates, specialists
The SEC has approved final standards issued by the PCAOB giving auditors new requirements for auditing estimates and relying on the work of specialists.
CECL in summer: Get ready for models, data, auditors
It may be summertime, but the living is not so easy for corporate finance staff preparing for CECL—a major change to the reporting of credit losses.
BDO shows improvement in latest PCAOB inspection
The PCAOB says it found fault with 39 percent of the audits inspected at BDO USA in 2017 – the firm’s first time with a deficiency rate below 50 percent since 2011.
FASB proposes small changes to CECL standard
FASB has issued a proposed revision to the CECL standard to address a handful of implementation questions as companies prepare for the new accounting.
KPMG fallout: Cheating allegations raise new questions
After new allegations at KPMG of cheating on internal training tests, audit committees now have another area of questioning for their external auditors.
SEC overturns PCAOB action stemming from financial crisis
The SEC has canceled sanctions imposed by the PCAOB on a now-retired KPMG auditor connected with a mortgage lender failure at the height of the financial crisis.
SEC finalizes change to auditor independence rules
The SEC has finalized its revision of auditor independence rules to change the threshold around lending relationships with clients that would raise concerns.
More cheating charges at KPMG: SEC fines firm $50M
The SEC has fined KPMG for not only allegations of cheating on regulatory inspections, but also new charges of numerous auditors cheating on training exams.
Software problems exacerbate lease compliance
Nearing the end of their second quarter observing new lease accounting rules, many public company accounting departments are still cursing their software.
Kraft Heinz cuts net income, continues with SEC probe
In a recently filed restatement, Kraft Heinz reduced its reported net income by $150 million going back to 2015 to correct employee misconduct in accounting.
Grant Thornton changes leaders, ending CEO term early
Offering no specific reason for his early departure, Grant Thornton says Mike McGuire is stepping aside as CEO.
Regulators globally still call for better audits
While encouraged by the trend in audit inspection results, global audit regulators report they are still seeing levels of audit deficiency that command continued focus on improvement.
New bill seeks to end regulatory stalemate with China
Bipartisan legislation proposes to increase oversight on China-based companies listed on U.S. exchanges and delist those that fail to comply in three years.
PCAOB disciplines former Big Four auditors
The PCAOB has disciplined two former Big Four auditors—one over an audit of internal control and the other over inspection issues.
SEC takes questions on knock-on effects of new lease rules
SEC staff members met with the Center for Audit Quality’s SEC Regulations Committee to acknowledge concerns and answer questions associated with new lease accounting rules.
PCAOB to auditors: better document independence issues
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued guidance to auditors to explain how they should handle communication with audit committees under Rule 3526.
Bricker resigns chief accountant post at SEC
Wes Bricker, chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is leaving his post in June, to be succeeded by Sagar Teotia as acting chief accountant.
SEC eyeing non-GAAP numbers that alter GAAP
SEC staff members are signaling to public companies that they still have concerns over uses of non-GAAP measures that seem to thumb their nose at GAAP.
New bill sits on Senate agenda to block, study CECL
A new bill intended to block CECL is awaiting action in the Senate Banking Committee, much to the delight of big banks.
SEC focus: Reduce burden while protecting investors
The SEC has stuck to its promise to focus on initiatives that can improve capital formation and lighten the regulatory burden.
GE shareholders still want new auditor, vote suggests
While the rancor appears to have softened a bit, General Electric shareholders are still signaling to the audit committee that they want a new auditor.
DOJ looks for robust internal audit, guidance says
Companies have new reasons to dial up internal audit in light of recent DOJ guidance on how its prosecutors should evaluate corporate compliance programs.
FASB revises CECL to resolve dual measurement glitch
FASB has finalized a small change to CECL to help companies that were facing a conundrum based on a fair-value election elsewhere in GAAP.
Non-banks still have plenty of work ahead to adopt CECL
Efforts to adopt CECL are generally underway in the banking sector, but companies outside financial services may still have plenty to do.
SOX did not end audit opinion shopping, study says
Despite regulatory efforts to make auditors more independent and more skeptical, companies have been able to shop for audit opinions, a new study says.
FRC: Auditors must look for fraud
FRC CEO Stephen Haddrill confirmed that during the transition to the new statutory regulator, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority, the FRC will remain committed to tackling “deficiencies in audit and reporting quality vigorously.”
Some companies are ready for CECL, some are not
Citigroup raised its expected loan loss reserves under CECL as it prepares for parallel testing of its methodology, but plenty of organizations have barely started.
Audit committees get some help overseeing CECL
The Center for Audit Quality is giving audit committees a hand in overseeing implementation of the new credit losses standard.
PCAOB inspectors find recurring problems, but evidence of effort
Auditors are still struggling with many of the same issues that have appeared prominently in inspection reports the past several years—but many firms are taking steps to address recurring problems, audit regulators say.
Citing misconduct in procurement, Kraft will restate
Kraft Heinz will restate nearly three years of financial results after determining employee misconduct in procurement caused a net $208 million misstatement in product costs.
Investors don’t mind non-GAAP in CD&A; they want clarity
Lack of clarity in how companies use non-GAAP measures to calculate executive compensation prompted investors to petition the SEC for change.
Enforcement actions against accountants on the decline
Accountants and auditors are getting a lighter touch from enforcement authorities, according to an analysis that shows actions dropped significantly from 2017 to 2018.
Investors ask SEC to revise non-GAAP rules on comp disclosure
Non-GAAP reporting is obscuring executive compensation disclosures in proxy statements, investors say, and they are asking the SEC to revise its rules.
First-quarter reports add lease assets, liabilities
First-quarter reports reflecting new lease accounting rules are beginning to trickle into the market, adding billions in assets and liabilities to balance sheets.
FASB clarifies financial instruments rules, including CECL
FASB issued an update to accounting standards to clarify new rules on CECL, hedging, and recognition and measurement of financial instruments.
Tax leaders look to retool compliance to cope with change
Overwhelmed by an onslaught of requirements, data, and technology, tax departments are beginning to look for new ways to achieve compliance.
Celadon Group to pay $42.2M in restitution for accounting fraud
Trucking company Celadon Group entered into a corporate resolution for securities fraud and will pay total restitution of $42.2 million for filing materially false and misleading statements to investors and falsifying books, records, and accounts.
Options drive more risk than stock, study says
Company executives may be more likely to take on risk when their compensation is based more on stock options than stock awards, a new study says.
Delaware ramps up revised unclaimed property approach
Delaware’s Secretary of State is inviting corporations incorporated in that state to join it in resolving any outstanding unclaimed property issues. The invite comes with a catch: Companies must respond within 60 days or face an unclaimed property audit.