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.
CMA recommends major overhaul of U.K. audit market
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recommended reform of the audit market aimed at increasing quality and competition and breaking the stranglehold of the Big Four accounting firms.
Audit committees advised: be cautious if PCAOB calls
The PCAOB wants to engage more directly with audit committees, but they may get a cool response from some audit committee members wary of the risks.
Accounting class action filing still high, report says
Accounting class action filings in 2018 remained “uncharacteristically high,” according to the latest analysis by Cornerstone Research.
AICPA revenue recognition guide hits audit, sector issues
Still looking for some help on revenue recognition? The AICPA has published an audit and accounting guide meant to work through industry-specific issues.
Q4 control disclosures inched upward, FERF says
Nearly one-fourth of filings with the SEC in the fourth quarter contained admissions of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting.
FASB preps proposal to simplify income tax accounting
FASB is preparing a proposal to amend accounting standards in a way that is intended to ease the accounting for income taxes.
Analysts offer tips on reading financials with leases added
Analysts are advising investors to buckle up in preparation for first-quarter results that will, for the first time, include leases on the balance sheet.
Special report: Auditing your audit
Under rising pressure to be more transparent about how they oversee auditors, proactive audit committees are upping their game for evaluating all aspects of their audit
Roughly half of S&P 500 disclose expected CECL impact
A little more than half of the S&P 500 have disclosed something about how they expect to be affected by CECL reporting when it begins next year.
Finishing strong in the race toward lease accounting
As many public companies near the finish line in the race to get leases onto corporate balance sheets, many others are still straggling behind. This e-Book will help you toward that final sprint.
Roadrunner executives charged with accounting fraud
The SEC and the Department of Justice brought civil and criminal charges against three former executives of transportation company Roadrunner Transportation Systems for their alleged role in a complex securities and accounting fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of more than $245 million in shareholder value.
CAMs are coming, and companies should warn investors
Audit reports are about to get a lot longer, and companies would be wise to give financial statement users some advance warning to head off any knee-jerk reactions.
FASB rejects bank request to ease CECL effects on income
The Financial Accounting Standards Board has rejected a proposal by some banks to revise the pending credit losses standard, due to take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
Hertz sues former executives to recoup compensation
Car rental company Hertz is suing former executives to recoup losses related to its 2015 restatement to correct aggressive accounting.
Half of companies plan post-adoption work on leases: poll
About half of public companies expect to spend as much time—or even more—on lease accounting adoption after the first quarter reporting under the new rules.
PwC shows uptick in audit deficiencies in latest report
Audit regulators issued their 2017 inspection report on PwC, showing an uptick in the percentage of audits with deficiencies.
Grant Thornton earns record low deficiency rate
Grant Thornton earned a record low deficiency rate on its newest audit inspection report, the first major firm to deliver a rate in the teens since 2009.
Companies walk judgment tightrope as Brexit doubts peak
Preparers are facing some brutal accounting judgments as they approach the end of a reporting period straddling key dates in a chaotic Brexit.
FASB revises proposed changes to income tax disclosure
FASB has revised its proposed changes on tax disclosures to respond to feedback to an earlier proposal and to reflect changes under tax reform.
Clarity, comparability still to come under new revenue rules
As companies wrap up their first year under the new revenue recognition standard, evidence of the learning curve and challenges with comparability are abundant.
PwC reduces damages in Colonial Bank failure
Appealing a court ruling, PwC reached a $335 million settlement with the FDIC over professional negligence claims in the failure of Colonial Bank.
Charts: Exclusive analysis of audit inspection reports
See how the big accounting firms compare in terms of audit deficiency rates for 2009 through 2016 and internal control deficiencies for 2016 based on PCAOB inspection report results.
Despite decades of scrutiny, auditor independence remains a challenge
Even with clear-cut expectations, audit firms still find new and unique ways to run afoul of the SEC’s independence rules. Among the culprits: the money-making potential of non-audit services.
Q&A: Audit committee outlook from a committee chair and former EY auditor
Jan Babiak, a current audit committee chairman formerly of EY, offers her perspective on the roles ans responsibilities of the audit committee.
U.K. narrow-minded to think breaking up Big Four a good idea
Big Four accounting expert James Peterson discusses ways in which the United Kingdom may dismantle the Big Four, the possible consequences of each of the proposals, and which he thinks is the better solution.
The benefits and struggles of marrying audit with new tech
The never-ending quest to improve audit quality has firms and the audit committees of their corporate clients eyeing how to best deploy new technologies.
How audit firms are polishing their images
Audit deficiencies are just part of the picture when it comes to the reputational damage suffered by nearly every big firm. Jaclyn Jaeger looks at how the big audit firms are tackling bad marks from the PCAOB.
Quality reports from major audit firms
In recent years, major audit firms have begun producing voluntary quality reports. We offer a sampling of findings from six of the biggest firms to accompany our auditing special report.
Why companies replace their external auditors
Analyzing public company regulatory filings, we explore the factors behind why companies change external auditors.
Transparency a game-changer for auditor evaluations
Under rising pressure to be more transparent about how they oversee auditors, proactive audit committees are raising their games when it comes to evaluating all aspects of their audit.
Special report: Building a better audit
Various initiatives on producing audit quality indicators give audit committees some questions to ask or data points to consider in assessing their audits and their auditors.
PCAOB advises auditors to expand view of CAMs
After reviewing implementation activity, the PCAOB is advising auditors to think a little more broadly about how they identify and describe CAMs.