Accounting

Accounting News & Professional Insight

Accounting Today delivers news, rankings, thought leadership, and analysis for accounting professionals so they can navigate change in standards, firm strategy, technology adoption, talent, and the overall business environment.

Accounting professionals are facing rapid transformation, including shifting professional standards, demographic change, technology disruption, practice consolidation, and changing expectations for advisory services. Our coverage surfaces these strategic dynamics and provides insights and analysis for firms, leaders, and the accounting profession.

Accounting fraud

Patisserie Valerie rescued by deal with Causeway Capital after accounting scandal

The bakery chain was rescued by an Irish private-equity firm after an accounting scandal pushed the U.K. cake baker into insolvency.

February 14
AT Think The Intern Chronicles: Eyewitness to fraud

A young accountant shares a cautionary tale of red flags ignored and a nonprofit victimized.

February 14

Bethany Faford

Nichols College
Audit

Deloitte’s Japan firm to pay $2M to settle SEC charges over audits

Deloitte’s member firm in Japan, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC, is paying a $2 million settlement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that it issued audit reports for a client at the same time dozens of its employees had bank accounts at a subsidiary of the client.

By Michael Cohn
Editor-in-chief, AccountingToday.com

February 13
The Tech Take Has Intuit entered the bookkeeping space?

The blogosphere fires have been stoked by what seemed to be a new live bookkeeping service from QuickBooks.

February 13

Ranica Arrowsmith

Accounting Today
Accounting fraud

BT execs knew of $339M Italy fraud, prosecutors say

Milan prosecutors say former executives at BT Group were aware its Italian unit hid losses and inflated revenue by producing fictitious invoices.

February 13
AT Think Diversity in finance and accounting: Challenges and opportunities for Black History Month

It's time to reflect on how well we, as finance and accounting professionals, are doing to actively support diversity and inclusion in our field.

February 12

Jodi Chavez

Randstad Professionals and Life Sciences
Retirement planning

Age and wisdom: Talking retirement planning with clients

Tax pros share how they discuss preparing for the Golden Years with customers.

By Jeff Stimpson
Freelance writer

February 12

Resources

The latest Accounting Today research and discussion:

Predicting the next 15 years in accounting

Take a look at what the accountant and the accounting firm of the future will look like with AICPA chief Mark Koziel.

Sponsored by BILL
The changing world of government financial reporting

The serious new pressures facing governments of all sizes are changing their financial reporting, says GASB Chair Joel Black.

Sponsored by Intuit Quickbooks
Special Report Technology and CAS

Handling the compliance work that is the foundation of modern CAS while also creating time and insights for the advisory overlay that really drives its value to clients requires the careful deployment of a suite of technology tools — and that suite is constantly evolving, meaning accountants need a strategy to keep up.

Sponsored by Canopy

Accounting: Key Questions & Analysis

What are the key trends and strategies emerging from accounting industry leaders?

Top leaders are focused on structural challenges facing firms, including succession planning, evolving service mix, and long-term sustainability of traditional models.

How are accounting firms positioning themselves for the profession’s next phase?

Firm leaders are redefining and evaluating their strategy for growth. This includes investing in people and systems as well as rethinking how firms deliver value to address changing client needs and competition.

What role does professional identity play as accounting continues to change?

Debate continues over how accounting defines itself. This is due to accounting expanding into advisory, consulting, and technology-enabled services. These changes can raise questions about standards, training, and long-term credibility.

How are accounting firms managing leadership and succession risk?

Demographic shifts are accelerating in accounting. This means more firms are confronting leadership transitions and ownership succession which can create critical strategic risks that influence growth, culture, and valuation.