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.

Audit

SEC approves PCAOB expanded audit report standard

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave its approval Monday to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s new standard for an enhanced audit report.

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

October 23
Economy

Accountants feel more confident globally, but not in the U.S.

Economic confidence improved globally in the third quarter of 2017, but continued to fall in the U.S., according to a new survey of accountants.

October 23
Tax preparation

PTIN renewal season opens

Tax preparers have until Dec. 31 to renew their registration with the IRS.

By Jeff Stimpson
Freelance writer

October 20
AT Think California CPAs should claim refunds for fingerprinting

Are you one of the hundreds of California CPAs who were cited and fined by the California Board of Accountancy for failure to comply with a regulation that added new fingerprinting rules? Have I got news for you.

October 19

Ned Leiba

Leiba & Bowers, CPAs
Disaster recovery

Financial reporting after a natural disaster

The recent string of devastating hurricanes and wildfires in the U.S. and its territories has prompted questions about financial reporting by companies striving to recover from natural disasters while wrestling with their insurance companies over damage claims.

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

October 18
Accounting fraud

Rio Tinto and ex-CEO and ex-CFO face accounting fraud charges on $3.7 billion coal calamity

Rio Tinto Group’s calamitous $3.7 billion coal deal in Mozambique keeps coming back to haunt the world’s second-biggest miner, three years after it unloaded the mine.

October 18
Corporate taxes

Senators ask FASB to require multinationals to disclose more tax info

A group of seven Senate Democrats and one independent has written a letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board asking FASB to require multinational corporations to disclose their taxes, profits, and revenues on a country-by-country basis, echoing a recent letter from a group of House lawmakers.

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

October 17

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.