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

Toxic Asset Superfund

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner did his best at filling in the blanks on the Obama administrations plan for cleaning up the so-called toxic assets clogging the balance sheets of banks.

March 24
Tax practice

Geithner Petitions Lawmakers for Broader Takeover Powers

In a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asked lawmakers to grant the Treasury Department more power to seize failing financial firms.

March 24
Audit

Restatements Drop to Five-Year Low

Financial restatements in 2008 dipped 49 percent from the prior year, the lowest level in the past five years, according to a report compiled by proxy researcher Glass Lewis.

March 22
Audit

Grant Thornton Launches Hedge Fund Services Unit

Global CPA and business-advisory firm Grant Thornton is gearing to launch a new practice unit — hedge fund internal control, governance and regulatory compliance services.

March 22
Associations

AICPA Supports International Monitoring Board

The American Institute of CPAs said that it backs the creation of a monitoring board that would link the International Accounting Standards Board to government regulators in different countries.

March 18
Audit

Boards Try to Reconcile Lease Accounting Standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are working together on resolving the knotty problems involved in lease accounting.

March 18
Tax practice

PCAOB Ups Accounting Support Fee $5.6M

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has raised the aggregate 2009 fee it assesses to public companies and other issuers to $157.4 million from $151.8 million.

March 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.