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 standards

The Spirit of Accounting: Escaping the minimum GAAP compliance syndrome

We have a perennial puzzle we just can't explain to our satisfaction.Here it is: Why are managers so willing to go overboard in product development and promotion, yet so blissfully content in doing the least required when it comes to financial reporting?

March 15
Regulatory actions and programs

IRS Issues Guidance For Ponzi Scheme Victims

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman has announced guidance for Ponzi scheme victims and their tax preparers. The guidance, which Shulman emphasized is not specific to the Madoff case, is in the form of a revenue ruling and a revenue procedure.

March 15
Audit

FASB Gives Cautious Response to IFRS Roadmap

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and its parent organization, the Financial Accounting Foundation, sent a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission giving a thumbs-up to the proposed roadmap to International Financial Reporting Standards, but they urged more consultation and study.

March 12
Finance

Melancon Speaks out on Top Accounting Issues

American Institute of CPAs’ president and chief executive Barry Melancon reiterated his organization’s stance that fair value accounting was not a primary cause of the current economic distress and that the private sector — rather than Congress — should continue to set accounting standards.

March 11
Tax practice

Congress Pressures FASB to Revise Mark-to-Market

Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz was pressed to make changes in mark-to-market accounting standards in as soon as three weeks during a contentious congressional hearing.

March 11
Tax practice

IFRS Roadmap Slams into Reverse

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the U.S. looks to be increasingly in doubt.

March 10
Wealth management

Shareholder Meetings Likely to Be Contentious

Accounting firm BDO Seidman anticipates that shareholder meetings this year will be dominated by concerns about excessive executive compensation, recession plans and credit concerns.

March 9

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.