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 Offers Further 404 Relief

As expected, the Securities and Exchange Commission will likely grant smaller public companies and most foreign private issuers an extension on having to comply with the internal controls provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

August 9
Audit

Fannie Mae Gives Books Clean Bill of Health

Fannie Mae said that it believes its internal accounting review is finally over, and that its anticipated restatement will be much less than its previous $2.4 billion estimates.

August 9
Regulatory actions and programs

SEC Lets Hedge Ruling Go, Considers Other Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission won't challenge a federal appeals court ruling overturning independence rules for hedge fund directors.

August 8
Accounting standards

Martha to Pay $195K to End Civil Case

Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic -- of domestic multimedia empire and ImClone Systems stock trading fame -- have agreed to settle civil charges of insider trading brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

August 7
Accounting standards

Making acc'ting standards work all around the world

Keeping up with the rules and regulations that govern our professional existence is a challenging endeavor, but, relatively speaking, it could be worse.Consider the environment in other countries. In France, for example, students participating in a graduate-level accounting program in a business school must learn three sets of standards. Yes, three!

August 6
Accounting standards

AICPA Praises New Law; Issues Control Statement

The American Institute of CPAs praised a new law that will prevent states from taxing the retirement income of non-resident partners last week.

August 6
Accounting standards

ASB aims at quality

In a significant move toward unifying a number of related standards and harmonizing them with a new international standard, the Auditing Standards Board has voted out a proposed statement on quality control.It was one of three exposure drafts issued for comment by summer's end.

August 6

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.