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.

  • Six weeks after a public disagreement over how the issuance of subpoenas to two business columnists was handled, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released guidelines describing exactly when and how journalist subpoenas will be issued in the future.

    April 13
  • Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox announced that Wall Street fund lawyer Andrew "Buddy" Donohue will join the agency as the next director of the Division of Investment Management.

    April 12
  • The chairman of an advisory panel to the Securities and Exchange Commission said that the group's pending proposal to roll back some of the internal controls provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has not been dismissed even before it is officially proposed.

    April 12
  • The country's largest jewelry retailer, Zale Corp., announced that its accounting, executive pay and severance agreements are under official investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    April 11
  • The just-released Winter 2005-2006 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin discloses that adjusted gross income rose in 2004 for the second year in a row, increasing by 8.9 percent to $6.8 trillion. The largest component of AGI, salaries and wages, increased 6.0 percent to $4,977.9 billion, while net capital gains rose 53.2 percent to $442.1 billion. Taxable income increased 10.6 percent to $4.6 trillion.

    April 10
  • Eighty-four percent of senior finance executives polled by global CPA and business advisory firm Grant Thornton said that rules that allow companies in bankruptcy to turn over their pension obligations to the federal Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. should be tightened.

    April 10
  • For the third time, a federal court has sent rules governing the mutual fund industry back to the Securities and Exchange Commission for further reflection on the costs of the changes.

    April 9
Resources
The latest Accounting Today research and discussion:




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.