Audit & Accounting

Under the Senate legislation, if a company can’t show that it is not under control of a foreign government, or the PCAOB isn’t able to audit the company for three consecutive years to determine that is the case, the company’s securities would be banned from the exchanges.

The Institute of Certified Management Accountants also announced a change in the testing window schedule for 2020, due to COVID-19.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Wednesday that could lead to Chinese companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. being barred from listing on U.S. stock exchanges amid increasingly tense relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Accountants are looking cautiously at the prospects for reopening the economy, shares Ohio Society of CPAs president and CEO Scott Wiley -- and they have an important part to play in that.

The board voted Wednesday to give private companies and not-for-profit organizations an extra year to comply with the revenue recognition and leases standards.

Europe’s top markets watchdog is warning companies against getting creative with financial statements that obscure the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on their bottom line.

The founder of U.K. discount retailer Matalan Plc is suing PricewaterhouseCoopers over claims he lost as much as 135 million pounds ($165 million) by relying on advice the accounting firm gave him when he moved to Monaco 20 years ago.

But relatively few audit execs are actually performing reviews of critical risk areas such as health and safety.

Members of the American Accounting Association's Financial Reporting Policy Committee denounce provisions in the CARES Act they see as threatening FASB’s independence and setting a dangerous precedent with serious potential to undermine confidence in corporate financial reporting.

Management accountants and CFOs can play an important role in guiding companies through the strategic options available to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.