Audit

Accounting firms that prepare the taxes of companies they also audit tend to steer away from dubious tax deductions, according to a new study.

Thirty-eight percent of organizations are turning to outside services to supplement the efforts of their internal audit function, according to a new survey of chief audit executives.

Top 100 Firm Marcum took the top spot among large audit firms in bringing in new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients in the fourth quarter of 2015, with with 11 new engagements and a net gain of six.

20 years: Looking back, around and forward

The American Institute of CPAs is encouraging firms to modernize the way they conduct audits by using data analytics technology and working to improve the way employee benefit plan audits are conducted in response to a critical Labor Department report.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon said the AICPA is pushing the Internal Revenue Service to improve its services for both taxpayers and CPAs while preparing to become a more international organization.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued two proposed accounting standards updates to improve financial reporting by employers related to defined benefit pension and other post-retirement benefit plans.

The lease accounting standard that the Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to release this quarter is expected to have a major impact on many companies, requiring current off-balance sheet leasing activities to be reflected on balance sheets for the first time.

Nearly a third of financial reporting executives in a new poll said internal control over financial reporting was their highest concern beyond their financial reporting responsibilities.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Auditing Standards Board has issued an amendment to its auditing standards to clarify the format of the auditor’s report.

Companies are taking steps to prepare for a reputational crisis by employing an internal audit function, but less than half the board members polled in a new survey feel they are “well-versed” in the issues.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants have released a new report on how accountants can play a key role in the trend toward integrated reporting.

Bloomberg BNA is releasing its annual report on the year ahead in tax and accounting, containing a collection of over 20 articles from its reporters on the outlook for tax legislation, international taxation, state taxes, Supreme Court tax cases, accounting standards and other topics.

The International Accounting Standards Board issued the long-awaited lease accounting standard that it has been developing for over a decade with the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which is also expected to release its version of the standard early this year.

Everyone can agree that better financial analysis is a good thing for business leaders.

The Center for Audit Quality issued a new report Tuesday describing some of the feedback it has received on the audit quality indicators it has been pilot testing with auditors and audit committees.

The number of going concern opinions declined in 2014, but mainly because many of the companies identified as being in trouble by their auditors in previous years actually did go out of business.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has finalized the changes in its standard for auditor reporting on special purpose financial statements.

A filmmaker is suggesting a new way to avoid skirmishes over notoriously dubious Hollywood accounting.

Dec. 22, 2015, marked the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Enacted at the behest of accounting firms, the PSLRA was crafted to immunize accountants from securities fraud liability. The result over the last two decades has been a substantial erosion in the ability of investors to hold accounting firms accountable.