Audit

Privately held U.S. companies are growing sales this year so far at the fastest rate in three years, according to the financial information company Sageworks.

Kara Stein, a commissioner with the Securities and Exchange Commission, appeared to reject the need for convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards in a speech last week.

The Cleveland-based CPA firm Skoda Minotti is facing a lawsuit from a group of depositors who lost their money after the collapse of a credit union that the firm had been auditing.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is getting ready to unveil a set of proposals that could have a major impact on the way nonprofit organizations present their financial statements.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has scheduled a meeting for next Tuesday where it will vote on adopting a reorganization of auditing standards.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has produced a new series of reports in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Council investigating the dynamics between corporate culture and regulations and the link to dysfunctional behavior in organizations.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has released a set of provisional sustainability accounting standards for “resource transformation” industries such as aerospace and chemicals.

Investors should pay closer attention to the Other Comprehensive Income statement on financial reports, suggests a new study.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has released an updated look at continuous auditing, providing guidance to chief audit executives on what technologies are available for continuous auditing, and how continuous auditing relates to management’s risk management, risk assessment and monitoring activities.

For the second year running, national firm BDO USA has racked up the most new SEC audit clients.

More accountants like to solve problems than crunch numbers, according to a new survey.

Wake Forest University School of Business announced on Monday that they will hold an informative lecture on March 24, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. The lecture will be focused on the challenges of creating global accounting standards.

Companies often turn to their accountants when they need to cut expenses, and a good place to start is with the travel budget.

Internal audit is extending its traditional role as an assurance provider into playing a more proactive role as trusted advisor, according to a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

AICPA vice president of taxation Edward Karl stated, “Taxpayers will be in one of three situations – they will have had health insurance that met the requirements for minimum essential coverage under the Affordable Care Act, will have qualified for an exemption or will owe the penalty for not having qualified health insurance. In order to meet the information reporting requirements, taxpayers will have to gather new records and become familiar with new forms, instructions and terms.”

An accounting scandal, a failed merger and the departure of top executives would normally make a company toxic to acquirers. Not for Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the subject of a $11 billion bidding war that drove the drugmaker’s stock close to its highest-ever price.

The School of Accountancy at Georgia Southern University announced today that they will host a one-week seminar from Aug. 3-7 entitled, Essentials of Fraud and Forensic Accounting.The seminar is open to potential graduate students interested in pursuing a Master of Accounting with a concentration in Forensic Accounting, along with accountants, attorneys, and law enforcement professionals seeking continuing professional education (CPE) credit.

The International Accounting Standards Board issued an overview of its upcoming lease accounting standard Monday, saying it plans to complete its deliberations on the long-awaited standard this month and to issue the standard later this year.

Check out the digital edition of the March 2015 issue of Accounting Today.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland and the South African Institute of Public Accountants have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a partnership to distribute an online CPA Certificate in International Public Sector Accounting Standards Financial Reporting in South Africa.