Audit

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.

The Institute of Internal Auditors plans to launch a Financial Services Audit Center this summer to help internal auditors at financial firms.

Financial Accounting Foundation president and CEO Terri Polley sits down with Accounting Today managing editor Tamika Cody to share how the foundation plans to attract more people of color to the profession and why the FAF teamed up with the National Association of Black Accountants.

BDO USA has issued its annual list of the top issues it expects to be raised at the annual general meetings of shareholders during the coming year.

Pressure from within companies on internal auditors to go easy on their audits remains extensive and pervasive, according to new research.

Thomson Reuters CS Professional Suite announced on Monday that it is the first to certify an application for electronic filing with the Indiana Department of Revenue, effective immediately. 90,000 Indiana S corporations will now be able to electronically file their 2014 annual business tax filings (IT-20S).

Better communication among internal and external auditors and audit committee members can ease some of the tensions, according to a new report.

Compensation for management accounting and finance professionals rose by an average of 7.1 percent last year, according to a new survey, but some specialties received raises while others saw their salaries remain stagnant.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board said Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted its 2015 GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which uses XBRL format.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are considering some changes to their converged revenue recognition standard that could lead to divergence after hearing feedback from the Joint Transition Resource Group that is examining implementation issues.

Deloitte introduced a new analytics platform for internal auditors to support the end-to-end audit process with data visualization, risk sensing and analytic techniques.

Prince Charles' Accounting for Sustainability Project and its Chief Financial Officer Leadership Network has published four guides to help the finance and accounting community address the issues of integrating sustainability into their business processes and decisions.

Chief audit executives and audit committee members view internal audit priorities differently, particularly when prioritizing risks, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton.