Audit

The Center for Audit Quality and the American Institute of CPAs have jointly issued a new member alert reminding audit firms of the independence rules required by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

As previously reported, Troy K. Lewis, chair of the Tax Executive Committee of the AICPA, spoke to a Senate panel on Tuesday, urging Congress to pass legislation that would give natural disaster victims access to permanent and prompt tax relief.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a fresh look at the question of allowing U.S. public companies to use International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission have issued new guidance on so-called “pushdown accounting,” which occurs when an acquired organization uses the acquirer’s basis of accounting to prepare its financial statements.

BDO USA LLP has entered into an agreement to acquire Top 100 Firm UHY Advisor's Texas practice. The deal is expected to close on December 1.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is doing more rigorous cost/benefit analyses of any new changes in accounting standards, and in some cases that is causing some of the divergence from the International Accounting Standards Board, according to FASB officials.

Jody Padar, CEO and principal of the New Vision CPA Group in the Chicago area, announced “The Radical CPA: New Rules for the Future-Ready Firm,” a new online workshop on "radical transformation of the accounting firm business model," as well as a book by the same name.

Troy K. Lewis, chair of the AICPA's Tax Executive Committee, is set to testify on Tuesday, November 18, at the Tax Relief after a Disaster: How Individuals, Small Businesses, and Communities Recover hearing, which will be held by the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight.

A group of Russian lawmakers has introduced legislation that would prohibit foreign accounting firms from auditing Russian companies in which the government owns more than a 50 percent interest.

Accounting organization leaders are meeting at the World Congress of Accountants in Rome this week to discuss issues such as the future of accounting, problems with government accounting and outsourced workforces, and the state of accounting research.

Two top officials with the International Accounting Standards Board and its parent organization, the IFRS Foundation, gave speeches this week in which they expressed the hope that the Securities and Exchange Commission will ultimately sanction the use of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. companies.

At just 17 years of age, Belicia Cespedes of Canyon Country, CA has earned her CPA license, in addition to earning her bachelor's degree and completing two years of part-time work experience under a licensed CPA, according to The Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

Sageworks has struck a marketing partnership with the American Institute of CPAs, which will offer members of the AICPA’s Forensic & Valuation Services Section a discount on Sageworks Valuation Solution.

The Center for Audit Quality and the American Accounting Association have issued a request for proposals for a joint program to facilitate the ability of accounting and auditing academics to get access to audit firm personnel to participate in their research projects.

The American Institute of CPAs said Monday that it is working to secure a new .cpa domain extension on the Internet that could be used by CPAs as “a globally recognized calling card for CPAs in the digital world.”

Instagram contest, office expansion and more…

As record numbers of seasonal hires are expected this year in the U.S., fraud experts warn that the need to quickly add staff should not get in the way of properly screening employees.

The new chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission told attendees at a conference Thursday that he hopes to make a recommendation in the next few months on whether the SEC should move toward switching U.S. companies to IFRS, according to The Wall Street Journal.

On Wednesday, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced the agenda for the Nov. 20-21, 2014, meeting of the Standing Advisory Group in Arlington, Va.

Thomson Reuters named the winners of its first-ever Customer Superstar Awards.