Audit

Firm News - January 13

A former audit partner at BDO USA LLP has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission during his testimony.

Financial Executives International has released a list of the top challenges in 2012.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has conducted its first post-implementation review of an accounting standard, starting with FIN 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Tax Positions,” and found it generally achieved its purpose, though it still needs some improvement.

Call for Submissions: Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders

A federal court in New York has conditionally certified a national collective action lawsuit accusing KPMG of violating federal labor laws by denying overtime pay to thousands of entry-level audit employees.

New York State’s Accounting Reform law makes quality reviews of the attest services of accounting firms mandatory as of Jan. 1, 2012.

A college classmate of mine who was an unabashed Europhile often lectured anyone within shouting distance about how many of the famous trends throughout history - whether in clothing styles, literature, art, cuisine or automobile design - inevitably began in Europe before gradually making their way across the Atlantic. His ultimate goal was to travel throughout that continent and, with any luck, have a manuscript chronicling his adventures published. Sadly, he fell well below his Hemingway-esque ambitions - save for a protruding stomach and bushy beard - and last I heard he was operating a bookstore/café somewhere outside Lyon.

Fort Worth, Texas-based accounting firm Sanford, Baumeister & Frazier was recently awarded the inaugural Best Workplaces for Women award in the small business category by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s Women Influencing Business group.

As the effects of the financial crisis and an uncertain economy continue to create volatility in the markets, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has reiterated its position that auditors and those charged with corporate governance that management's use of the going concern assumption is a matter to be considered on every audit engagement.

IMGCAP(1)][IMGCAP(2)]Valuation, by its very nature, is an exercise in judgment.

In an effort to raise the troubling level of math proficiency among elementary school children, regional CPA and business advisory firm Parente Beard created "Making the Holidays Count," an instructional book that shows how important numbers are in many of the holiday activities such as baking and gift wrapping.

The Financial Accounting Foundation, overseer of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, has pushed back to Jan. 6, 2012, the deadline for submitting applications to participate in private company accounting standards roundtable discussions scheduled for January, February and March.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has deferred some of the rules it issued earlier this year to make the presentation of other comprehensive income more prominent on financial statements.

IMGCAP(1)]We all face numbers, sometimes on a daily basis.

The Texas Society of CPAs’ Professional Standards Committee has sent a comment letter to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board taking issue with the PCAOB’s proposed requirement for the lead auditor to sign off on an audit.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released its latest inspection report of Ernst & Young on Thursday and found that some of the deficiencies it uncovered rose to the level of “audit failures.”

Congress has reauthorized the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs for another six years.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board released a new assurance standard Wednesday on pro forma financial information included in a prospectus.

Accountants and tax practitioners had a busy time this past year keeping up with all the changes in the profession. Here’s our annual list of the top stories in the past year that kept our readers coming to the site for the latest developments: