A Member’s Perspective and Hope In this article, Professor H. Charles Johnson shares his views on CHOICE Act and Dodd-Frank Act rollback. The author summarizes some of the changes that lessen compliance costs and that may serve to incentivize smaller community-based lenders the provide capital to small enterprises. ...

Overview—Putting it on the Balance Sheet In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The existing standard has been criticized because its bright line classification criteria enabled entities to structure leases in such a way as to avoid putting them on the balance sheet. The new standard aims to improve and simplify the financial reporting for leases and ...

The New Revenue Recognition Standard and Accounting for Licenses Wiley author, Joanne Flood, looks at how the new revenue standard affects reporting of licensing revenue. Copyright Wiley, 2016. To be published in February 2017 in the book: Wiley Revenue Recognition plus Website: Understanding and Implementing the New Standard (Wiley Regulatory Reporting). ...

Are We Heading Towards the Next Financial Crisis? (Part II of II) In this second part of the two-part article, the author, a valuation professional and trained economist, shares his thoughts on whether we are headed towards another financial crisis. Here, he shares his views on the size of the U.S. debt, low interest rates and whether the low interest environment is sustainable, and what he sees are solutio ...

Expanding the Lessors Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016 – 02, Leases (Topic 842). The existing standard has been criticized because its bright line classification criteria enabled entities to structure leases in such a way as to avoid putting them on the balance sheet. The standard aims to improve and simplify the financial repo ...

Fed Limits its Ability to Rescue Financial Firms The Federal Reserve has adopted restrictions on its ability to rescue failing financial companies.  Howard Schneider reports in this article that under the rules, the Fed can provide only broad-based assistance and cannot rescue individual firms. To read the full article in Reuters, click: New Fed Rule Limits its Crisis Bailout Powers. ...

Filing Tax Returns Early May Foil Identity Thieves People may be able to thwart crooks targeting their tax refunds by filing their 2015 tax returns as early as possible.  Russ Wiles for USA Today, explains how clients can get some of the supporting paperwork completed now so their returns can be filed as soon as the Internal Revenue Service starts accepting them. To read the full article in USA Today, click ...

Title III is the Newest Crowdfinance Option for Private Companies On October 30, 2015, the SEC finalized the rules for securities crowdfunding under Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012. Title III lets startups raise up to $1 million per year by selling securities exclusively through registered online intermediaries known as crowdfunding portals and broker-dealer offering plat ...

For some businesses, the possibility for goodwill impairment is an issue.  Lucas M. Parris, senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, explains the FASB proposed changes and what the Board has been discussing for a couple years now.   To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: New Rules for Goodwill Impairment?. Thi ...

Two corporate finance tools available to private companies are leveraged share repurchases and leveraged dividend recapitalizations.  Z. Christopher Mercer, founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, looks at which transaction may be the right one for you or for your client. To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Leveraged Dividend Recapitalizations an ...

Is the degree of difficulty on the rise for fair value measurements?  Travis Harms, leader of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, looks at some interesting current trends   To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Turning on the Fasten Seat Belt Sign: Fair Value Measurement in Turbulence.  This article is republished from M ...

The IRS issues long-awaited rules on taxation of gifts and bequests from covered expatriates.  Sally P. Schreiber, Journal of Accountancy senior editor, discusses the recently proposed regulations and what’s to be expected. To find out more on the AICPA’s article, click: Proposed rules govern taxation of gifts and bequests from covered expatriates. ...

The SEC is casting an eye to examine public company filings.  Samantha Albert, Senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, looks at how their tools have been successful thus far. To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: In the Eye of the Beholder: Increasing SEC Scrutiny of Public Company Fair Value Marks. This article is republished from Merce ...

Calculating appropriate goodwill can create significant savings to a taxpayer.  Lucas M. Parris, senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, describes the existence of personal goodwill apart from corporate goodwill. To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: An Overview of Personal Goodwill. This article is republished f ...

Moving from Facts to Opinion? ASC 820 under US GAAP and IFRS 13 issued by IASB provide a principal based framework for fair value measurement. Though fair value measurement guidance in US GAAP and IFRS are substantially in the same line, some minor differences exist. This article discusses the IFRS 13 and challenges in its implementation. ...

Calculating a prospective return takes into account many factors.  Travis W. Harms, Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, discusses what impact a “hefty” purchase price could mean for returns. To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Yes, Virginia, the Cost of Capital Really is Low. This article is republished from Mercer Capital' ...

A recent survey of investment professionals in the CFA Institute reports investor concerns about the use of different accounting standards and rules for SMEs under IFRS and private companies under GAAP.  Karolina Grabowicz, a financial analyst with Mercer Capital, reports how the use of different standards adds complexity and costs to financial reporting.  Issues also arise over the loss of information due ...