Few Companies with Under 100 Employees Have Fraud Controls in Place Small businesses are significantly more likely than their larger counterparts to neglect instituting basic antifraud controls that could save them from costly losses, a recent worldwide survey shows. The Journal of Accountancy reports in the August issue:
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The Journal of Accountancy reports the IRS is offering more flexible terms under which it will accept offers in compromise (IR-2012-53):
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New private company council includes FASB, but in reduced role, The Journal of Accountancy explains. “This announcement is excellent news for small businesses that have been concerned about the future of US GAAP particularly in relation to an international move toward IFRS,” adds Editor Gail Perry at AccountingWeb. Emily Chasan at the Wall Street Journal reports: The Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to establish a new Private Company Council that will create exceptions and modifications to U.S. accounting rules as they apply to private companies. The board, which oversees the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, said…
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You can’t hold back the demographic tide. In the U.S., another baby boomer turns 60 every eight seconds. This translates into a leadership change in the near future at many CPA firms. In an important article in the Journal of Accountancy last year, John F. Raspante, CPA, and Joseph A. Tarasco, CPA explain: Thousands of partners are at or reaching retirement age now and in the next five years, putting a tremendous strain on even the best succession plans. But age isn’t the only factor affecting the profession. Factors such as increased globalization and turmoil in the general economy causing greater competition have been analyzed…
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Payments an accounting firm characterized as consulting fees were really disguised dividends and should have been taxed as corporate income, the Seventh Circuit held on Thursday. The payments reduced the firm’s income to zero, and the court applied the “independent investor” test to recharacterize them as dividends paid to the firm’s owners. Alistair M. Nevius at the Journal of Accountancy, in the article Accounting firm payments to owners flunk independent investor test, reports: The Seventh Circuit held that an accounting and consulting firm organized as a C corporation could not deduct payments to related entities because they were dividends, not…
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Business valuation (BV) reports frequently include information presented in the form of financial statements. The reporting requirements for such financial statements have drawn increased attention as a result of the issuance of Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 19 (SSARS 19), Compilation and Review Engagements. The Journal of Accountancy reports: “When conforming the existing SSARSs Interpretations to SSARS 19, the Accounting and Review Services Committee decided to withdraw an interpretation related to financial information in BV reports. It has become evident, based on questions the AICPA has received, that the move sparked some confusion.” To resolve the issue,…
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You can’t avoid paying taxes on assets you sell after a bankruptcy. At least if you’re a farmer. Sally P. Schrieber at the Journal of Accountancy reports The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that farmers who sold farm assets during a bankruptcy reorganization under Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code were liable for the full amount of the capital gains tax that resulted from the sale (Hall, Sup. Ct. Dkt. No. 10-875 (U.S. 5/14/12), aff’g 617 F.3d 1161 (9th Cir. 2010)). In an opinion that affirmed a Ninth Circuit decision and resolved a split in the circuits, a divided Supreme Court (in an…