News & Resources

Businesses periodically need to add equipment to grow their operations and replace outdated assets. This article discusses factors to consider when deciding whether to buy or lease equipment, including how recent changes to the lease accounting and federal income tax rules have muddied the waters. Read more

ERISA generally requires employee benefit plans with 100 or more participants to have their annual reports audited. Plan administrators have fiduciary responsibilities to hire independent qualified public accountants to perform quality audits. Read more

Private companies and not-for-profits are wrestling with accounting for the employee retention credit that qualifies eligible employers for payroll tax reduction under COVID-19 relief laws. Read more

The FASB recently issued new guidance to simplify the accounting rules for convertible instruments and contracts in an entity's own equity. Though narrower than initially proposed, the changes will provide investors with more-comparable information that is easier to understand. Read more

Some recipients of PPP loans have been unclear as to how to account for these loans. Should these arrangements be treated as loans or grants under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? Read more

On June 3, 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-05 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) and Leases (Topic 842). Read more

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has rightly become the focus of massive public attention in recent weeks. In addition to concerns about the health of their workers, businesses may be concerned about how it will affect their financial results and the performance of their supply chain partners. Read more

The AICPA's Auditing Standards Board ("ASB") issued a revised attestation standard in December 2019. The revised standard gives accountants more flexibility when performing agreed-upon procedures ("AUP") engagements. Read more

Outside financial audits may seem like an extravagance to not-for-profits working to contain costs and focus on their mission. However, undergoing regular audits allows an organization to identify risks early and act quickly to prevent problems. Read more

Debt-strapped private companies have been exploring ways to avoid having to use the lease accounting rules for new contracts. Implementing the updated leases standard might cause some companies to trip their loan covenants and how to safeguard against this potential pitfall. Read more

Equity-based compensation awards can help companies attract skilled workers and boost performance. But accounting for these payments can be complicated and costly. Read more

In recent years, smaller public companies and private entities have been struggling to keep up with the rapid pace of change in accounting rules. In response, the FASB has proposed changing its philosophy for establishing effective dates for major new accounting standards. Read more

A solid system of internal controls translates into more reliable financial reporting and can help companies prevent, detect and correct financial misstatements. Read more

In July, the FASB voted to propose a sweeping set of split deferrals for certain entities. The proposal would delay new accounting rules for 1) leases, 2) credit losses on loans, 3) long-term insurance contracts, and 4) hedge accounting. Read more

Ideally, investors should be able to get sufficient information about a company's future cash flows by looking at the income statement. But they currently do not because expense information is too densely reported, according to recent discussions by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Read more

In February, Amazon backed out of plans to open a second headquarters in Queens, New York, because of community opposition to roughly $2.5 billion in government incentives. Read more

Many corporate directors want to increase board diversity to capture the benefits. This article highlights key findings from recent boardroom diversity studies and some characteristics, beyond gender and race diversity, that boards should look for in new members. Read more

Many private companies are still unaware of the balance sheet effects of new lease accounting rules, including lease capitalization requirements, that go into effect starting in 2020. This article explains what is changing and how private companies can adapt. Read more

In January 2019, the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions published a report intended to promote audit quality. It outlines best practices for audit committees. Read more

Auditing standards require auditors to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement due to fraud and to determine overall and specific responses to those risks. Here is what auditors look for during fraud-risk interviews and why face-to-face meetings are essential. Read more