Accounting

More good stuff for auditors – 9-4-13

A few links and comments that I think would be of interest to auditors. This post: what do PCAOB deficiencies mean, their new report isn’t a big deal, sausage making at FAF, one possible surprise anti-fraud test, and the fun of investigating JPMorgan.

Going Concern – PwC and KPMG Inspection Reports Make Us Wonder: Are Shody Big 4 Audits Here to Stay? – Check out the comments for some good discussion on how important or inconsequential a PCAOB deficiency is.  I’ve long wondered …

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Maybe we can finally bury IFRS convergence

My hopes rose even higher that we can finally lay IFRS convergadoption to rest in a 6’ deep grave, lay a thick slab of concrete on top, and pave that entire section of the new cemetery after I read Francine McKenna’s column at Capital Ideas: Regulation, but only if cost-justified. Convergadoption is my word-of-the-day from Adrienne Gonzalez.

Ms. McKenna discusses the SEC staff report that not only didn’t suggest any way forward for convergence but seems to me like an extended argument against IFRS.

She then described a few things that I can’t see with my vision, like declining support from the big firms and possible concessions to reality from the IASB.

Maybe we can finally bury IFRS convergence Read More »

More good stuff for auditors – 8-23-13

A few links and comments that I think would be of interest to auditors:

Accounting Onion – The FRF for SMEs is a “Sack of Mush” – According to Walter Schuetze – Tom Selling continues his discussion of the serious problems he sees in FRF for SMEs. This post focuses on comments made by Walter Schuetze over several years on the direction for any sort of alternative GAAP. The conclusion, I think, is two very simple choices:  GAAP as it stands or FMV for all assets and liabilities. The professor is not impressed with the PCC alternative from FASB.

CPA-ScriboFRF for SME – The LowdownGreat Q&A on FRF-SME. I previously commented here on this post from Charles Hall, CPA. It isn’t GAAP. Not intended to be.

More good stuff for auditors – 8-23-13 Read More »

NPO audit risk alert for 2013 available

The Not-for-Profit Entities Industry Developments – Audit Risk Alert for 2013 is available from the AICPA.

It provides an update on issues relevant to your audits and reviews of NPOs. Might even remind you of some technical issues you missed. I’m checking on a couple of things that I thought didn’t apply to my clients but just might.

If you work with a lot of NPOs, you really ought to check out this audit risk alert every summer.

NPO audit risk alert for 2013 available Read More »

Where could FRF-SMEs possibly have value? A galaxy far, far removed from the one that swirls around the SEC.

There is another teeming galaxy beyond that of the publicly traded SEC-supervised companies and their PCAOB inspected auditors.

Professor Tom Selling discusses the bickering between the AICPA and NASBA over FRF-SMEs in his post, The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Framework: How Low Should a Profession Go?  He concluded:

NASBA, in so many words, is telling the AICPA that the FRF is beneath the dignity and responsibilities of the CPA.

I’ve been wanting to talk about the FRF-SME framework and some of the comments floating around.  The post above, and my brief comment there, is the springboard to this:

What is beyond the SEC galaxy?

Where could FRF-SMEs possibly have value? A galaxy far, far removed from the one that swirls around the SEC. Read More »

Deloitte penalized for anti-money-laundering work done for Standard Chartered

Deloitte Financial Advisory Services agreed to a $10M fine from the N.Y. Department of Financial Services and a one year ban on new work for state chartered banks.

The consent agreement between the state regulators and Deloitte Financial Advisory Services can be found here.

What’s the problem?

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Live example of a fraud fiasco

“Going to meet your Maker with the fresh scent of theft on your hands is not a good way to go…”

is how Charles Hall starts his story of a long ago fraud – Stealing While Dying.

We’ve all seen the situation where the bookkeeper does the main bookkeeping, receives the bank statements, reconciles the accounts, and is an authorized check signer.

In this situation, the most-honest-and-nicest-person-you’ll-ever-meet bookkeeper starting stealing lots of money when she became gravely ill.

Check out the full story. …

Live example of a fraud fiasco Read More »

Price cut on my newest e-book, “Tragedy of Fraud”

Price reduced to only $0.99, now available here.

“Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned” describes the tragic consequences from fraud.

There are ripple effects that spread out to harm innocent bystanders. The perpetrator draws a wide range of well-deserved wages that will be paid in full.

The book looks at two fraud incidents to learn what happens after a fraud is discovered. One took place in a local megachurch and the other in the mayor’s office of a small city.

This book is a compilation of blogs posts that have been previously published at Nonprofit Update and Attestation Update. The posts have been edited slightly and reorganized for easier reading.

Major sections of the book:                        

  • Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from the Embezzlement Fraud in a Local Church.
  • Wages of Fraud – Consequences from the Corruption Fraud in a Mayor’s Office.
  • Why is it Difficult to Find Fraud? – The lack of documentation inside an organization makes it even more difficult to identify a fraud scheme.
  • The Fraud Triangle – A discussion of the three sides of a fraud triangle. That’s the idea that three components need to be present for a fraud to take place – opportunity, motivation, and rationalization. Great danger is in play when all three factors are present.

The other book I have available at Amazon is Once Upon Internal Control.

Price cut on my newest e-book, “Tragedy of Fraud” Read More »

AICPA releases Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium Enterprises, aka FRF-SME, aka “small GAAP”

The AICPA’s version of small-GAAP is out today.

FRF-SMEs are an option for small businesses that don’t need the complexity of GAAP financial statements.

I think this could be a big deal. Whether it is or not will depend on acceptance by the lending community.

The entire body of knowledge is in a 206 page document. Of that, the glossary is 16 pages.  The core text is 172 pages. That’ it. Only 172 pages make up the full set of rules.

Here is some info:

AICPA releases Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium Enterprises, aka FRF-SME, aka “small GAAP” Read More »