Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

Ron Pippin

Recent Posts

Accounting Guidance for Not-for-Profit Entities Is Changing

Posted by Ron Pippin on Fri, May 03, 2013

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has recently clarified certain guidance relating to not-for-profit (NFP) entities. Specifically, it has issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2012-05, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230), Not-for-Profit Entities: Classification of the Sale Proceeds of Donated Financial Assets in the Statement of Cash Flows, and ASU No. 2013-06, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958), Services Received from Personnel of an Affiliate. The latter ASU was issued on April 19, 2013. Separately, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in March 2013 issued new guidance in the form of an updated Audit & Accounting Guide (AAG), Not-for-Profit Entities.

Read More

Tags: Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Lease Accounting, Audit Standards, Accountants, GAAS, GAAP

Companies Must Begin to Identify “Conflict Minerals”

Posted by Ron Pippin on Mon, Apr 15, 2013

Included in the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” (Dodd-Frank Act), which became law in the United States on July 21, 2010, was the requirement that U.S. public companies disclose their use of “conflict minerals”—and compliance efforts must begin now. Specifically, companies must determine whether any of their products have been manufactured with any tin, tantalum, tungsten, or gold (3TG).

Read More

Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, International, Accounting & Tax, Accountants

Proposed New Approaches to Accounting for Credit Losses

Posted by Ron Pippin on Mon, Apr 01, 2013

Until May 31, 2013, the U.S. accounting standard-setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), is seeking comments on its lengthy, 158-page proposed accounting standards update, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Subtopic 825-15), issued on December 20, 2012. The proposed guidance would change how companies determine when and how a credit loss should be recognized.

Read More

Tags: Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Accountants, GAAP, IFRS

Post-Implementation Reviews of U.S. Accounting Standards

Posted by Ron Pippin on Tue, Mar 19, 2013

This blog article discusses the formal post-implementation review (PIR) process for U.S. accounting standards used by companies, not-for-profit entities, and state and local governments.

Read More

Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Audit Standards, Accountants, US GAAP, GAAP

New Standard for Revenue Accounting Finally Coming!

Posted by Ron Pippin on Fri, Feb 22, 2013

On February 20, 2013, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), completed their “substantive deliberations” on the joint project to issue a comprehensive new standard on accounting for revenue. The changes in this standard will affect almost all companies in one way or another. While minor “tweaks” might occur over the next few weeks, the major decisions have been reached.

Read More

Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, International, Accounting & Tax, Audit Standards, Accountants, GAAP, Decision on IFRS

Best Practices for Preparing Public Company Annual Reports

Posted by Ron Pippin on Wed, Feb 06, 2013

Most public companies in the United States have a reporting year that ends on December 31. Such companies must report their financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within 90 days (by April 1 this year since the 90th day is a Sunday), or sooner if they are an “accelerated filer” as defined by the SEC.

Read More

Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Accountants, GAAP

Expected Developments Affecting Accountants in 2013—Part 3, Non-FASB

Posted by Ron Pippin on Wed, Jan 30, 2013

This is my third and final blog article on my thoughts on developments that may occur in 2013 in “Accounting Land” in the United States. I cover the activities at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Public Company Oversight Board (PCAOB), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and, finally, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

Read More

Tags: Corporate Governance, Business & Legal, SEC, Accounting & Tax, Accountants, US GAAP, GAAP, IFRS

Expected Developments Affecting Accountants in 2013—Part 2, FASB-IASB

Posted by Ron Pippin on Fri, Jan 25, 2013

This is the second of three blog articles on my thoughts on developments that may occur in 2013 in “Accounting Land” in the United States. In this article I discuss the joint projects that the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), are working on. In my third blog article, I will cover the major activities at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Public Company Oversight Board (PCAOB), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and, finally, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

Read More

Tags: SEC, Accounting & Tax, Lease Accounting, Accountants, IFRS

Expected Developments Affecting Accountants in 2013—Part 1, FASB

Posted by Ron Pippin on Mon, Jan 21, 2013

My last two blog postings discussed what happened in “Accounting Land” in the United States in 2012. But that’s history. What about the future? Let’s dust off the crystal ball and I’ll share with you my thoughts on developments that may occur in 2013, in a series of three blog articles.

Read More

Tags: SEC, Accounting & Tax, Lease Accounting, Accountants, US GAAP

2012: A Year in Review for Accountants—Part 2, Auditing and SEC

Posted by Ron Pippin on Fri, Jan 04, 2013

This is the second of two blog articles on 2012 changes in the literature frequently used by accountants. Previously, I covered accounting developments in the United States and internationally. This article covers developments affecting companies (registrants) subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight and auditing developments.

Read More

Tags: SEC, Accounting & Tax, Audit Standards, Accountants, JOBS Act, US GAAP, GAAP, IFRS, Internal Control