Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted to protect the employment rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, and ensure their access to public services and accommodation. In September 2008, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 repudiated several U.S. Supreme Court decisions interpreting ADA narrowly, and provided additional clarifications intended to ensure the broad availability of ADA’s protections. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) develops and applies employer standards, facilitates lawsuits by aggrieved employees, and can enforce ADA directly by filing its own lawsuits.

In an effort to widen the safety net for all workers OSHA has recently issued several policy documents affecting both temporary workers and those employed at worksites not subject to collective bargaining agreements. To this end, effective April 29, 2013, OSHA compliance  policy instructs inspectors to determine whether temporary workers are present in a workplace, and to evaluate whether those workers are exposed to workplace hazards without adequate training and/or equipment. (OSHA, 29 CFR 1903.8, 1903.11, Interpretation (2/21/13))

Ensure Your Facility Meets Final EPA New Source Performance Standards for CISWI Units

On February 7, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule (78 FR 9112) amending the new source performance standards for commercial and industrial solid waste incineration units. This action sets forth the agency’s final decision on a number of issues for which it granted reconsideration of the final rule titled “Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units” (CISWI rule) that was issued in March 2011. The final rule establishes effective dates for the standards and makes various technical corrections to clarify definitions, references, applicability, and compliance issues.

The latest regulator to establish a formal policy offering companies incentives to self-police is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which regulates the accountants that audit the books for public companies and broker-dealers and help prepare their periodic reports.  On April 24, PCAOB issued its “Policy Statement on Extraordinary Cooperation in Connection with Board Investigations.”  This Policy Statement formalizes guidance to auditors, explaining how PCAOB’s inspection and enforcement personnel view regulated entities’ willingness to go beyond mere compliance, by taking steps such as:

The accounting standard-setter for companies in the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year—and for all 40 years of the FASB’s existence, I have been practicing as a certified public accountant (CPA), both in public and industry accounting. I currently author this blog and work on a consulting basis with companies to help them understand the accounting rules as well as the way in which they are developed and issued by the FASB and other standard-setters. From this perspective, I will provide a mix of historical facts and some of my own personal views on the development of U.S. accounting rules.

A FIRE CODE PRIMER

Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Free! All are welcome

Are you an employer concerned with California Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) compliance? Some recent developments at the state level may affect your operations. To learn whether you need to take action, read on!

During annual meetings, corporations consult with their stockholders about recent accomplishments, and seek approval for a range of future activities. Shareholders who don't attend still have the right to participate—in order to vote on pending issues they may assign proxies to vote on their behalf, to corporate management or other parties. State corporation laws and individual corporate charters and bylaws provide standards for proxies and proxy solicitations (many are based on the Model Business Corporation Act, section 7.22). In addition, a corporation that is publicly traded on a national securities exchange must comply with proxy rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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.

On April 16, 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court delivered another reminder that agreements must be drafted clearly and specifically if they are to deliver predictable outcomes – otherwise a court’s later efforts to sort through ambiguities may produce surprises. The case is U.S. Airways v. McCutchen. It arose under a medical benefits plan subject to the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).