Search Results

• 03/05/2019
  Examining the New Guidance on Accounting for Nonemployee CompensationBy Shaji Varghese, CPA, Partner

  How will the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) new guidance, Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2018-07, impact share-based payments to nonemployees? Your company will now benefit from a more cost effective and simplified approach to recognizing costs pertaining to nonemployee share-based compensation. This article will help you stay ahead of the curve...

• 08/01/2017
  What You Need to Know - ASU 2017-11By Christopher Smith, CPA, Partner

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) recently announced an important Accounting Standards Update that affects all entities that issue equity-linked financial instruments with “down round” features. The Update simplifies the accounting for financial instruments with these features. What is a Down Round? A “down round” is a financing in which a company...

• 04/18/2017
  What Is Considered a “Business”— and Why Does it Matter?By Christopher Smith, CPA, Partner

  The change to the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) definition of a business, made earlier this year in an Accounting Standards Update (ASU),* will likely lead to more acquisitions being accounted for as asset acquisitions rather than business combinations. This is significant, since the definition of a business affects many...

• 01/04/2017
  Going Concern Assessments – Implementation Requirements are Rapidly ApproachingBy Robert Graham, CPA, Partner 

  Should you be concerned with your “Going Concern” assessment? As a new accounting standards update takes effect, now is the time to ask that question. Background: U.S. auditing standards and federal securities law require an auditor to consider the possible financial statement effects of a company’s ability to continue as a going...

• 10/03/2016
  New Lease Standard - Guidelines for ImplementationBy Justin Van Fleet, CPA, Partner

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) much anticipated standard on lease accounting (Leases – ASC 842) was finally issued on February 25, 2016. It’s now time to prepare to implement the new rules, which will take effect for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. Although it...

• 02/23/2016
  That’s Material?By Michele B. Amato, CPA

  This year may see a new definition for an old concept: Materiality. The parameters around what constitutes a material disclosure in financial statements will be impacted, and some onlookers say the new meaning will give more discretion to companies, which may lead to less information being provided. It was 1976 when...

• 02/23/2016
  Upcoming Changes to Licensing Revenue RecognitionBy Robert Graham and Brian Kearns

  Standards for revenue recognition, historically, have varied among industries. The FASB has undertaken the enormous task of simplifying the standards so all industries can follow the same guidance. Friedman LLP’s Robert Graham and Brian Kearns take a look at what the recent standards update will mean for businesses and how...

• 10/07/2015
  Directors and Officers in the Firing Line

  The Yates Memo: Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrongdoing

• 08/04/2015
  Companies Flocking to OTC Markets Group, Bulletin Board Falling BehindBy Neil Levine

  Companies involved in over-the-counter (“OTC”) exchange trading face a choice – which exchange do I pick? If your company is not trading on a major exchange like NASDAQ or NYSE, there are a few options at play in OTC trading, with some more popular than others.

• 08/03/2015
  7 Ways to Reduce the Cost of a Data BreachBy Kevin M. Hyams, CPA, FCA, CFE

  Experiencing the loss or theft of protected personal data and then having to notify breach victims in the manner prescribed by law can be a costly and stressful experience for any organization. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to reduce the cost and contribute to the mitigation of the risks resulting from this type of cyber-attack.

• 08/03/2015
  4 Big Questions and Answers on Accounting Standards Update 2015-03 By Michael Cohen

  In April 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update 2015-03 for the stated purpose of simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs. Updates to standards often bring about questions – how will this impact my business? How quickly can I get up-to-date?

• 10/01/2014
  The Devil's in the Details

  Public companies are increasingly using social media outlets, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to make important announcements. But these relatively new communication channels raise questions about compliance with Regulation FD, the SEC's "fair disclosure" regulation.

• 08/04/2014
  It's Finally Here: The New Revenue Recognition Standard By Justin Van Fleet

  On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued its standard on revenue recognition, No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers". The new standard will ultimately affect all industries, some more significantly than others, by establishing a single comprehensive model that will eventually exist in the FASB's Accounting Standard Codification Topic 606. The standard, among other things, is expected to remove inconsistencies in current revenue requirements, improve comparability across entities and industries and provide more useful information to users of financial statements.

• 05/05/2014
  SEC Impact: Development Stage EntitiesBy Sviatlana Tsiaptseyeva, Michele Amato

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is drafting an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) which would eliminate the concept of a development stage entity along with the special disclosures required for such entities under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). The final ASU is expected to be voted on by written ballot later this year.

• 03/24/2014
  Maintaining Effective Internal Control over Financial Reporting- It's the Law!By Keivn Hyams

  Since the enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977, federal laws have required public companies to maintain sufficient "internal accounting controls." The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Act") further requires company management to annually assess and report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting ("ICFR"). For larger registrants, the Act also requires independent auditors to attest to management's assessment of the effectiveness of the company's internal control.

• 01/21/2014
  2013 AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB DevelopmentsBy Neil Ehrenkrantz

  The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) kicked off the 2013 AICPA National Conference by indicating public company audits are stronger and the severity of restatements is trending downward.

• 12/02/2013
  The New Internal Control FrameworkBy Michael Cohen

  The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) is a joint initiative of five private sector organizations that is dedicated to improving organizational governance...

• 11/04/2013
  Why Continuing Attacks On In Pari Delicto Will FailBy Andrew Morris

  Litigation in the wake of corporate frauds is keeping the in pari delicto defense in the news - and its critics apoplectic.

• 10/08/2013
  Going Concern PresumptionBy Bruce Fisher

  Under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP), financial statements are prepared under the presumption that the reporting entity will be able to continue as a going concern.

• 09/04/2013
  SEC's Conflict Mineral Rule: The Time to Act is NOWBy Kevin Hyams

  Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act (the "Act"), passed by Congress in 2010, directed the SEC to issue rules requiring certain companies to disclose their use of so called "conflict minerals"...

• 08/05/2013
  Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation May Soon Be ProhibitedBy Robert Graham

  With the amount of reliance that investors place upon the audited financial statements of publicly held companies, it is no surprise that regulators...

• 07/01/2013
  SEC Impact: A History of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)By Neil Ehrenkrantz

  This article was originally published in the July 2013 issue of SEC Impact