CPA Observation Post

Internal auditors have new opportunities in risk management

Business leaders would like more substantial risk management input from internal auditors, a PwC survey shows. Although barriers can discourage internal auditors from increasing their influence, a growing number of business risks present an opportunity for them to add value. Read More>>

Court upholds IRS’s denial of college insurance fund’s application for tax exemption (via @AICPA_JofA)

A fund formed by Florida tax-exempt schools to pool insurance risk for its members does not itself qualify for tax-exempt status, a federal district court held on Wednesday. The fund argued that it was a charitable risk pool or an insurance purchaser, not an insurance provider, but the court ruled it was a "commercial-type insurance company." Read More>>

FASB Readies Framework for Financial Statement Disclosures (via @AccountingToday)

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is making progress on its disclosure framework project, which aims to establish an overarching framework to help the board establish requirements for disclosures in notes to financial statements. Read More>>

Guidance on “Comfort” Letter Requests

In recent months, lenders throughout the United States have made it a practice to request “comfort letters” and “solvency opinions.” These requests can impose tremendous professional responsibilities on practicing CPAs, as well as expose them to the risk of malpractice lawsuits. Read More>>

Lawmakers Aim to Stop PCAOB from Imposing Audit Firm Rotation (via @AccountingToday)

A House subcommittee held hearings Wednesday in which they questioned the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s recent proposal for mandatory audit firm rotation, along with the PCAOB’s push to make disciplinary proceedings against auditors public. Read More>>

CGMA Global Economic Forecast Shows Cautious Optimism for the Year Ahead

The world’s CEOs, CFOs and other senior management accountants have a cautious, yet increasingly positive outlook for the global economy over the next 12 months, according to the first CGMA Global Economic Forecast released today by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). >>Read More

Auditor's reporting model proposal scheduled for Q3 release (via AICPA_JofA)

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's standard-setting agenda, released Monday, shows that a proposal in the auditor's reporting model project is on track to be issued for public comment in the third quarter. The agenda lists the second quarter of 2013 as the target for the final auditor's reporting model standard, or a reproposed standard for further public comment. PCAOB also outlined certain key dates for other projects, including the consideration of audit firm rotation. Read More>>

IRS Reorganizes Corporate Tax Agreement Programs (via @AccountingToday)

The Internal Revenue Service has made organizational and administrative changes in the programs governing agreements between large businesses and the IRS over how tax transactions can be reported, particularly for multinational corporations using transfer pricing. Read More>>

IRS Warns of New Tax Scam

The IRS is warning taxpayers to watch out for people promoting a tax refund or nonexistent stimulus payment based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This credit is available to taxpayers who have qualified college expenses, but promoters of the new scheme claim they can get a refund based on the credit even for people who aren't enrolled in or paying for college. Read More>>

IRS monitoring of volunteer programs good, but could be better (via @AICPA_JofA)

In a report released Monday, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration called a new Internal Revenue Service database of information about volunteer tax preparation programs a success, but noted improvements that could be made. One issue is that data is entered manually, leading to many errors. Read More>>