Posts Tagged: Financial Statement Reporting

If You Are Planning to Work for Grant Thornton in Hawaii, Think Again.

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton is leaving the Hawaiian market this summer after more than 50 years, and selling its practice to two of the firm’s audit partners from the Honolulu office.  Several  established Big Four firms have preceded Grant Thornton in this exodus, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, who left in 2006 after 55 years. Questions: 1. What… Read more »

Tighter Regulations on Swipe Fees

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting.

On May 13, 2010, retailers won a victory over the fees they pay to banks for credit cards. An amendment by Sen. Richard J. Durbin is just one more element of the financial regulation overhaul currently underway the Senate.  The measure allows stores to give customers discounts for paying with cash or using cards with cheaper… Read more »

Reform Bill Targets Credit Raters

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

On Thursday, May 13, 2010, the U.S. Senate  took steps to overhaul the credit-rating agency business, which is widely maligned for its role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis.  An amendment by Democratic Senator Al Franken passed for a government clearinghouse to be set up to assign debt rating duties to agencies, with federal regulators developing… Read more »

Sarbanes-Oxley Benefits without Cost

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting.

Many have debated the cost of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) versus its benefits, given the recent accounting scandals that continue to “pile on”. However, according to Harvard Business School professor, Francois Brochet, the little discussed 2002 provision known as Section 403 is actually making a difference for investors and small companies (and with little cost, unlike some… Read more »

What’s the Diagnosis – Accounting Fatigue Syndrome (AFS)?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting.

At a recent conference in Orlando, financial executives discussed one of the top reasons for employee fatigue – a continuous stream of regulatory and accounting standard-setting guidance that has been issued in recent years and the promise of more to come over the foreseeable future. Questions: 1. Although the article provides little detail, what accounting… Read more »

The Effects of Converting to IFRS

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting.

The Effects of Converting to IFRS The primary question raised in this article is:  “What effects would switching to IFRS have for companies, if forced to switch by the SEC?” Based on a panel of four executives from four major companies, most agreed that there will be almost no material effects in areas that investors… Read more »

New Accounting Rules for Off-Balance Sheet Assets

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting.

New accounting rules governing off-balance-sheet transactions went into effect for most companies in January 2010. The rules force companies to put assets, like mortgage servicing rights, back on their balance sheets. Questions: 1. What financial accounting standards (FASs) are forcing companies to put such assets back on their balance sheets? 2. What are some of… Read more »

Accounting for Security Deposits

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Video Updates.

A security deposit is money paid by the tenant to the landlord. This deposit protects the landlord if the tenant vacates without making required payments or damages the rental property. If the tenant gives proper notice and vacates without owing any rent or damages, the landlord must return the security deposit to the tenant in… Read more »

Green Accounting Roadmap

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Financial Accounting.

A new report by Ceres, a leading coalition of investors, environmental and public interest organizations in North America, stresses that companies must make immediate envrionmental improvements to remain competitive in the 21st century global economy.  Sustainable performance, not short-term environmental initiatives, will position companies to plan and innovate in an increasingly resource-contstrained economy.  Included in… Read more »