In response to the widespread disruption caused by COVID-19, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced in their Board meeting on April 8, 2020, a proposal for delays in the following accounting standards for certain entities: (more…)
Getting Ready for an External Audit? Five Tips to Make the Process Easier on You and Your Auditor
Companies often need financial audits when they seek additional funds or have to satisfy the requirements of owners, creditors, investors and other outside parties who want a higher level of comfort on the accuracy of financial statements.
My experience auditing privately held companies has taught me that a few proactive measures can go a long way in avoiding audit delays, keeping you and your auditor on track, and ensuring a smoother audit process for all. So, let’s jump right into those tips, shall we? (more…)
Revenue Recognition Standard and Timeline
By Deepa Bhat, CPA, Principal & Carol Wagner, CPA, Principal
ASL Assurance & Accounting
No time like the present to prepare a game plan for the new revenue recognition standard. To ensure a smooth transition from your current approach, be sure to explore all available resources, read and review practical guidance to understand how these new standards affect your business practices and then develop your implementation strategy. A brief overview of this process is outlined here:
Revenue Recognition Standard and Timeline
Management Now Tasked with “Going Concern” Appraisal
By Kay Filler, CPA, Principal
Historically originating through the lens of the independent auditor, whose auditing standards require the auditor to consider “going concern” matters and potentially include cautionary language in the auditor’s report, all companies that issue GAAP-based financial statements are now required to perform their own evaluation and provide explanatory footnote disclosures in defined circumstances. (more…)
FAQs on Related Party Transactions
As we enter into another audit busy season, I have started my standard exercise of compiling a list of frequently encountered audit and accounting issues that require research, additional analysis and often times detailed disclosures and even material adjustments to my client’s financials. An oft-recurring theme is the existence of related party transactions and how such transactions are recorded and disclosed.
Below are a few frequently asked questions on this subject that merit our attention: (more…)
Statement of Cash Flows – Refreshed After 3 Decades
Diversity in practice led the FASB to revisit the GAAP guidance for the Statement of Cash Flows that has been around since 1987 with the issuance FASB No. 95. Many people thought aspects of these rules were confusing (and contradictory, at times), or even missing entirely. In fact, restatements of public company financial statements often relate to issues with the Statement of Cash Flows (as noted in an earlier post).
Originally planned as a comprehensive project, the FASB altered course to focus efforts on just the most confusing areas, resulting in new guidance covering nine specific issues. The good news is that most of these issues rarely apply to nonpublic tech companies in the Silicon Valley. Eight issues are covered in ASU No. 2016-15 “Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments” issued in August 2016. Several of the issues that might be encountered include handling proceeds from insurance claims, distributions from equity method investees, and contingent consideration payments made after a business combination. Mid-sized companies outside of specific industries would rarely run into the remaining issues. (more…)
Catching Up With More GAAP Simplifications
My first post about the FASB GAAP Simplification Initiative was in April 2015, and I have posted since then about specific GAAP changes under this umbrella that seemed to bestow the most widespread consequences for companies in Silicon Valley. Now seems like a good time to look back over the past year and a half for other GAAP simplification subjects you might not know about, but are not exactly esoteric topics. (more…)
Don’t Be A Victim to Fraud – Implement These Anti-Fraud Controls Now!
A recent survey conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) estimates that fraud losses for a typical organization amount to 5% of total revenues each year with median losses to the tune of $150,000. More than one‐fifth of such losses hit the million dollar mark. The most common type of fraud: asset misappropriation with median losses of $125,000 comprised 83% of all fraud cases reported while financial statement fraud schemes made up just 10% of the total fraud cases, but caused the greatest median loss at nearly $1 million. The frauds reportedly lasted 18 months before being detected. The most telling fact was that private companies logged the highest median loss of $180,000 in comparison to public companies, government, non-profit and other sectors. (more…)
It’s Here! New Lease Accounting Rules
By Kay Filler, CPA, Principal
More specifically, FASB issued the final guidance on February 25, 2016, but it’s not required for private companies until 2020 for calendar year companies (although earlier adoption-starting now-is permitted). Sounds like a long way off, but not really when considering potential impacts of the dramatically different accounting model for everyday lease agreements.
New Lease Accounting Rules
But first, here’s a summary of key accounting and disclosure components of the new rules: (more…)