Addition to your client continuance checklist – use ideas from seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executives

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews /

Here’s an idea for something to add to your client continuance checklist.

Boil down the major points of The seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executives, by Sidney Finkelstein, which he wrote in 2004.  Turn his analysis into a list of major warning signs that suggest you don’t want to keep working with a client.

I’ve just started reading the full article.  Here is a summary, provided by David Albrecht, in his post, Arrogance and Social Media. …

Addition to your client continuance checklist – use ideas from seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executivesRead More »

Addition to your client continuance checklist – use ideas from seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executives Read More »

Our responsibility as CPAs is to our clients, the shareholders

2 Comments / Audits, Compilations & reviews, Pondering /

Francine McKenna reposts one of her favorite discussions on the responsibility of CPAs: – Madoff, MLK, Buddha And Elusive Nature of Self-Interest

The core question is where do we place our ultimate focus and loyalty?

Management who hired us?  The CFO who could get us fired?  The board of directors? Senior partners of our firm?

No, no, no, and no.

…

Our responsibility as CPAs is to our clients, the shareholdersRead More »

Our responsibility as CPAs is to our clients, the shareholders Read More »

Olympus sues current board members and current president

1 Comment / Accounting, Fraud /

Yesterday I mentioned that Olympus was going after its former chairman and two others.

Today we found out who was sued.

A WSJ report indicates Olympus has sued 19 executives, including the current president and four current directors who are also senior executives over the fiasco of hiding a $1.7M loss. 

…

Olympus sues current board members and current presidentRead More »

Olympus sues current board members and current president Read More »

Survey of major accounting issues on the horizon

Leave a Comment / Accounting /

Prof. William F. O’Brien, CPA, has a great survey of the major accounting issues in our future and some suggestions on how to absorb the change that is on the way.  His article, Surf’s Up! Wave of Financial Reporting is Coming, is in the January/February edition of California CPA magazine.

Major issues he describes are:

…

Survey of major accounting issues on the horizonRead More »

Survey of major accounting issues on the horizon Read More »

Olympus update – lawsuit against former chairman & former CEO gives up trying to get his job back

1 Comment / Accounting, Fraud /

Olympus has sued its former chairman and two other individuals. According to the Wall Street Journal article, Olympus Sues Former Chairman (all articles behind a pay wall), when the company made announcement, they didn’t give details of the suit or even say exactly how people are being sued.

Most interesting tidbit in the article is the lawsuit was based upon an independent report from three lawyers regarding the role of the board in the scandal. That report will be released on January 10, according to the article.

Hint that there’s major, useful news on the horizon:

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Olympus update – lawsuit against former chairman & former CEO gives up trying to get his job backRead More »

Olympus update – lawsuit against former chairman & former CEO gives up trying to get his job back Read More »

Before you wish for the feds to take over public accounting…

Leave a Comment / Audits /

Sometimes I see suggestions that the solution to the issues in our current model of CPAs auditing their clients is to have the government take over the auditing role.

Before you start wishing for that too hard, let me mention just three things I’ve noticed of late: …

Before you wish for the feds to take over public accounting…Read More »

Before you wish for the feds to take over public accounting… Read More »

Reporting restatements to the California Board of Accountancy

Leave a Comment / Audits, Compilations & reviews /

If you report on financial statements with a restatement of prior year numbers, you may have to notify the CBA.

The board has a very brief summary of the three circumstances when you have to notify them in the current issue of their newsletter, Update.  You can see the short article on page 10 of this issue.

Here is my really fast summary –

…

Reporting restatements to the California Board of AccountancyRead More »

Reporting restatements to the California Board of Accountancy Read More »

If your mandatory peer review reporting is due July 2012, its time to get started

Leave a Comment / Peer Review /

Mandatory peer review in California is being phased in over three years.  Current issue of the California Board of Accounancy’s newsletter, Update, has a superb brief article on page 8.

Here is a great one sentence summary:

In July 2011, licensees with license numbers ending in 34 through 66 were notified that they are required to submit a Peer Review Reporting Form to the CBA by July 1, 2012.

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If your mandatory peer review reporting is due July 2012, its time to get startedRead More »

If your mandatory peer review reporting is due July 2012, its time to get started Read More »

Compilation and Review Alert for 2012 released by AICPA

Leave a Comment / Compilations & reviews /

The AICPA has released Compilation and Review Developments – Compilation and Review Alert 2011/12.

Available on CPA2Biz here.

If you are in the comp and review world, it would be a really good idea to read through this alert every year. Usually released about this time, so you can use it for your year-end SSARS engagements, which will be starting soon.

Compilation and Review Alert for 2012 released by AICPA Read More »

My guest post at re:The Auditors on accounting for the Olympus fraud

2 Comments / Accounting, Audits, Fraud /

Francine McKenna asked me to combine my short comments on the Olympus fraud into a guest post on her blog.

I’m quite happy to announce my revised, expanded, and edited discussion is available. You can read the full thing at How Do You Hide A Multibillion Dollar Loss? Accounting For The Olympus Fraud

Many thanks to Francine for the wonderful opportunity to speak to a big audience.

My guest post at re:The Auditors on accounting for the Olympus fraud Read More »

What’s going on in the big firms? Part IV, or, what’s the turning radius of a ship or large CPA firm?

Leave a Comment / Audits /

What is the turning radius of a fully loaded oil tanker?

It’s measured in miles.

What does that have to do with accounting?  The common question is how fast can you change direction, whether on a huge ship or a huge organization?  I think there are some similarities.

With a fully loaded supertanker there is a tremendous amount of weight, which creates huge inertia when you’re under way. Turn the rudder as far as you want, it still takes time to change direction.  Same description applies to a large CPA firm.

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What’s going on in the big firms? Part IV, or, what’s the turning radius of a ship or large CPA firm?Read More »

What’s going on in the big firms? Part IV, or, what’s the turning radius of a ship or large CPA firm? Read More »

Series of posts on GIK valuation

Leave a Comment / Accounting /

I have started a series of posts at my other blog, Nonprofit Update, discussing gift in kind valuation issues. 

Those posts are written for an audience of non-accountants. The CPAs reading this blog who work with nonprofit organizations might get something out of those posts.  There is a bit of commotion in the NPO community on valuation.  Description of my posts with embedded links:

Series of posts on GIK valuation Read More »

How I make corrections and updates to posts

Leave a Comment / Accounting, Other stuff /

This would be a good time to explain how I make changes on posts. The etiquette in the blogging world seems to be that changes and corrections should be clearly identified.  That’s a great idea.

Here’s my protocol:

The original comments will be left in the post.

Corrections and deletions will be marked through with strikeout.

Update comments will be identified Update: with the word update and italicized comment.

Small updates will be italicized right after a strikeout. For illustration example.

Minor typos will be corrected without a special notation, unless it has significance to the article.

With two different series of posts I’m working on now, I’m making a number of corrections, so thought it worthwhile to mention this.

How I make corrections and updates to posts Read More »