News

In today’s volatile economy, many businesses and nonprofits have been required to write down the value of acquired goodwill on their balance sheets. Others are expected to follow suit — or report additional write-offs — in 2022. To...

In recent years, accounting rule makers have issued guidance that requires certain items on the balance sheet to be reported at “fair value.” Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about this standard of value and how...

Small businesses may start off using the cash-basis method of accounting. But many eventually convert to accrual-basis reporting to conform with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Which method is right for you? Cash method Under...

Major events or transactions — such as a natural disaster, a cyberattack, a regulatory change or the loss of a large business contract — may happen after the reporting period ends but before financial statements are finalized. The...

Business transactions with related parties — such as friends, relatives, parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliated entities — may sometimes happen at above- or below-market rates. This can be misleading to people who rely on your...

Recently, the news media has given a lot of attention to initial public offerings using special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). But there’s another major transaction that’s gaining momentum amid the economic chaos caused by the...

In late January, a survey entitled “Audit Committee Practices Report: Common Threads Across Audit Committees” was published by Deloitte and the Center for Audit Quality, an affiliate of the American Institute of Certified Public...

Starting in fiscal year 2022, all entities — except nonprofit organizations in the scope of Topic 958, Not-for-Profit Entities, and employee benefit plans — must provide detailed disclosures about government assistance. Here are the...

The first page of audited financial statements is the auditor’s report. This is an important part of the financials that shouldn’t be overlooked. It contains the audit opinion, which indicates whether the financial statements are fairly...

Spring is the time of year that calendar-year-end businesses issue financial statements and prepare tax returns. This year, take your financial data beyond compliance. Here’s how financial statements can be used to be proactive, not reactive,...

Footnotes appear at the end of a company’s audited financial statements. These disclosures provide insight into account balances, accounting practices and potential risk factors — knowledge that’s vital to making well-informed...

Revenue and expenses, as reported on your company’s income statement, have limited usefulness to people inside the organization. Managers often need information presented in a different format in order to make operational and strategic...

Your business needs financial statements so management can monitor performance, attract investment capital and borrow money from a bank or other lender. But not all financial statements are created equal. Audited statements are considered the...

Forecasting key business metrics — such as sales demand, receivables, payables and working capital — can help you reduce excess inventory and other overhead, offer competitive prices, and keep your business on solid financial footing....

Ineffective inventory management and reporting can result in bloated working capital and impaired business profits. In industries that rely on overseas suppliers, best practices for managing inventory may have recently changed. In today’s...

Last-minute changes to contracts can be frustrating. But, if managed properly, they can sometimes provide an opportunity to boost profits. Here are ways construction companies, engineering firms, software developers and other businesses that enter...

While digitalization continues to take hold of the business world, the billing and collections functions for many organizations remain largely paper based. Businesses that automate the accounts receivable process may accomplish several operational...

Forecasting how your company is likely to perform over the next year can be challenging, especially when it’s unclear where the markets are heading. But accurate forecasts are critical when managing a business. For example, they may be used to...

While no one wants to receive an IRS notice, it is important to understand the appropriate steps to take and what is required of the taxpayer. Most notices from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are automated and, in recent years, the organization...

On November 17, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting standard on disclosing certain types of government incentives that businesses receive to set up shop in a locality. The standard comes at a time when...