Venture gives Intacct access to millions of small and mid-sized businesses through CPA channel. Cloud computing, software-as-a-service, or web-based software — whatever you call it — has long been evolving as the next step beyond CD platters, downloads and endless versioning. With the AICPA deal, Intacct (a dramatic business story in it’s own right) may get the push it needs to challenge Intuit, Sage or Microsoft among small and medium-sized businesses. But more than that, the AICPA’s imprimatur on a SaaS model could well accelerate adoption of the delivery method, overcoming a common stumbling block — the reluctance of CPAs to be pioneers. With the AICPA behind them, CPAs need no longer feel like trail-blazers in adopting and recommending cloud [...]
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AICPA: Madoff’s auditor claimed it didn’t do audits. Ethics probe launched. Friehling & Horowitz, the small New York auditing firm that certified the financial statements of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities, has been telling the AICPA for 15 years that it doesn’t perform audits. By denying it did audits, the firm avoided reviews by the AICPA. New York is one of only six states that doesn’t require accountants to be peer-reviewed. “The plain fact is that this group hasn’t submitted for peer review and appears to have done an audit,” said AICPA spokesman Bill Roberts, noting the Institute has now launched an investigation into the firm. Because of the Madoff scandal, New York State is moving to join the ranks of [...]
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Welcome to “The Age of Transparency.” UPDATED: 5:50 pm to add AICPA comments The Securities and Exchange Commission has officially adopted a rule mandating XBRL filings beginning in 2009. With this rule, the SEC is effectively mandating that all public companies, beginning with large cap filers, submit their SEC reports in Interactive Data format, specifically in XBRL. XBRL software, an evolution of XML, the code the Internet was built upon, makes it much easier to
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What are YOUR top tech issues? The AICPA has released a survey, asking members to prioritize into its annual list of “Top Ten Techs” the technology issues that will have the most impact in 2009. How many of these are you ready for… ? Audit Process Improvement — This initiative is about auditing, process documentation, and the utilization of appropriate tools for continuous monitoring and collaborative auditing. Strategies include continuous auditing, management control systems, continuous control monitoring, and remote auditing. Business Continuity Management and Disaster Recovery Planning — Business Continuity Management and Disaster Recovery Planning are the holistic processes organizations use to mitigate the risks to systems and people when unexpected events occur and include the maintenance of a documented plan [...]
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What you need to know to make your firm more effective. What are today’s best leadership strategies? Join the study; get the answers. by Rick Telberg/At Large In these treacherous and tumultuous times, the difference between winners and losers – survivors and casualties — may well hinge on the qualities of leadership. Some firms and finance organizations are already falling by the wayside. Others are clearly gaining new and powerful competitive advantages that could last for years. Some will flourish; some will perish. But how do you navigate this transformational era? And how do you insure your own success and survival? We took our questions to Bob Bunting (pictured), one of the profession’s most respected authorities on leadership.
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Maybe it’s time to scrap “independence” for comps and reviews. In this three-minute video, AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon (pictured) explains the Accounting and Review Services Committee’s Reliability Project. The AICPA says the project “aims to enable CPAs to perform limited assurance engagements for clients when the external CPA performs certain control services. The accountant would still be precluded from providing any assurance service when he or she has a financial or relationship interest in the company. It is expected that current compilation and review standards will be maintained. The ARSC plans to expose a new standard in late 2008 or in the spring of 2009.” I first reported on the trend in January, February, March and April. And [...]
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For comps and reviews, maybe. Who really needs or wants an “independent” accountant, anyway? Leading accounting firms are pushing a revamp of the rules for compilations and reviews that would drop the traditional ‘independence’ requirement and replace it, instead, with a new standard aimed at reliability. The idea has been cooking for a couple years, but it’s only now starting to get some buzz in the profession. The AICPA’s powerful Accounting and Review Services Committee is now looking at the idea, pushed there by an ad hoc Reliability Task Force of the AICPA PCPS executive committee.
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