Protecting the Public Interest It’s the time of year when companies provide earnings guidance to investors and financial analysts about their future prospects for 2021. Uncertainties abound because we are in unchartered territory with respect to the impact of Covid-19 on the financial position, operating results, and future cash flows... Read more →

Will Whistleblowers Still Come Forward? A new SEC rule interpretation threatens to weaken the incentive for external whistleblowers to come forward with details about potential corporate fraud. The clarification states that a whistleblower’s tip has to offer insight “beyond what would be reasonably apparent” to the agency from publicly available... Read more →

Accounting Ethics at KPMG is an Oxymoron It was just announced that that the California Board of Accountancy has fined KPMG $1.3 million for violations of the Accountancy Act. The Board’s action arose from KPMG admitting to being disciplined by the Securities and Exchange Commission over its actions to obtain... Read more →

ACFE 2020 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse The 2020 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse developed by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners examined 2,504 cases of fraud in 125 countries causing $3.6 billion losses. The results are an eye-opener with respect to... Read more →

Keys to Operating a Successful Cannabis Business State legislation that permits the sale and distribution of marijuana is on the rise. Thirty-three states allow it for recreational and/or medical purposes including the District of Columbia. Cannabis sales were estimated to be $15 billion in 2018 and projected to be about... Read more →

Global Reporting Guidelines I’ve been communicating with Michael Kraten, a friend of mind and fellow blogger, about accounting issues surrounding the coronavirus. We agree that companies hard hit by the shutdown should disclose a contingent liability that estimates possible losses as a result of the shutdown. This may be easier... Read more →

The Lost Art of an Independent Audit The time has come to revisit the issue whether all nonaudit services should be prohibited for audit clients. The accounting profession continues to struggle with independence issues when both services are provided. The threats and safeguards approach in the AICPA Code does not... Read more →

Indicators of Audit Quality Forty percent of the audits inspected by audit firm regulators had at least one finding indicating a serious problem, according to a new survey. A recent report from the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators, a group of national audit regulators including the Public Company Accounting... Read more →