Category: a&a

As calendar-year entities wrap up financial reporting for the year, their external auditors work behind the scenes to prepare for audit season. Here’s what you can do to help facilitate the audit planning process. The audit risk assessment During fieldwork, auditors can’t test every transaction, recalculate every estimate or examine every external document. Instead, they…

Running a closely held business is challenging. Owners usually prioritize core business operations — such as managing employees, serving customers and bringing in new sales — over tedious bookkeeping tasks. Plus, the accounting rules can be overwhelming. However, access to timely, accurate financial data is critical to your business’s success. Could outsourcing bookkeeping tasks to…

It’s critical for business owners and managers to understand how to present contingent liabilities accurately in the financial statements. Under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), some contingent losses may be reported on the balance sheet and income statement, while others are only disclosed in the footnotes. Here’s an overview of the rules for properly…

Financial statements help managers, lenders and investors evaluate a company’s financial performance. But they tell only part of the story — and they might not reveal financial distress until it’s too late, especially for companies that issue only annual reports. So it’s critical to watch for these five common warning signs indicating a company may…

The pretax (accounting) profit that’s reported on your company’s income statement is an important metric. Lenders, investors and other stakeholders rely on pretax profits to evaluate a company’s financial performance. However, business owners also need to keep their eyes on taxable income to optimize tax outcomes and manage cash flow effectively. Here’s an overview of…

Timing is critical in financial reporting. Under accrual-basis accounting, the end of the accounting period serves as a “cutoff” for when companies recognize revenue and expenses. However, some companies may be tempted to play timing games, especially at year end, to boost financial results or lower taxes. Observing the end-of-period cutoffs Under U.S. Generally Accepted…

Profitable businesses often experience cash flow shortages, particularly if they’re experiencing rapid growth. Business owners may wonder why they owe taxes when they regularly struggle to find cash to cover their bills. The answer can be found by understanding the key differences between profits and cash flow. Operating activities Profits are closely related to taxable…

The average cost of a data breach has reached $4.88 million, up 10% from last year, according to a recent report. As businesses increasingly rely on technology, cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and aggressive, and risks are increasing. What can your organization do to protect its profits and assets from cyberthreats? Recent report In August…

Is your company planning to hire a new CFO? A recent survey found that hiring managers look for more than financial acumen when vetting CFO candidates. In fact, only 38.5% of CFOs at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies were licensed CPAs in 2023, according to executive recruiting firm Crist Kolder. What other skills may…

Public companies are required to evaluate and report on internal controls over financial reporting using a recognized control framework under rules set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, private companies also need checks and balances to help ensure their financial statements are correct and reduce the risk of fraud. Additionally, transparent reporting…