EY split hits wall

Back in September, the Big Four accounting firm announced plans to split its auditing and consulting arms into two entities. Now, ‘Project Everest’ has been halted.

By Elizabeth Flood • April 12, 2023

Tax executives expect higher rates of audits, disputes: EY

Tax jurisdictions worldwide are stepping up scrutiny of businesses as they prepare to enact a 15% global minimum corporate tax next year, according to respondents to an EY survey.

By Jim Tyson • April 10, 2023

IRS targets corporate, wealthy tax cheats

The federal tax collector plans to expand enforcement staff and reverse a decline in audit rates for businesses and households earning more than $400,000 per year.

By Jim Tyson • April 7, 2023

FASB chooses single software accounting model

The new project marks the first time in decades that the U.S. accounting standard setter is revisiting accounting for software costs.  

By Maura Webber Sadovi • April 5, 2023

Ex-Trump CFO, facing fresh legal pressure, swaps attorneys

The legal turmoil still swirling around the Trump Organization’s former CFO shows just how closely intertwined a finance chief’s fate is with that of the organizations they serve.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • April 3, 2023

SEC charges Navy shipbuilder executives with accounting fraud

Austal USA executives allegedly manipulated accounting in order to improve earnings in building the Littoral Combat Ship, the SEC said.

By Jim Tyson • April 3, 2023

FASB maps ‘one-stop shop’ expense disclosure proposal

The proposed expense disclosures could be costly for companies. The FASB has been considering the more stringent standards for at least two decades.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 29, 2023

PCAOB proposes updated standards, faster audit filing

The audit watchdog aims to update and unify interim standards created 20 years ago, aligning its rules with new independence requirements and advances in technology.

By Jim Tyson • March 28, 2023

FASB issues lease standards update

The changes to lease accounting standards (Topic 842) provide narrowly targeted relief for some companies grappling with the guidance from 2016.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 27, 2023

Climate change shareholder proposals trending toward record

Debate has flared in recent months over whether businesses and institutional investors should use ESG criteria when making decisions.

By Jim Tyson • March 27, 2023

Talent shortage frustrates internal auditors

As AI swiftly extends the finance function’s potential for efficiency, audit leaders are concerned about the lack of skilled workers to support new advancements.

By Elizabeth Flood • March 27, 2023

Luckin Coffee’s ‘revenue reckoning’ takeaways

The Beijing-based company was initially viewed as a kind of David poised on its home turf to take on the Goliath of the coffee world — Starbucks — in China.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 24, 2023

ESG poised to gain traction as CFO priority: Gartner

Many organizations are shifting away from a purely “risk management” approach to ESG and are viewing it as a way to attract customers, investors and talent — a trend that will only increase in coming years, according to Gartner.

By Alexei Alexis • March 23, 2023

C-suite pay ‘paper losses’ emerge in PVP filings

Executive compensation or what is effectively realizable pay swings from as much as $1 billion to negative $644 million, proxies from early filers show. 

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 22, 2023

IRS issues NFT tax guidance

The IRS seeks comment on NFTs’ treatment under the newly proposed tax guidance as regulators and lawmakers consider the future of cryptocurrency and digital asset spaces.

By Grace Noto • March 21, 2023

Lessons from SEC’s $3M Blackbaud cyber penalty

The Charleston, South Carolina-based software provider’s recent data breach settlement with the SEC serves as a cautionary tale for C-suite leaders.

By Alexei Alexis • March 21, 2023

Accountant shortages likely to yield more audit failures

The shortage of workers with the core accounting skills needed to staff audits is making audit failures more likely, Hofstra University’s Jack Castonguay says. 

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 20, 2023

IRS misses deadline for upgrading business transcript system

The IRS has faltered as it shifts business tax transcript requests from a paper to an online system, according to the agency’s inspector general.

By Jim Tyson • March 20, 2023

Defunct Katerra sues former CFO for bonus

The failed Softbank-backed startup is alleging its former CFO is obligated to pay back his signing and relocation bonuses amid intensifying scrutiny of executive compensation.

By Grace Noto • March 20, 2023

With tech’s favorite banks in turmoil, some are choosing loyalty

After several high-profile bank failures and near-failures, some fintechs don’t see jumping ship as an option.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • March 20, 2023

Bipartisan Senate bill would bolster SEC whistleblower safeguards

The SEC’s program for gathering tips on securities law violations has imposed $6.3 billion in sanctions since its creation.

By Jim Tyson • March 17, 2023

KPMG’s 29-year SVB stint stirs independence debate

The bank’s failure — two weeks after it effectively got a clean bill of financial health — is reigniting some concerns that cozy client-auditor ties may jeopardize audit rigor.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 16, 2023

FASB kicks off comment period on income-tax updates

While previous FASB efforts to update accounting standards for taxes have fizzled, Chair Richard Jones has said tweaks to the project’s scope have made it achievable.

By Maura Webber Sadovi • March 15, 2023

SEC fines IT firm DXC $8M for ‘misleading’ disclosures

DXC lacked adequate controls for the review, approval and classification of costs, according to the SEC.

By Jim Tyson • March 15, 2023

Signature Bank CFO among those named in investor lawsuit

A proposed class-action complaint claims the bank and its leaders misled investors about Signature Bank’s financial standing.

By Lyle Moran • March 14, 2023