Accounting Tip of the Day: Keeping Current with Legislative Guidance

Posted by Bill Bockwoldton November 16, 2010

I had a great question asked of me today about staying current with SOX/SAS news.  With such a broad topic, it is often difficult to put a dent into all the available information.  

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Tags: Accounting Tip of the Day, compliance, risk management

Accounting Tip of the Day: Write on Your Journal Entries

Posted by Bill Bockwoldton November 10, 2010

Auditors have an unnatural ability to select THE ONE sample you know will get you in trouble...that one sample that caused you heartburn and you were glad to see posted and filed....and that one sample that is almost a year old and you cannot remember the clear details about.  Unfortunately, you cannot simply ask your auditors to select a new sample to make your life easier.  Once your auditors start asking questions and realize that you can't fully remember why that sample isn't as easy to explain as they would hope, they may conclude that the rest of your samples should be scrutinized even further. So the tip is to write everything down on the journal entry itself, regardless of how ugly it looks! Those notes will keep you sane at the end of your audit period because you'll never remember why you didn't write it all down in the first place!

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Tags: Accounting Tip of the Day, audit costs, risk management

The SEC's Top 10 Risks: #7. Ineffective Internal or Disclosure Controls

Posted by Teresa Bockwoldton August 10, 2010

This was an excellent article on why it is more important than ever to accurately document your company-specific risk exposure. The SEC Top 10 List of most frequently questioned issues over the last two years includes “Ineffective internal or disclosure controls”, an area that we believe will be receiving even greater scrutiny in light of the recent Sarbanes-Oxley 404(b) exemption for non-accelerated filers.

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Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, risk assessment, 404, deadline, 404 audit, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, compliance, risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley, audit scope, external auditing, Sarbanes-Oxley for Non-Profits

The PCAOB CONCEPT RELEASE- Section 105(C)(6) of SOX

Posted by Teresa Bockwoldton August 9, 2010

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has made a concept release on the "Possible Rulemaking Approaches to Complement Application of Section 105 (C)(6) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002."

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Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, Announcements, 404, deadline, 404 audit, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, compliance, risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley, external auditing

SOX 404(b) Exemption was Passed with the Wall Street Reform Act – But Non-Accelerated Filers are Still On the Hook for Controls

Posted by Teresa Bockwoldton July 28, 2010

Now that the wait for the 404(b) reprieve is over, it appears that a new trend is emerging to investigate 404(a) statements more closely, as expressed in recent articles on investor and auditor sentiment regarding the legislative change. We are hearing from auditors directly that they will be applying more scrutiny to 404(a) statements made by their clients in their financial reports, to ensure that there is a real basis for self-certification. The newly aggressive SEC and DOJ are expanding personnel and focusing on Corporate Governance and the role of Audit Committees, Directors and Company Officers in Compliance and Financial reporting.

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Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Articles & Information, risk assessment, Announcements, 404, 404 audit, Non-accelerated filer 404(b) information, Wall Street Reform, risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley for Non-Profits