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Accounting News Roundup: PCAOB Making a List, Checking It Twice; Fat Shaming at the Office; Should You Ditch the Holiday Party? | 12.17.14

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Corporate Audits to Get Wider Review [CFOJ]
Helen Munter, the PCAOB's director of registration and inspections has a list: "environmental risks, international tax and the estimated value of corporate investment portfolios, followed by reviews of how companies are evaluating their risk from declining oil prices and how they calculate and control for accuracy their cash flows."

Grant Thornton chooses Sacha Romanovitch as its new chief executive [Telegraph]
She replaces Scott Barnes to head the UK firm. Barnes will become chairman of Grant Thornton International.

Everything You Need to Know to Get a Consultant Job at Deloitte [BBW]
"Take your time and be sincere about your interest in Deloitte."

Memo to Staff: Time to Lose a Few Pounds [WSJ]
People are starting to notice that your belt has reached its limit: "Seeking to make a dent in the intractable problem of obesity—a condition affecting roughly one-third of U.S. adults and costing companies more than $73 billion a year, according to researchers from Duke University—businesses are experimenting with new measures to encourage workers to slim down. They are moving beyond healthy snacks in vending machines or discounted gym memberships and taking an aggressive, personalized approach to workers’ weight. Some are offering employees wearable fitness trackers and competitions on social apps, covering weight-loss surgeries and drugs, and providing mental-health counseling designed to get at the emotions that may underlie eating issues."

4 Reasons to Kill the Office Holiday Party—and One Reason to Save It [HBR]
“Companies might find that employees would actually prefer time off versus an afternoon or evening of manufactured frivolity.” Or "What if your company’s leaders just threw a party because they enjoyed your company?"

Sex Addiction Is no Excuse for Tax Fraud [AWEB]
FYI.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers targets women [Telegraph]
PricewaterhouseCoopers will announce that it wants the present 14pc figure to rise significantly over the next decade. It is believed that the first target could be 20pc. Ian Powell, the chairman of PwC, also wants to set an “aspirational goal” of 40pc to 50pc of partners being women or from other under-represented groups, such as ethnic minorities.

The Path to Global Standards? [CFO]
[L]ast week Leslie Seidman laid out her “three highest priorities” through June 30. Remember that date., the Securities and Exchange Commission could reveal whether it intends to require all U.S. public companies to incorporate international financial reporting standards into the current U.S. financial reporting system. Speaking on a FASB Webcast, Seidman, who became the top U.S. accounting standard-setter on December 23, said the board’s main tasks for the first two quarters of 2011 are to achieve, along with the International Accounting Standards Board, melded standards in three areas: financial instruments, revenue recognition, and leasing.

Audit Credibility [The Summa]
From Professor Albrecht, ” ‘Do credible CPA audit firms add benefits to clients that exceed the audit costs?’ It’s an interesting question, I suppose, to narcissists (Big 4 auditors, government regulators and accounting professors) who believe that the world revolves around the audit function. It isn’t a question that floats my boat, for I’m concerned with a different question, ‘Credibility?’ Do credible CPA audit firms add net benefits to investors?”

Finance Chiefs Expand Roles [WSJ]
Long seen as the overseer of a company’s books, finance chiefs have been getting more deeply involved in business strategy, deciding where to invest capital and even looking at a company’s product mix. They’re also taking on new responsibilities: overseeing divisions like information technology, production, customer service and human resources. The change comes as companies put more emphasis on controlling costs, seeking input from finance chiefs as the companies try to manage revenue growth more closely during a tentative economic recovery.

In Financial Crisis Autopsy Auditors Nowhere To Be Found [Forbes]
The auditors who weren’t there.

Continuous auditing: putting theory into practice [IIA/Marks on Governance]
Internal auditing, 24/7.

How to Tax the Rich [WSJ]
Turning bad ideas into good.


Harmonised accounting rules to hit US banks [FT]
US banks could see their balance sheets balloon under new proposals from the accountancy rulemakers that would dramatically reduce their ability to net their derivatives exposure. The Financial Accounting Standard Board and its international counterpart are planning to establish a common approach to the presentation of financial assets and liabilities on company balance sheets.

Big four auditors ’embedded in tax haven world’ [Daily Mail]
The Big Four accountancy firms have come under attack for maintaining on average more than 20 offices each in offshore tax havens despite countries working together to crack down on tax avoidance. The four firms – PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young – have 81 offices in offshore tax havens, according to new research by Financial Mail. MP Chuka Ummuna, who earlier this month confronted Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond over the banks’ 300 offshore subsidiaries, said: ‘There’s a whole industry out there dedicated to helping people avoid tax that will increasingly come under the microscope.