College students can't stand the 150 credit hour requirement to sit for the CPA exam. Employers are desperate to find the next wave of accountants. And now the two main obstacles standing in the way are smelling the coffee. The…
Accounting
Federal rulemakers are requiring more transparency and detail in companies' audits. Turns out all that extra detail is exactly what investors want. Ninety-three percent of investors want to analyze critical asset matters (CAMs) before potentially investing, according to a survey…
Accounting firms face tougher fiduciary duties as the result of three new federal rules. The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) approved guidelines written by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the commission's Sarbanes-Oxley compliance arm. Employees of accounting firms…
Excel is great for summarizing data in tables, charts and PivotTables. Here are a couple of time-saving methods for summarizing data in Excel that Finance staffers can try: Excel Special Paste The Special Paste feature can be used to copy…
The IRS is extending an olive branch to businesses that received tax credits related to COVID-19 in error. The tax cops are launching a second Employee Retention Credit (ERC) voluntary self-disclosure program to run through November 22. Previous ERC claims…
Public companies expect third-party audits to be thorough and accurate. Many aren't getting the results they expect. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is back with its annual report on broker and dealer (B&D) audits. The board reviewed compliance…
The conditional formatting tool in Excel allows users to apply many different formatting options to data. The benefit: sorting and recognizing data is much easier. These Excel formatting options include background colors, borders and font formatting -- all visual cues…
Can a company's cybersecurity weakness equate to "ineffective accounting controls?" The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) says yes ... ... but for now, the courts say no. The SEC charged SolarWinds and its chief information security officer (CISO) Timothy Brown…
Fully integrated, automated payments! A dream goal for many CFOs and controllers. Imagine how much more mission-critical work finance staffers could dig into? Here's a reality check: If you're still in the process of transitioning from manual to automated processes,…
Many businesses are hesitant to spend big bucks on capital improvements or new equipment due to inflation, high interest rates and economic uncertainty. But there's at least one very good reason for not waiting until next year to address a…
Excel financial formulas allow users to process accounting data quickly and easily. To use a financial formula in Excel, click on the “Formula” tab along the main tool bar. From the function library, click on “Financial” and select the formula…
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is calling on publicly traded companies to report employee compensation. And that's not all. As we reported a few months back, FASB also wants public firms to report manufacturing and inventory expenses on their…
