Audit Standards
Replacing SAS 70 with SSAE 16 — A Brief Overview
Who Does What User organization – The entity that has engaged a service organization to perform various services for them. For example a company’s employee benefit plan record keeping. Service organization – The entity that provides services to a user organization. Staying with the benefit plan example, a bank trustee, insurance company or benefits administrator, among others. User organization auditor – The auditor (i.e., CPA firm) that conducts the financial statement audit on the user organization. Service organization auditor – The auditor (i.e., CPA firm) that conducts the controls audit at the service organization. The AICPA’s new service organization reporting standard, Statement. Read More.
Private Companies May Soon Get Their Own GAAP
For years, government, public and private parties have discussed creating a separate private company accounting standards. Now standard-setters may actually do something about it. The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) — parent organization to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) — will soon decide whether to adopt recommendations made earlier this year by a blue-ribbon panel on standard setting for private companies. The panel recommended that the FAF establish a separate, private company standards board to develop appropriate changes to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) that would “better respond to the needs of the private company sector.” The new board. Read More.
FASB Announces Public Roundtable Meetings on Insurance Contracts and Leases
On December 9, 16, and 20, 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ( FASB ) and the International Accounting Standards Board ( IASB ) will be holding a number of joint public roundtable meetings to discuss: FASB’s Discussion Paper, Preliminary Views on Insurance Contracts ; and IASB’s Exposure Draft, Insurance Contracts . On December 17, 20, 2010, January 5, and 6, 2011, FASB and IASB will hold joint public roundtable meetings to discuss the Exposure Draft on Leases , which is of particular importance to those companies that depend on leases (e.g., banks, restaurant chains, retail stores, leasing entities, recon developers and other similar organizations).
Blue-Ribbon Panel Envisions GAAP with Exceptions and Separate Board for Private Companies
The blue-ribbon panel formed in 2009 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) , the Financial Accounting Foundation ( FAF ), and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy ( NASBA ) to address how the U.S. accounting standards can best meet the needs of users of private company financial statements met for the fourth time earlier last month . The members of the panel are comprised of a cross-section of financial reporting constituencies, including lenders, investors and owners as well as preparers, auditors, and regulators. A consensus emerged that there is a need for a new standard-setting model that follows Generally. Read More.
SSAE 16 to Replace SAS 70
As you may know, the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board has issued the Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization . This new standard, which was designed to enhance transparency and consistency, will replace the previous Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70, Service Organizations (SAS 70) for all service auditors’ reports for periods ending on or after June 15, 2011, with earlier implementation permitted and encouraged. To help you prepare for compliance with the new standard, the Risk Management Group at Cherry, Bekaert & Holland has prepared a regulatory bulletin (click here to download the pdf) that summarizes some of the notable similarities and differences between SAS 70 and SSAE 16. The bulletin also includes a breakdown of the key changes that Management will need to consider.
CB&H Seminar: Tomorrow’s Accounting Issues Today (9/29/10 – Raleigh, NC)
Join Cherry, Bekaert & Holland and Cardinal Capital Management as we discuss the issues you’ll be addressing in December and how to plan for them presently. We will cover an update on international standards, the new compilation and review standard, proposed changes to accounting for leases and other proposed changes to professional standards. In this seminar, we will provide a year by year overview of federal and state tax law changes and specific year-end tax strategies designed to minimize current year taxes. We will also give economic and investment outlooks, to include the current economic environment, possible scenarios, a historical. Read More.