Greg Altman (Buffalo)
On the Record / July 9, 2016
The Buffalo News
Hires/Honors/Promotions - The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants  elected Greg J. Altman, CPA, and the director of finance and operations at Health Sciences Charter School, vice president of its board of directors for a one-year term. Altman was previously a member of the membership and awards committee and served as a past Buffalo chapter president, president-elect, treasurer and executive board member.

Other Accounting and Finance News

Banks Have Brexit to Thank for Two Paths to Poorer Profits
Wall Street Journal
U.K. lenders face two potential paths after the Brexit vote: one that looks bad, the other far worse. Share prices have crumbled though so far investors are only betting on the bad, not the far worse. The first path involves only a worsening of current conditions: lower growth and lower interest rates for longer.

End of Financial Year Accounting Requirements
Lexology
Now that the end of financial year has come and gone, it is time for businesses to look at preparing their financial reports for the 2015/2016 financial year. Although this is important for all businesses, Franchisors must be particularly diligent to prepare these reports before the Franchising Code deadline.

Corporate tax minimization costs governments $US1 trillion says accounting insider
MSN
The big four accounting firms have been branded as aggressive, unethical, and accused of "perpetrating the greatest tax crimes in history" by a leading corporate tax authority. At least $US1 trillion in tax revenue is lost worldwide, and $50 billion in Australia, as a result of aggressive tax minimization schemes established by the four giant firms who audit the books of nearly all the world's major companies, said George Rozvany, a 32-year veteran of the corporate tax industry.

Smart Benefits: DOL Guide Available on White Collar Exemptions to Overtime Rules
GoLocalProv
A guide to assist private sector employers transition to the requirements of the DOL’s recently published Final Rule on Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been produced by the Department. The eight-page guide is designed to help employers understand their responsibilities and options for complying with the FLSA’s overtime provisions in view of the changes introduced to the salary level in particular to prepare for implementation of the Final Rule.

AICPA Issues Exposure Drafts
Accounting Today
The American Institute of CPAs has issued two new exposure drafts, including a proposal to update auditing standards surrounding going-concern evaluations. The institute’s Auditing Standards Board has released Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards, The Auditor's Consideration of an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, which would supersede SAS No. 126 and amend various sections of SAS No. 122, largely in order to accommodate the provisions of the different going-concern standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.

Black Hole of Negative Rates Is Dragging Down Yields Everywhere
Wall Street Journal
The free fall in yields on developed-world government debt is dragging down rates on global bonds broadly, from sovereign debt in Taiwan and Lithuania to corporate bonds in the U.S., as investors fan out further in search of income. The ever-widening rush for yield could create problems if interest rates snap back, which would cause losses on investors’ low-yielding portfolios, or if credit quality falls.