Accounting and Financial News Stories

Accountants, Auditors to Get a New Ethics Rule Book
Wall Street Journal
Accountants will soon get a new and expanded rule book that gives them step-by-step guidance on what to do if they uncover corporate misdeeds, from money laundering to environmental abuses. The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants plans to release new standards this week aimed at resolving potential conflicts of interest for internal and external accountants and auditors, who can feel bound by strict client confidentiality rules, even when they uncover wrongdoing. 

S.& P. 500 Hits Record, as Dow Nears Peak
New York Times
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index closed at a record high Monday, eclipsing the peak it hit more than a year ago. The Dow Jones industrial average was within 1 percent of its own closing high, which was also set in May last year, but the Nasdaq composite index has further to go.

Legislation Proposed to Counteract Court Ruling on State Usury Caps
Wall Street Journal
A Republican lawmaker late Monday introduced a bill aimed at helping debt buyers bypass state interest-rate caps, mounting a direct response to a case the Supreme Court recently declined to hear. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, calls for allowing debt buyers, including peer-to-peer lenders, to charge the same interest rate as the banks that originated the debt.

Deferred No Longer: Treasury and IRS Issue Long-Awaited 409A Guidance
JD Supra Business Advisor
On June 21, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed Internal Revenue Code (Code) section 409A regulations, modifying existing proposed and final section 409A regulations regarding deferred compensation arrangements. The proposed regulations consist of 19 technical clarifications, most of which do not impact the core rules under the section 409A regulations.

Jamie Dimon: Why We’re Giving Our Employees a Raise
New York Times
WAGE stagnation. Income inequality. A lack of quality education. Insufficient training and skills development. Issues like these have led approximately two-thirds of Americans to believe that the next generation will be worse off than the last. And it is true that too many people are not getting a fair opportunity to get ahead. We must find ways to help them move up the economic ladder, and everyone — business, government and nonprofits — needs to play a role.

Accounting For SMB Cash Flow
PYMNYS.com
Cash flow management need not be limited to the CFO or other top executives within a firm. In fact, for some smaller and mid-sized businesses, it may make sense to outsource the day-to-day oversight of cash in and cash out, with an eye on reconciling that data with accounting functions and making sure that bills get paid on time.

WeiserMazars Merges in Risk Management Group
Accounting Today
WeiserMazars LLP has merged in Risk Management Group, an internal audit service provider in Ladera Ranch, Calif. As part of the deal, Risk Management Group's 11 employees will join WeiserMazars' Advisory and Consulting Practice, beefing up the firm’s internal audit services for the banking industry.

Ireland’s Economy Grows 26% as U.S. Companies Chase Lower Taxes
Bloomberg
Ireland’s economy expanded by more than a quarter last year as companies moved their tax address to the island nation. Gross domestic product rose 26.3 percent, compared with a previously reported 7.8 percent, the Central Statistics Office said on Tuesday. The revisions are partly linked to firms inverting to have an Irish base, it said.

Art of Accounting: More on CPAs Who Leave Public Accounting
Accounting Today
Last month I posted three columns covering CPAs who leave public accounting. They generated widespread interest, but there is a lot more to say. There were many comments posted online, and I also received many emails raising questions on related issues (see Art of Accounting: CPAs Who Go to Work for a Client, CPAs Who Leave Public Accounting and Why CPAs Leave Public Accounting).

What You Need to Know about Gen Z
CPA Practice Advisor
A number of distinct generations work side-by-side in today’s American workforce, and now another generation is getting ready to join the ranks. Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials each offer different challenges, strengths and work styles—and this new generation, Gen Z, is no exception. For a company to succeed, these generations all must coexist productively.

The Big Number: 2.3
Wall Street Journal
Finance chiefs who have been around the same block may be a good investment. Companies that hired a CFO with experience in the same industry outperformed a broad index of U.S. companies by an average 2.3 percentage points in shareholder returns during the year ended June 30, according to Management CV Inc.