Tag: Financial Reporting

Audit Committee Disclosures Expanding in 2020

Audit committees are disclosing more information about their auditors and audits in shareholder reports this year, according to an annual analysis from the EY Center for Board Matters. Ernst & Young found a dramatic increase in disclosures in most categories over the last eight years, Accounting Today reports. Audit committees Read More

SEC to change compliance definitions for SOX 404

SEC to Modify and Modernize Disclosure Requirements

The Securities and Exchange Commission is revising corporate disclosure requirements for the first time in more than 30 years. The Commission voted last week to adopt amendments that will modernize the description of business, legal proceedings, and risk factor disclosures that registrants are required to make pursuant to Regulation S-K. Read More

going out of business

Survey: Internal Auditors Worry About Long-Term Viability in the Face of COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the economy, companies have had to pivot their strategies and adapt to the challenges that the virus has surfaced. To assess how organizations are handling this crisis from an audit perspective, the Institute of Internal Auditors conducted a survey of the responses by Read More

Lease accounting

Audit Survey: Companies Struggling with New Lease Accounting Rules

The first audits completed under the landmark new lease accounting standard are in, and companies say they were challenging. According to a new survey, half of the public companies that have completed their first post-transition audit under the new lease accounting rules report additional effort was needed for the process. Read More

Carillion Denied Access to KPMG Audit Workpapers in Lawsuit Preparation

Collapsed British construction giant Carillion PLC lost a bid to get access to KPMG audit workpapers in preparation for a £250 million ($314 million) lawsuit against the accounting firm for negligence. The failed construction company, which entered into liquidation in 2018, is seeking to sue KPMG LLP and KPMG Audit Read More

Fiat Chrysler

SEC Hits Fiat Chrysler with $40 Million Charge for Misleading Disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Michigan-based automaker FCA US and its parent company, Fiat Chrysler, for misleading investors about the number of new vehicles sold each month to customers in the United States. FCA US and Fiat Chrysler have agreed to pay $40 million to settle the charges. Read More

Don’t Let Fraudulent Wolves Blow the Company’s House Down

Guest Blog Post The whole point of most children’s fairytales is to teach life lessons. Occasionally, these lessons can even be applied to our work lives and professional circumstances. Of course, the complexity and nuance of professional decision-making goes well beyond the broad moral brush strokes of most fables, but Read More

What Internal Audit Can Do to Improve Financial Management

Editor’s Note: This is part five of a six-part series on the Internal Audit Value Chain, which can act as a blueprint for building a successful internal audit function. Click here for the other articles in the series. One of the biggest myths about internal auditors is that they are Read More

SEC to change compliance definitions for SOX 404

SEC Considers Easing Major SOX Provision for Smaller Companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed changes that would limit the need to adhere to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) requirements to obtain audits of their financial controls over financial reporting (SOX 404) to larger public companies. The SEC voted yesterday to propose amendments to the accelerated filer and large Read More

Internal Audit Probe Finds Procurement Misconduct at Kraft Heinz

Global package foods company Kraft Heinz announced in a statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission this week that it would restate nearly three years of financial statements after an internal inquiry, led in part by internal audit, found misconduct in the company’s procurement department. The company will restate earnings Read More