Businesses rely on internal controls to help ensure the accuracy and integrity of their financial statements and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Given their importance, internal controls are a key area of focus for internal and external auditors.
Aaron K. Waller, CPA
Recent Posts
Internal Control Questionnaires: How to See the Complete Picture
Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Jul 21, 2021
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Internal controls are a system of policies and procedures organizations put in place to protect assets and improve operating efficiency. Effective internal controls are critical to accurate financial reporting. A solid system of controls can help prevent, detect and correct financial misstatements due to errors and fraud.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Auditing standards require a year-end risk assessment. One potential source of risk may be a small business’s reliance on the owner and other critical members of its management team. If a so-called “key person” unexpectedly becomes incapacitated or dies, it could disrupt day-to-day operations, alarm customers, lenders, and suppliers, and drain working capital reserves.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
As your company plans for the coming year, management should assess your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis identifies what you’re doing right (and wrong) and what outside forces could impact performance in a positive (or negative) manner. A current assessment may be particularly insightful because market conditions have changed significantly during the year — and some changes may be permanent.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
The coming audit season might be much different than the seasons of yore. As many companies continue to operate remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, audit procedures are being adjusted accordingly. Here’s what might change as auditors work on your company’s 2020 year-end financial statements.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Levels of Assurance: Choosing the Right Option for Your Business Today.
Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Sep 09, 2020
The COVID-19 crisis is causing private companies to re-evaluate the type of financial statements they should generate for 2020. Some are considering downgrading to a lower level of assurance to reduce financial reporting costs — but a downgrade may compromise financial reporting quality and reliability. Others recognize the additional risks that work-from-home and COVID-19-related financial distress are causing, leading them to upgrade their assurance level to help prevent and detect potential fraud and financial misstatement schemes.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
In 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published guidance that requires major changes to how leases are reported on financial statements. One area of the guidance that’s especially complicated relates to “embedded” leases.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Asset Impairment Is Expected to Hit 2020 Financial Statements
Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Jun 22, 2020
Some companies are expected to report impairment losses in fiscal year 2020 because of the COVID-19 crisis. Depending on the nature of your operations and assets, the pandemic could be considered a “triggering event” that warrants interim impairment testing.
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Thanks to the Internet and social media, we’re bombarded daily with all kinds of information. As a result, most people prefer clear, concise snippets of data over lengthy text. Have your financial statements kept up with today’s data-consumption trends?
Posted in Audit & Assurance
Contingent liabilities reflect amounts that your business might owe if a specific “triggering” event happens in the future. Sometimes companies are unclear when they’re required to report a contingent liability on their financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Here are the basics.
Posted in Audit & Assurance