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Aaron K. Waller, CPA

Recent Posts

Employee Benefit Plans: Do You Need a Form 5500 Audit?

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Jan 13, 2020

Some benefit plans are required to include an opinion from an independent qualified public accountant (IQPA) when filing Form 5500 each year. The IQPA examines the plan’s financial statements and schedules to ensure they’re presented fairly and in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The financial statements and IQPA opinion are often referred to collectively as the “audit report.”

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Risk Assessment: A Critical Part of the Audit Process

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Dec 16, 2019

Audit season is right around the corner for calendar-year entities. Here’s what your auditor is doing behind the scenes to prepare — and how you can help facilitate the audit planning process.

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How to Keep Track of Small Tools and Equipment

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Nov 06, 2019

Whether it’s hard hats and drills on a job-site, iPads in an office or RFID readers in a warehouse, small tools and equipment have a tendency to disappear at many companies. The cost of lost, damaged and stolen items can quickly add up, consuming profits and cash flow. What can you do to manage these items more effectively and create accountability among workers?

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Internal Audit 2.0: Paperless and Continuous Auditing Trends

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Oct 09, 2019

Technology is altering the traditional approach to internal audits. Instead of reviewing reams of paperwork, today’s auditor is learning to use electronic records. In turn, going paperless facilitates a concept known as “continuous auditing,” where internal auditors continually gather data to support their procedures. Here’s how your business can modernize this process.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Why Do Companies Restate Financial Results?

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Sep 20, 2019

Every year, research firm Audit Analytics publishes a study about financial restatement trends. In 2018, the number of public companies that amended their annual reports increased by 18%.

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How Auditors Use Nonfinancial Information

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Jun 18, 2019

Every financial transaction your company records generates nonfinancial data that doesn’t have a dollar value assigned to it. Though auditors may spend most of their time analyzing financial records, nonfinancial data can also help them analyze your business from multiple angles.

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Comparing Internal and External Audits

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on May 10, 2019

Businesses use two types of audits to gauge financial results: internal and external. Here’s a closer look at how they measure up.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Simplifying the Accounting Rules for Convertible Debt and Equity

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Apr 04, 2019

Distinguishing between liabilities and equity on a company’s balance sheet may seem straightforward. But difficulties arise when it comes to the terms of complex securities and financial contracts like redeemable equity instruments, equity-linked or indexed instruments, and convertible instruments.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Audits Home in on Cybersecurity

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Mar 20, 2019

In 2018, U.S. organizations that suffered a data breach lost an average of $7.91 million as a result. That’s the highest average organizational cost of all the countries and regions covered in the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study by IBM and independent research firm Ponemon Institute. Malicious or criminal attacks were the source of more than half of those breaches, rather than system glitches and human errors.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

Private Companies: Have You Implemented The New Revenue Recognition Standard?

Posted by Aaron K. Waller, CPA on Feb 04, 2019

Private companies that follow U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) must comply with the landmark new revenue recognition standard in 2019. Many private company CFOs and controllers report that they still have significant work to do to meet the demands of the sweeping rules. If you haven’t started the implementation process, it’s time to get the ball rolling.

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Posted in Audit & Assurance

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