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The Pros and Cons of Interim Reporting

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires certain public companies to publish quarterly financial statements to give investors insight into midyear performance. Though interim reporting generally isn’t required for private companies, stakeholders in smaller entities can benefit even more than those of public companies from this type of information. But it’s also important to understand the potential shortcomings.

Upsides

Interim financial statements cover periods of less than a year. They show how a company is doing each month or quarter.

If you think of annual financial statements as report cards for a business, interim reports would be like progress reports that may forewarn of troubles ahead — or reassure you that everything is going well. A lender or investor might request interim financial statements if a company:

  • Has implemented a turnaround plan to avert bankruptcy,
  • Has previously reported a major impairment loss,
  • Is in an industry that is experiencing a downturn, or
  • Is seeking new investors or applying for a loan.

These reports may provide peace of mind. Or they might signal impending financial turmoil due to, say, the loss of a major customer, significant uncollectible accounts receivable or pilfered inventory.

Early detection of such problems is critical for smaller businesses. While large public companies can often recover from a bad quarter or year, waiting until year end to discover these issues can be disastrous to a smaller business.

Downsides

Interim reports also have certain drawbacks and limitations. Unlike annual financial statements, interim financial statements are usually unaudited and condensed. So, when reviewing interim reports, revisiting last year’s complete annual financial statements may be helpful. Also check that accounting practices are consistent between the interim and year-end financial statements.

Specifically, interim numbers may omit estimates for bad-debt write-offs, accrued expenses, prepaid items, management bonuses or income taxes. And sometimes tedious bookkeeping procedures, such as physical inventory counts, updating depreciation schedules and composing detailed footnote disclosures, aren’t completed until year end. Instead, interim account balances often reflect last year’s amounts or may be based on historic gross margins.

For seasonal businesses, there are operating peaks and troughs. So you can’t multiply quarterly profits by four to reliably predict year end performance. Instead, you may need to benchmark current year-to-date numbers against last year’s monthly (or quarterly) results.

For more information

If interim statements reveal irregularities, you should consider digging deeper to find out what’s happening. Our accounting and auditing pros can help you address unresolved issues and determine an appropriate course of action.

© 2019

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In Pursuit of Global Tax Transparency

In today’s global economy, multinational corporations engage in numerous cross-border transactions. But how they report those transactions is often vague. To help minimize stakeholders’ exposure to potential hidden risks, the Financial Accountability & Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition wants multinationals to disclose more information about corporate taxes.

A global movement

The FACT Coalition is a nonpartisan group of more than 100 state, national and international organizations working toward a fair global tax system and curbing corrupt financial practices. Its website reports that, until the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the 500 largest U.S. companies had $2.6 trillion stashed offshore, costing taxpayers over $750 billion in unpaid taxes. But tax reform didn’t completely stop the problem. Under the TCJA, offshore tax avoidance is expected to cost an additional $14 billion in lost tax revenue over the next decade.

As of March 2019, the United States and 77 countries require multinationals to file country-by-country reports privately to tax authorities, according to a standard set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). But few countries require public disclosures of such information, except by certain banks and oil, gas and mining companies.

What inquiring minds want to know

The FACT Coalition recently issued a report titled Trending Toward Transparency: The Rise of Public Country-by-Country Reporting. It urges Congress, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to up the ante.

Specifically, the FACT Coalition wants multinational corporations to publicly disclose, on an annual, country-by-country basis:

  • The number of entities,
  • The names of principal entities,
  • Primary activities of these entities,
  • The number of employees,
  • Total revenues broken out by third-party sales and intragroup transactions of the tax jurisdiction and other tax jurisdictions,
  • Profit/loss before tax,
  • Tangible assets other than cash and cash equivalents,
  • Corporate tax paid on a cash basis,
  • Corporate tax accrued on the profit or loss (including reasons for any discrepancies), and
  • Significant tax incentives.

The FACT Coalition believes that “these enhanced disclosures are essential for investors to effectively value and assess the risks related to the public companies in which they have invested.”

Transparent reporting

Some multinationals, such as Vodafone and Unilever, voluntarily provide country-by-country tax disclosures. Should your company report similar information? Companies that are upfront about their tax strategies may engender trust and goodwill with stakeholders.

Contact us to discuss whether the benefits of expanded global tax disclosures outweigh the costs. We can help you collect this information and report it to your investors to a user friendly format.

© 2019

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How Auditors Use Nonfinancial Information

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.

Gathering audit evidence

The purpose of an audit is to determine whether your financial statements are “fairly presented in all material respects, compliant with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and free from material misstatement.” To thoroughly assess these issues, auditors need to expand their procedures beyond the line items recorded in your company’s financial statements.

Nonfinancial information helps auditors understand your business and how it operates. During planning, inquiry, analytics and testing procedures, auditors will be on the lookout for inconsistencies between financial and nonfinancial measures. This information also helps auditors test the accuracy and reasonableness of the amounts recorded on your financial statements.

Looking beyond the numbers

A good starting point is a tour of your facilities to observe how and where the company spends its money. The number of machines operating, the amount of inventory in the warehouse, the number of employees and even the overall morale of your staff can help bring to life the amounts shown in your company’s financial statements.

Auditors also may ask questions during fieldwork to help determine the reasonableness of financial measures. For instance, they may ask you for detailed information about a key vendor when analyzing accounts payable. This might include the vendor’s ownership structure, its location, copies of email communications between company personnel and vendor reps, and the name of the person who selected the vendor. Such information can give the auditor insight into the size of the relationship and whether the timing and magnitude of vendor payments appear accurate and appropriate.

Your auditor may even look outside your company for nonfinancial data. Many websites allow customers and employees to submit reviews of the company. These reviews can provide valuable insight regarding the company’s inner workings. If the reviews uncover consistent themes — such as an unwillingness to honor product guarantees or allegations of illegal business practices — it may signal deep-seated problems that require further analysis.

Facilitating the audit process

Auditors typically ask lots of questions and request specific documentation to test the accuracy and integrity of a company’s financial records. While these procedures may seem probing or superfluous, analyzing nonfinancial data is critical to issuing a nonqualified audit opinion. Let’s work together to get it right!

© 2019

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AUP Engagements: A Middle Ground Between Audits and Consulting Services

Your CPA offers a wide menu of services. An audit is a familiar type of attestation service that provides a formal opinion about whether the company’s financial statements conform to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Consulting services, in contrast, provide advice or technical assistance that’s only for internal purposes. That is, lenders and other third parties can’t rely on the findings, conclusions and recommendations presented during a consulting project.

If you need a report that falls somewhere between these alternatives, consider an agreed upon procedures (AUP) engagement.

Scope

An AUP engagement uses procedures similar to an audit, but on a limited scale. It can be used to identify specific problems that require immediate action. When performing an AUP engagement, your CPA makes no formal opinion; he or she simply acts as a fact finder. The report lists:

  • The procedures performed, and
  • The CPA’s findings.

It’s the user’s responsibility to draw conclusions based on those findings. AUP engagements may target specific financial data (such as accounts payable, accounts receivable or related party transactions), nonfinancial information (such as a review of internal controls or compliance with royalty agreements), a specific financial statement (such as the income statement or balance sheet) or even a complete set of financial statements.

Advantages

AUP engagements boast several advantages. They can be performed at any time during the year, and they can be relied on by third parties. Plus, you have the flexibility to choose only those procedures you feel are necessary, so AUP engagements can be cost-effective.

Specifically, AUP engagements can be useful:

  • In M&A due diligence,
  • When a business owner suspects an employee of misrepresenting financial results, and
  • To determine compliance with specific regulatory requirements, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA).

In addition, lenders or franchisors may request an AUP engagement if they have doubts or questions about a company’s financials or the effectiveness of its internal controls — or if they want to check on the progress of a distressed company’s turnaround plan.

Contact us

AUP engagements can be performed to supplement audits and consulting engagements — or as a standalone service. We can help you customize an AUP engagement that fits the needs of your business and its stakeholders.

© 2019

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Measuring “Fair Value” for Financial Reporting Purposes

The standard for valuing certain assets and liabilities under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is “fair value.” This differs from other valuation standards that may apply when valuing a security or business interest in a litigation or mergers and acquisitions (M&A) setting.

FASB guidance

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures , in 2006. It defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.”

The statement unified approximately 60 existing accounting pronouncements that used this term. Among the items currently reported at fair value (rather than historic cost) are asset retirement obligations, derivatives and intangible assets acquired in a business combination.

Valuation hierarchy

The statement also establishes a “fair value hierarchy” that emphasizes market-based valuation methods. In order of decreasing relevance, the following factors should be considered when measuring fair value:

  1. Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities,
  2. Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, or other “observable” inputs, and
  3. Unobservable inputs, such as the reporting entity’s own data.

When the recession hit in 2008, the FASB advised companies to use internal assumptions, such as expected cash flows and appropriately risk-adjusted discount rates, to value securities when relevant market data is unavailable. FASB guidance said that, in times of “market dislocation,” market prices may not always be determinative of fair value. Rather, valuations “may require the use of significant judgment about whether individual transactions are forced liquidations or distressed sales.”

Different purposes, different standards

Though it may be tempting to “recycle” valuations prepared for litigation or M&A purposes for use in financial reporting (or vice versa), the values may not be equivalent. That’s because different standards sometimes apply, depending on the purpose of the valuation.

For example, “fair value” in an oppressed shareholder or divorce case may be statutorily defined and based on relevant case law. Likewise, “strategic value,” which is commonly used in M&As, may include buyer-specific synergies and, therefore, warrant a premium above the price others in the marketplace would pay.

In addition, the FASB specifically avoided using the term “fair market value” in ASC 820. This term applies to valuations prepared for federal tax purposes. The rationale was that the FASB wanted to separate its guidance from the extensive body of IRS guidance and Tax Court precedent. The term “fair value” has less baggage tied to it and allowed the FASB to start with a clean slate.

Use valuation experts

Estimating fair value, like any valuation assignment, generally requires the use of specialists who are independent of your audit team. Contact us for more information about fair value measurements.

© 2019

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Predicting Future Performance

CPAs typically report historical financial performance. But sometimes they’re hired to predict how a company will perform in the future.

Prospective reporting options

There are three types of reports to choose from when predicting future performance:

  1. Forecasts. These prospective statements present an entity’s expected financial position, results of operations and cash flows. They’re based on assumptions about expected conditions and courses of action.
  2. Projections. These statements are based on assumptions about conditions expected to exist and the course of action expected to be taken, given one or more hypothetical assumptions. Financial projections may test investment proposals or demonstrate a best-case scenario.
  3. Budgets. Operating budgets are prepared in-house for internal purposes. They allocate money — usually revenues and expenses — for particular purposes over specified periods.

Though these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there are important distinctions under the attestation standards set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Factors to consider

Historical financial statements are often used to generate forecasts, projections and budgets. But accurate predictions usually require more work than simply multiplying last year’s operating results by a projected growth rate — especially over the long term.

For example, a high-growth business may be growing 20% annually, but that rate is likely unsustainable over time. Plus, the business’s facilities and fixed assets may lack sufficient capacity to handle growth expectations. If so, management may need to add assets or fixed expenses to take the company to the next level.

Similarly, it may not make sense to assume that annual depreciation expense will reasonably approximate the need for future capital expenditures. Consider a tax-basis entity that aggressively took advantage of the expanded Section 179 and bonus depreciation deductions in 2018, which permitted immediate expensing in the year qualifying fixed assets were purchased. Because depreciation is so boosted by these tax incentives, this assumption may overstate depreciation and capital expenditures going forward.

Various external factors, such as changes in competition, product obsolescence and economic conditions, can affect future operations. So can events within a company. For example, new or divested product lines, recent asset purchases, in-process research and development, and outstanding litigation could all materially affect future financial results.

Objective expertise

Some companies create prospective financial reports as part of their annual planning process. Others use these reports to apply for loans or to value the business for corporate litigation, buying out a retiring owner or a merger or acquisition. Whatever the reason for creating prospective financial statements, it’s important that the underlying assumptions be realistic and well thought out. Contact us for objective insights that are based on industry and market trends, rather than simplistic formulas and gut instinct.

© 2019

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Close-Up on Financial Statements

There are three types of financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Each one reveals different, but equally important, information about your company’s financial performance. And, together, they can be analyzed to help owners, management, lenders and investors make informed business decisions.

Profit or loss

The income statement shows revenue and expenses over the accounting period. A commonly used term when discussing income statements is “net income,“ which is the income remaining after all expenses (including taxes) have been paid.

It’s also important to check out the company’s “gross profit.“ This is the income earned after subtracting the cost of goods sold from revenue. Cost of goods sold includes the cost of direct labor and materials, as well as any manufacturing overhead costs required to make a product.

The income statement also lists sales, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. They reflect functions, such as marketing and payroll, that support a company’s production of products or services. Often, SG&A costs are relatively fixed, no matter how well your business is doing. Compute the ratio of SG&A costs to revenue. If the percentage increases over time, business may be slowing down.

Financial position

The balance sheet tallies your company’s assets, liabilities and net worth to create a snapshot of its financial health on the financial statement date. Assets are customarily listed in order of liquidity. Current assets (such as accounts receivable) are expected to be converted into cash within a year, while long-term assets (such as plant and equipment) will be used to generate revenue beyond the next 12 months.

Similarly, liabilities are listed in order of maturity. Current liabilities (such as accounts payable) come due within a year, while long-term liabilities are payment obligations that extend beyond the current year.

Because the balance sheet must balance, assets must equal liabilities plus net worth. So, net worth is the extent to which assets exceed liabilities. It may signal financial distress if your net worth is negative. Other red flags include:

  • Current assets that grow faster than sales, and
  • A deteriorating ratio of current assets to current liabilities.

These trends could indicate that management is managing working capital less efficiently than in prior periods.

Cash inflows and outflows

The statement of cash flows shows all the cash flowing in and out of your company during the accounting period. For example, your company may have cash inflows from selling products, borrowing, and selling stock. Outflows may result from paying expenses, investing in capital equipment and repaying debt.

The statement of cash flows is organized into three sections: cash flows from operating, financing and investing activities. Ideally, a company will generate enough cash from operations to cover its expenses. If not, it may need to borrow money or sell stock to survive.

Ratios and trends

The most successful businesses continually monitor ratios and trends revealed in their financial statements. Contact us if you need help interpreting your financial results.

© 2019

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Comparing Internal and External Audits

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

Focus

Internal auditors go beyond traditional financial reporting. They focus on a company’s internal controls, accounting processes and ability to mitigate risk. Internal auditors also evaluate whether the company’s activities comply with its strategy, and they may consult on a variety of financial issues as they arise within the company.

In contrast, external auditors focus solely on the financial statements. Specifically, external auditors evaluate the statements’ accuracy and completeness, whether they comply with applicable accounting standards and practices, and whether they present a true and accurate presentation of the company’s financial performance. Accounting rules prohibit external audit firms from providing their audit clients with ancillary services that extend beyond the scope of the audit.

The audit “client”

Internal auditors are employees of the company they audit. They report to the chief audit executive and issue reports for management to use internally.

External auditors work for an independent accounting firm. The company’s shareholders or board of directors hires a third-party auditing firm to serve as its external auditor. The external audit team delivers reports directly to the company’s shareholders or audit committee, not to management

Qualifications

Internal auditors don’t need to be certified public accountants (CPAs), although many have earned this qualification. Often, internal auditors earn a certified internal auditor (CIA) qualification, which requires them to follow standards issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).

Conversely, the partner directing an external audit must be a CPA. Most midlevel and senior auditors earn their CPA license at some point in their career. External auditors must follow U.S. Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS), which are issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Reporting format

Internal auditors issue reports throughout the year. The format may vary depending on the preferences of management or the internal audit team.

External auditors issue financial statements quarterly for most public companies and at least annually for private ones. In general, external audit reports must conform to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or another basis of accounting (such as tax or cash basis reporting). If needed, external auditing procedures may be performed more frequently. For example, a lender may require a private company that fails to meet its loan covenants at year end to undergo a midyear audit by an external audit firm.

Common ground

Sometimes the work of internal and external auditors overlaps. Though internal auditors have a broader focus, both teams have the same goal: to help the company report financial data that people can count on. So, it makes sense for internal and external auditors to meet frequently to understand the other team’s focus and avoid duplication of effort. Contact us to map out an auditing strategy that fits the needs of your company.

© 2019

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Lean Manufacturers: Reap the Benefits of Lean Accounting

Standard cost accounting doesn’t necessarily work for lean operations. Instead, lean accounting offers a simplified reporting alternative that generates more timely, relevant financial data. But it’s not right for every situation.

What’s lean manufacturing?

Lean manufacturers strive for continuous improvement and elimination of non-value-added activities. Rather than scheduling workflow from one functional department to another, these manufacturers organize their facilities into cross-functional work groups or cells.

Lean manufacturing is a “pull-demand” system, where customer orders jumpstart the production process. Lean companies view inventory not as an asset but as a waste of cash flow and storage space.

Why won’t traditional accounting methods work?

From a benchmarking standpoint, liquidity and profitability ratios tend to decline when traditional cost accounting methods are applied to newly improved operations. For example, to minimize inventory, companies transitioning from mass production to lean production must initially deplete in-stock inventories before producing more units. They also must write off obsolete items. As they implement lean principles, many companies learn that their inventories were overvalued due to obsolete items and inaccurate overhead allocation rates (traditionally based on direct labor hours).

During the transition phase, several costs — such as deferred compensation and overhead expense — transition from the balance sheet to the income statement. Accordingly, lean manufacturers may initially report higher costs and, therefore, reduced profits on their income statements. In addition, their balance sheets initially show lower inventory.

Alone, these financial statement trends will likely raise a red flag among investors and lenders — and possibly lead to erroneous business decisions.

How does lean accounting work?

Standard cost accounting is time consuming and transaction-driven. To estimate cost of goods sold, standard cost accounting uses complex variance accounts, such as purchase price variances, labor efficiency variances and overhead spending variances.

In contrast, lean accounting is relatively simple and flexible. Rather than lumping costs into overhead, lean accounting methods trace costs directly to the manufacturer’s cost of goods sold, typically dividing them into four value stream categories:

  1. Materials costs,
  2. Procurement costs,
  3. Conversion costs, such as factory wages and benefits, equipment depreciation and repairs, supplies, and scrap, and
  4. Occupancy costs.

These are easier to understand and evaluate than the variances used in standard cost accounting. In addition, box score reports are often used in lean accounting to supplement profit and loss statements. These reports list performance measures that traditional financial statements neglect, such as scrap rates, inventory turns, on-time delivery rates, customer satisfaction scores and sales per employee.

Should your company abandon standard cost accounting?

Most companies are required to use standard cost accounting methods for formal reporting purposes to comply with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). But lean manufacturers may benefit from comparing traditional and lean financial statements. Such comparisons may even highlight areas to target with future lean improvement initiatives. Contact us for more information.

© 2019

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Close-Up on Professional Standards for CPAs

The accounting profession is largely self-regulated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Part of its mission involves the development and enforcement of a broad range of standards for the profession.

Why do these standards matter to you? By having a little familiarity with the guidance that accountants and auditors follow, business owners and managers are better able to take advantage of the services offered by CPAs.

Existing standards

The AICPA requires CPAs to adhere to overarching ethical guidance contained in its code of professional conduct. Additional guidance is contained in standards for the following types of services:

Audit and attest. These standards must be followed when conducting, planning, and reporting audit and attestation engagements — such as compilations, reviews and agreed-upon procedures — of nonpublic companies.

Preparation, compilation and review. This guidance specifically governs such engagements for nonpublic companies.

Tax. These rules apply regardless of where the CPA practices or the types of tax services provided.

Personal financial planning. These standards cover such services as estate, retirement, investments, risk management, insurance and tax planning for individuals.

Consulting services. This guidance applies to CPAs who provide consulting services related to technology or industry-specific expertise, as well as management and financial skills.

Valuation services. Business valuations may be performed for a variety of reasons, including tax and accounting compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and litigation.

The AICPA also has standards governing the administration of continuing professional education programs and peer review of the work performed by other CPAs.

New Forensic Accounting Standard

Similar to the need for valuation services, demand for forensic accounting services has grown significantly in recent years. So, the AICPA recently added a standard for forensic services. This newly approved guidance covers investigations and litigation engagements involving forensic accountants. It goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

Beware: Statement on Standards for Forensic Services No. 1 places several limitations on forensic accountants, including prohibitions on charging contingent fees and providing legal opinions or the “ultimate conclusion” regarding fraud. Instead, it’s up to the trier-of-fact (generally a judge or jury) to determine innocence or guilt regarding fraud allegations. However, a CPA can express opinions regarding whether the evidence is “consistent with certain elements of fraud” and other laws based on their objective evaluation.

Bottom line

For any given assignment, a CPA may be required to follow multiple professional standards. In addition, CPAs adhere to general standards of the accounting profession, including competence, due professional care, and the use of sufficient, relevant data. These extensive rules and restrictions are good news for you — they promote the highest levels of quality and consistency when you receive services from a CPA.

© 2019