The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee recommended requiring more information from nonprofits in their financial reporting. One recommendation would require an analysis that would give more context for data, comparable with a publicly traded company’s “Management Discussion and Analysis.” Read more»
The Financial Accounting Standards Board could revive a 2008 proposal that would shift to companies the responsibility of flagging concerns that they might fail Now, it’s up to auditors to issue going-concern warnings in annual reports. Some say companies are in a better position to make the calls and that auditors feel pressure not to call attention to problems that could spook investors and jeopardize their own relationships with clients. Read more»
Factoring — a form of funding in which finance companies buy accounts receivables from businesses that need money — has gained in popularity as bank loans have dried up. But factoring can also be more costly than other types of financing. “The key to a factoring or discounting decision is a complete analysis of all the financial implications of the decision. It’s more complicated to analyze than a bank loan,” said Bill Hettinger of the Institute for Finance and Entrepreneurship. Read more»
Bank of America is expected to be one of the first major U.S. banks to impose fees on debit card transactions, and many other free services might also disappear. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo plan to test debit card fees in some states or have already begun doing so. Read more»
Few companies take advantage of a law that lets banks offer interest on business checking accounts. Instead, low interest rates are causing many companies to look elsewhere to earn a return on their cash. The decades-old ban on offering interest on business accounts was eliminated by the Dodd-Frank Act. Read more»
Small businesses will face difficult choices now that the Internal Revenue Service is offering companies the opportunity to reclassify independent contractors as employees. Under the voluntary program, companies would have to pay only a fraction of the payroll taxes that were not paid previously for misclassified employees. But long-term costs for the companies would be higher with the workers classified as employees, experts say. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model)
Retail sales this holiday season are expected to increase 3% in stores and 14% online, according to Deloitte. Budget-strapped states are eager to capture revenue from online sales, and they are looking to Congress for federal legislation that would allow them to tax sales by companies without in-state facilities. Reuters
The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance alerting executors of estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2010, that a timely estate tax return must be filed to make the election to transfer the decedent’s unused estate and gift tax exclusion to the surviving spouse, even if an estate return would not otherwise be required. The notice also informs executors how to avoid making the portability election if they are required to file Form 706 but do not want to make the election. JournalofAccountancy.com
The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee in recent meetings heard feedback from three subgroups on recommendations for standard-setting on net asset classes, liquidity information and a possible requirement for management’s discussion and analysis. The NAC created the subgroups earlier this year and charged them with studying ways for FASB and others to improve financial reporting for nonprofit entities and to develop recommendations and alternatives for the full committee to consider. Read more»
The Financial Accounting Standards Board released an Accounting Standards Update that requires employers that contribute to multiple-employer pension plans to disclose more information than in the past. Previously, employers had to release the total amount contributed to such plans, but now they must disclose specific information about their contributions to significant pension plans, and whether those plans are subject to funding improvement plans, among other things. Read more»
