IAASB proposes audit risk assessment standards revision

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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has moved to update its standard on audit risk assessments, to take into account developments arising from IT.

In an exposure draft for the proposed International Standard of Auditing 315 (revised) (ISA-315), the IAASB said that as IT has become the medium through which a significant amount of audit evidence is obtained, it has become increasingly important for auditors to understand an entity’s IT system, including how the integrity of the information is maintained.

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5 Inherent Risks of Cryptocurrency

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Understand the risks associated with cryptocurrency, both from a currency and a business perspective.

A defining feature of a cryptocurrency, is that is not issued by any central authority, rendering it theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation. In order to understand the risks of cryptocurrency, one must first understand the features of the platform (Blockchain) on which the cryptocurrency is based. Blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. Constantly growing as ‘completed’ blocks (the most recent transactions) are recorded and added to it in chronological order, it allows market participants to keep track of digital currency transactions without central recordkeeping. Each node (a computer connected to the network) gets a copy of the blockchain, which is downloaded automatically.

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Internal Controls And Automation: Interactive Research Insight

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The Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) surveyed nearly 200 senior-level financial executives about automating Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting (IFCR).

Big Companies Plan to Automate ICFR While Smaller Companies On The Technology Sidelines.

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What Blockchain Means For The Future Of Accounting Practices

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While I haven’t been an accountant for as long as some seasoned financial professionals, I have been in the game for long enough to see trends come and go. I have witnessed the tail end of the subprime mortgage crisis and have heard stories from veterans about the dot-com bubble in the late 90s. One thing that has remained the same throughout all these experiences, based on my experiences and the experiences of my peers, is the core value of all these assets. Whether it’s a web domain, a property, a rare earth mineral or a fossil fuel, all forms of capital that I have worked with track their gains and losses based on a dollar value.

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Sustainability Accounting Standards Board: What Boards Need to Know

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ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) is one of the fastest growing issues on the minds of institutional investors; however, studies show that the concern for ESG isn’t always shared by today’s corporate directors. Not only can sustainability be hard to measure, but boards have historically struggled to understand how it ties to the bottom line.

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Regulators challenge financial services boards on ‘operational resilience’

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The regulators say an operational disruption such as one caused by a cyber-attack, failed outsourcing or technological change could impact financial stability by posing a risk to the supply of vital services on which the real economy depends, threaten the viability of individual firms and FMIs, and cause harm to consumers and other market participants in the financial system.

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5 GDPR-related mistakes businesses are already making

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We’re only weeks into the GDPR, and already companies all over the country have misinterpreted and misunderstood the legislation, or just simply buried their head in the sand when it comes to getting compliant.

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Technology Is changing everything in the Finance suite

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The Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF)’s Olivia Berkman spoke with Paul McDonald, senior executive director at Robert Half, about the critical business focuses that emerged this year, according to the recent Benchmarking Accounting and Finance Functions: 2018 report.

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OECD updates advice on hard-to-value intangibles

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The OECD has released new guidance on the application of the approach to hard-to-value intangibles and the transactional profit split method, which were both developed as part of its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan.

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Blockchain potentially ‘disruptive’ to corporate reporting

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Blockchain technology is not going away, and preparers need to consider its potential disruptive impact, but its growth in corporate reporting is likely to be gradual and restricted to certain use-cases, according to a report from the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC’s) Financial Reporting Lab.

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