Category Archives for "Accounting and Auditing"

Material Weaknesses and Significant Deficiencies

By Charles Hall | Auditing

In today’s post, I tell you how to understand and communicate material weaknesses and significant deficiencies.

How do you categorize a control weakness? Is the weakness a material weakness, a significant deficiency or something less? This seems to be the most significant struggle in addressing internal control issues.

And if you’ve been in the business for any time at all, you know that management can take offense regarding control weakness communications. For instance, a CFO may believe that a material weakness reflects poorly upon him. After all, he controls the design of the accounting system. So, communicating control weaknesses can result in disagreements. Therefore, it’s even more important that these communications be correct.

Before telling you how to distinguish material weaknesses from significant deficiencies, let’s review control weakness definitions.

Definitions of Control Weaknesses

A deficiency in internal control is defined as follows: A deficiency in internal control over financial reporting exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, misstatements on a timely basis. A deficiency in design exists when (a) a control necessary to meet the control objective is missing, or (b) an existing control is not properly designed so that, even if the control operates as designed, the control objective would not be met. A deficiency in operation exists when a properly designed control does not operate as designed or when the person performing the control does not possess the necessary authority or competence to perform the control effectively.

Now let’s define (1) material weaknesses, (2) significant deficiencies, and (3) other deficiencies.

1. Material weakness. A deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis.
2. Significant deficiency. A deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control that is less severe than a material weakness yet important enough to merit attention by those charged with governance.
3. Other deficiencies. For the purposes of this blog post, an other deficiency is a control weakness that is less than a material weakness or a significant deficiency.

How to Categorize a Control Weaknesses

Now that we have defined material weaknesses and significant deficiencies, we can discuss how to distinguish between the two.

Material Weakness

First, ask these two questions:

1. Is there a reasonable possibility that a misstatement could occur?
2. Could the misstatement be material?

If your answer to both questions is yes, then the client has a material weakness. (By the way, if you propose a material audit adjustment, it’s difficult to argue that there is no material weakness. As you write your control letter, examine your proposed audit entries.)

Significant Deficiency

If your answer to either of the questions is no, then ask the following:

Is the weakness important enough to merit the attention of those charged with governance? In other words, are there board members who would see the weakness as important.

If the answer is yes, then it is a significant deficiency.

If no, then it is not a significant deficiency or a material weakness.

How to Communicate Material Weaknesses and Significant Deficiencies

The following deficiencies must be communicated in writing to management and to those charged with governance:

• Material weaknesses
• Significant deficiencies

The written communication (according to AU-C section 265) must include:

• the definition of the term material weakness and, when relevant, the definition of the term significant deficiency
• a description of the significant deficiencies and material weaknesses and an explanation of their potential effects
• sufficient information to enable those charged with governance and management to understand the context of the communication
• the fact that the audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances and that the audit was not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control
• the fact that the auditor is not expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control
• that the auditor’s consideration of internal control was not designed to identify all deficiencies in internal control that might be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies, and therefore, material weaknesses or significant deficiencies may exist that were not identified
• an appropriate alert, in accordance with section 905, Alert That Restricts the Use of the Auditor’s Written Communication

Next, I explain how to communicate other deficiencies (those that are less than a material weakness or a significant deficiency).

How to Communicate Other Deficiencies

Other deficiencies can be communicated in writing or orally and need only be communicated to management (and not to those charged with governance). The communication must be documented in the audit file. So if you communicate orally, then follow up with a memo to the file addressing who you spoke with, what you discussed, and the date of the discussion.

Stand-alone management letters are often used to communicate other deficiencies. Since there is no authoritative guidance for management letters, you may word them as you wish. Alternatively, you can, if you like, include other deficiencies in your written communication of significant deficiencies or material weaknesses.

A Key Word of Warning

Always provide a draft of any written communications to management before final issuance. It is much better to provide a draft and find out (before issuance) that it contains an error or a miscommunication. Then, corrections can be made.

Additional Information

Writing your internal control letter is a part of the wrap-up process for audits. Click here for additional information concerning wrapping up an audit.

How to Hire and Retain Great CPA Firm Employees

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

Do you desire to hire and retain great CPA firm employees? Today we’ll discuss how you can do just that.

Last month I visited two small CPA firms, one in Georgia and one in North Carolina. Both firms are located in remote areas, so it’s difficult to attract solid talent. Also, firm fees are lower and–as a result–wages are less. Consequently, these firms are not able to provide compensation comparable to Atlanta or Charlotte.

Nevertheless, I found that both firms have great people. So, how did they do it?

Mine Locally

First, they are mining the gold locally. What do I mean? Well, they are constantly looking in their own neck of the woods for talent. Is there a local college student majoring in accounting. They are inquiring. Has a new CPA moved into the community? They are putting out feelers. If there is a possible match, they are digging for it.

Give Them What They Want

Second (and I think this is key), they are giving new-hires what they want. No, they are not offering Atlanta or Charlotte wages. They can’t. But they are offering other things. Like what?

Well, first of all, flexible hours. If a young female accountant has children at home and desires to spend time with them, then these CPA firms are crafting work schedules that allow Mom to be with her children but still work. For many people–especially Millennials–being able to put family first is everything. Give them what they want. This is good for the employee and the firm. Why? Happy staff members make for productive and loyal employees.

Employment should always be win-win. Too many CPA firms think only about what is good for them, and not their employees. But this is a mistake–is it not? There are two parties. The firm and the employee. Both need to be happy.

Ask yourself, “Is the firm better off with an excellent employee for twenty hours a week or a bad one for forty?” You know the answer.

And while we are talking about giving them what they want, let’s discuss remote work.

Working From Home

Many smaller CPA firms require their employees to come to the office, but what if a potential new-hire lives two hours away? Both of the companies mentioned above allow employees to work from home. While this arrangement has its challenges, consider the option anyway. Ask yourself: “Are you better off with a great remote worker or no worker at all?” I know, getting the technology working can be challenging. But look at what you gain. A competent employee that is not available in your locale.

You may be wondering, “Charles, do you do this?” Yes. My administrative assistant lives in Colorado (I’m in Georgia), and one of my associates works in South Carolina. May I say, “They are awesome!” I don’t know what I’d do without them. Resolving technology and training issues requires effort. But I’m telling you, my employees’ distance has almost no downsides (other than I’d like to see them sometimes).

These two employees have remote access to our paperless files (we use Caseware). And Basecamp (project management software) enables us to stay on the same page. Additionally, we use Zoom for conferencing purposes. So, I can share my computer screen and talk with them about anything. It’s almost better than being in the same room.

One other ingredient to hiring and retaining wonderful employees is having a positive work environment.

All in the Family

One thing I noticed in the two CPA firms is a sense of family. You could tell everyone enjoyed being there. 

If you want your employees to feel like family, treat them that way. Say thank you — a lot. Give unexpected gifts. Celebrate achievements. Have a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner together. Go to an Atlanta Braves game (and do the tomahawk chop). Give them a day off for their child’s sporting event. Culture matters.

And this may sound silly but love matters. (Yes, I used the L word–going out on a limb.) We might be accountants but we are still humans, people that desire approval and genuine concern.

Great or Mediocre Employees — It’s Your Choice

If you’ve had no success in attracting talent to your small- to medium-sized CPA firm, think about the above. Too many firms can’t hire quality personnel because they refuse to change their hiring practices or work environments. But we live in a different world today. Millenials don’t think like the Baby Boomers. So maybe the Boomers need to think like Millenials. Then those great employees might magically appear on your doorsteps.

CPA Firm Research: Five Tips to Make Your Life Easier

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

Do you ever find it difficult to solve accounting, auditing, or tax problems? In this post, I offer five tips to aid you in your CPA firm research. These suggestions will make your professional life easier.

1. Firm Knowledge Base

When you perform your research for tax or accounting and auditing issues, consider archiving the research in a central location. If another person or department within your company has already spent five hours finding an answer, why not make that information available to everyone? Three ways you can store research include:

1. One Word file
2. Folders in a server location
3. A database (e.g., Evernote)

Use One Word File

For sole practitioners, this can be as simple as placing all research in a single Word file on your network. Storing research in this manner makes the information electronically searchable. So when the issue comes up again, you just perform an electronic search (from the Word Home tab, click Find, type in your keyword, click Find Next).

Use Folders in a Server Location

A second alternative is to store information in folders on a server location. Decide how to classify your archived research (e.g. auditing, tax, accounting). Then ask all firm members to save their research using the same categories and location (e.g., a particular network drive in the research folder). This can be as simple as creating a folder for each category, such as accounting, auditing, tax. Subfolders can be used as well. A better solution, however, is the use of a database.

Use a Database

Consider archiving this information in a database that is accessible to all personnel. I use Evernote as my digital library. With Evernote, you can also use notebooks and tags to store your information. Think of notebooks as folders. So if you have folders, why tags? Well, they provide another way to retrieve information, regardless of the folder. I provide an overview of notebooks and tags in Evernote for CPAs. I also encourage you to check out Michael Hyatt’s post about his Evernote file structure. 

Standardized Consultation Form

Also, consider creating a standardized consultation form. This form might include:

1. Issue to be Resolved
2. Persons Inquired of
3. Professional Standard Citations
4. Conclusion
5. Person Performing the Research
6. Sign-Off by Partner
7. Concurring Partner Sign-Off (if required by your firm)

Scanning System

If you want to convert your paper research files into electronic copies, here’s a post regarding the development of a scanning system. See the post regarding how you can make your paper files electronically searchable using optical character recognition. Here is an example (youtube video) in Adobe Acrobat. I recommend the Fujitsu iX500 scanner (click picture to see on Amazon).

2. AICPA Hotline

I can’t count the times I have used the AICPA Hotline, a free service (for AICPA members). Usually, I send an email with my question and receive a phone call from the AICPA representative within 24 hours. Click here for technical hotline contact information (phone number or technical inquiry form). 

I have found these experts to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Are there any downsides? Yes. The technical hotline will not provide you with a written response (by letter or email), but they do provide verbal answers and sources (e.g., FASB Codification section) so you can document your research.

If you desire written responses to your technical questions, consider joining the Center for Plain English Accounting (CPEA). My firm joined about two years ago, and we have found the Center to be quite helpful and worth the money.

SSAE 18: The Clarified Attestation Standards

By Charles Hall | Auditing

SSAE 18 is effective on May 1, 2017, and changes the Attestation Standards.

Do you issue any attestation reports such as agreed upon procedures? If yes, then be aware of the recent changes from the Auditing Standards Board (ASB). The ASB has clarified the Attestation Standards. The ASB did the same with the audit standards a few years ago; that change resulted in the AU-C (clarity) designations for audit standards.

The re-write of the Attestation Standards culminated in the April 2016 issuance of SSAE 18.

SSAE 18 supersedes all Attestation Standards other than:

• AT section 701, Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). AT section 701 will not be clarified because practitioners rarely perform attestation engagements to report on MD&A; it will be retained in the attestation standards in its current form. AT section 701 has been renumbered as AT-C section 395.

Also be aware that AT section 501 An Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That is Integrated With An Audit of Financial Statements was moved to the auditing standards as Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 130, as An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That is Integrated With An Audit of Financial Statements.

Just as the ASB did with the audit clarity standards, a “-C” is added to the clarified Attestation Standards. So the clarified attestation standards are identified as AT-C. The clarified standards are written using ASB’s clarity conventions, including:

• Objectives for each chapter
• Definitions in each chapter
• Separating requirements from application and explanatory material
• Using various formatting techniques such as bulleted lists to enhance readability
• When applicable, including additional considerations for governmental entities or smaller less complex entities

Attestation Levels of Service

The clarified standards provide for the following types of attestation services:

Service	AT-C Section	Report Type
Examination	205	Opinion
Review	210	Conclusion
Agreed Upon Procedures	215	Findings

Sample report excerpts follow:

Examination Report on Subject Matter; Unmodified Opinion

In our opinion, the schedule of investment returns of ABC Company for the year ended December 31, 2020, is presented in accordance with the ABC criteria set forth in Note 1 in all material respects.

Review Report on Subject Matter; Unmodified Conclusion

Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying schedule of investment returns of ABC Company for the year ended December 31, 2020, in order for it to be in accordance with XYZ criteria set forth in Note 1.

Agreed-Upon Procedures Report

We obtained the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger as of June 30, 2017, from Topaz, Inc. We compared all customer account balances in the aged trial balance (exhibit B) as of June 30, 2017, to the balances shown in the accounts receivable subsidiary ledger.

We found no exceptions as a result of the procedure.

New SSAE 18 Requirements

In addition to clarifying (restructuring) the attestation standards, SSAE 18 also:

• Separates the review engagement procedures and reporting requirements from those of examination engagements (and highlights the similarities of reviews performed under the SSAEs and those performed under Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services [SSARS])
• Requires the practitioner to request a written representation letter in all attestation engagements (the pre-clarity standards only required representation letters for certain engagements)
• Changes the existing requirements related to scope limitations, indicating that based on the practitioner’s assessment of the effect of the scope limitation, the practitioner should express a qualified opinion, disclaim an opinion, or withdraw from the engagement
• Eliminated compilations of prospective financial information from the attestation standards (the Accounting and Review Services Committee issued SSARS 23 to cover this service)

SSAE 18 Effective Date

The guidance in SSAE No. 18 is effective for practitioners’ reports dated on or after May 1, 2017.

For a full copy of SSAE No. 18, click here.

See may article regarding SSAE 19, Agreed Upon Procedures Engagements. 

Tick and Tie Financial Statements

By Charles Hall | Accounting and Auditing

What are the steps to tick and tie financial statements?

You may be wondering what “tick and tie” means. It refers the action an accountant performs when he agrees one financial statement number to another.  For example, the accountant can compare total assets with total liabilities and equity–they should be the same. If they are not, something is wrong. This is the purpose of ticking and tieing numbers: to ensure that the financial statements are correct. Accountants also compare financial statement numbers with note disclosures or to supplementary information. Again, many such numbers should agree.

Financial statements come in a wide variety of presentation formats depending on the industry and the requirements of the financial reporting framework (e.g., generally accepted accounting principles). Below I provide common numbers that accountants tick and tie (agree), assuming the financial statements include:

1. Balance sheet
2. Income statement
3. Statement of changes in equity
4. Cash flow statement

The Accounting Equation

Keep in mind the accounting equation: Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Total Equity.  All three (total assets, total liabilities, total equity) appear on the balance sheet.

Also, remember that net income–which appears on the income statement–is the result of subtracting expenses from revenues. In equation form, the formula is Net Income = Revenues – Expenses.

Tic and Tie Examples

Here are the numbers that should agree:

• Total assets equals total liabilities and equity (the balance sheet includes each of these)
• Net income on the income statement should agree with net income on the statement of changes in equity
• Net income on the income statement should agree with the first line on the cash flow statement (assuming the indirect method is used to prepare the cash flow statement)
• The last line of the cash flow statement is cash; this period-end cash balance should agree with the cash balance on the balance sheet
• The last line(s) of the statement of changes in equity (the period-end equity balance) should agree with the equity balance(s) on the balance sheet
• A statement of changes in equity can include multiple columns for each category of equity (e.g., retained earnings, common stock, paid-in capital); each of the ending equity balances should agree with the equity shown on the balance sheet
• Any payments made to the owners (e.g., distributions) appear on the statement of changes in equity and should agree with the same amount on the cash flow statement (in the financing section of the cash flow statement)
• If the cash flow statement is comparative (e.g., two-year presentation), the ending cash for the prior year should agree with the beginning cash balance in the current year
• If the financial statements contain notes, some disclosure numbers will agree with financial statement balances (e.g., the receivables note disclosure will usually include total receivables; this figure should agree with the receivable line on the balance sheet)
• The plant, property, and equipment note will typically include total depreciation expense for the year; this depreciation expense number should agree with the cash flow statement depreciation line (assuming the cash flow statement is shown using the indirect method)
• Supplementary information (e.g., a detail of other expenses) should agree with the other expense line on the income statement 

Closing Thoughts

The above list of tick-and-tie numbers is not comprehensive. There are too many variations in financial statement presentations to provide a full universal list. But, hopefully, this helps.