Posts Tagged ‘PWC’

Accelerate Group Financial Close: Speed Your Closing Cycle and Reduce the Cost of Compliance

The requirement to close books quickly and with quality is emerging again as an important project for today’s global finance function, especially with the increasing amount of regulatory change, including the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and requirements to file financial statements in Extended Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

During this Webcast, you will hear from The Paragon Consulting Group, a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as well as SAP, the market leader in enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions, how companies can speed their closing cycles and reduce the cost of compliance.

From this Webcast you will discover:

• The latest research into the year-end close cycle metrics of the world’s largest organizations
• Key barriers to a fast, high-quality group financial close
• Solutions to help organizations improve and sustain their close times

Presenters:

• James Fisher
  Senior Director Solution Marketing
  Enterprise Performance Management, SAP 
• David J.H. Jones
  Director, Paragon Consulting Group, a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Mark C. Herpin, CPA.CITP
  Financial Planning Manager
  IBERIABANK Corporation

DATE: Wednesday, March 3, 2010  TIME: 11 A.M. Eastern Time (U.S.) DURATION: 60 minutes

Register Today! 

How prepared is your tax organization for the impending shift from US GAAP to IFRS reporting standards? The truth is, you might be closer than you think. Explore part one of the PWC paper, “Fair Value Accounting: Tax Considerations” that provides a historical outlook on financial reporting transparency measures already adopted by U.S. based corporations and how these tenants pave the way for a shift to IFRS. 

Fair Value Accounting: Tax Considerations - Background

Elements of fair value accounting have been used for decades in US GAAP. Although the growth of fair value accounting has been incremental, its use has accelerated in recent years as a means of enhancing financial statement quality, transparency, and relevance. An increasing variety of assets and liabilities are subject either to required or elective fair value accounting. This trend aligns with global accounting convergence, because the use of fair value measurement is even more prevalent in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The recent turmoil in the capital and credit markets has heightened the focus on certain aspects of fair value accounting. On October 3, 2008, the US president signed into law H.R. 1424, The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Pursuant to section 133 of the Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in consultation with the Treasury and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), has 90 days to study and report to Congress on the application of FAS 157, Fair Value Measurements to financial institutions, including depository institutions. The issuance of FAS 157 was a watershed event, providing the first US GAAP framework for measuring fair value. On October 10, 2008 the FASB issued guidance clarifying how FAS 157 should be applied in valuations of securities in markets that are not active.

Fair value accounting is not limited to financial assets or financial businesses. It can apply to any business, and with respect to a wide variety of assets, liabilities and activities including:

• Derivatives and trading activities
• Investments in trading and available-for-sale securities
• Intangibles acquired in business combinations
• Asset retirement obligations
• Impairments of long-lived assets
• Exit and disposal activities
• Pensions and other post-retirement benefit plans
  Share-based compensation
• Guarantees and indemnifications

This paper highlights the significance of the movement toward fair value accounting to those responsible for company tax matters. It addresses the trend from the perspective of each of several diverse areas in which tax matters intersect with fair value measurement. The importance of coordination around these topics on a fully integrated basis, across company management functions, is underscored.

For many tax departments keeping in-step with compliance activities exhausts all available resources in very short order. Managing, mitigating or even contemplating common tax risks is a luxury few can afford.

Thankfully, the tax experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers developed the paper Tax Risk Management that explores not only the common risks that can irreparably damage the reputation and viability of the tax department, but also how these risks affect the entire enterprise.

If you are a Tax 2.0 registered user, let us know your thoughts on this article or the common risks found within your tax department in the comments section.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers presents this insightful and easily digested “10Minutes on realizing ERP value” piece exploring the benefits ERPs can play in today’s turbulent economy, while also uncovering new efficiencies when the storm clouds finally clear.

Click here to read the full “10Minutes on realizing ERP” value piece at PWC.com.

When you’re done, please join us back on Tax 2.0 to share your triumphs and tribulations with your organization’s ERP system in the comments section.