Corporate Accounting


How to Comply With the New Revenue Recognition Rules

When the Financial Accounting Standards Board updated the business accounting rules earlier this year, Apple was quick to embrace them. Here's a look at how they went about it and why, along with a few tips on how you can switch to the new rules, too.

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How to Prepare a Company for an Initial Public Offering

An initial public offering of stock can be viewed as the definitive sign of a company's success. Here is a look at the steps a company can take to prepare for an IPO.

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Recent Articles about Corporate Accounting

How to Protect Your Business Against Fraud

Smaller firms, unfortunately, can be highly susceptible to incidents of fraud. Here's some advice on protecting your company and instituting a policy to prev...  Read more

SOX Reprieve for Small Business

The SEC will review rules requiring external checks on financial controls at smaller companies.  Read more

Small Firms Get Break on Accounting Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to ease parts of Sarbanes-Oxley considered too burdensome.  Read more

SEC Offers Small Businesses Sarbox Relief

March 14, 2005 -- Sarbanes-Oxley can be a headache for small businesses, but relief may be in sight with the extension of a key upcomin...  Read more

Sarbanes-Oxley Regulations May Be Loosened

Dec. 13, 2005 --Small public companies could save millions of dollars now spent on audits required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to...  Read more

SEC Seeks Public Input on Sarbanes-Oxley

Some small businesses claim compliance too burdensome and discourages them from public offerings.  Read more

Sarbanes-Oxley Regulations May Be Loosened

Dec. 13, 2005 --Small public companies could save millions of dollars now spent on audits required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to...  Read more

FASB Limits Stock Options

What new stock option rules mean for you.  Read more

What Does Sarbanes-Oxley Mean for Companies That Want to Go Public?

Added costs may keep smaller businesses away.  Read more

First, Tidy Up the Paperwork

Tips on getting your paperwork organized so you can attract outside investors.  Read more

Coming To Terms With Accountants

Like most specialists, accountants have their own set of acronyms and terms. Here is a glossary of the accounting profession's most common ones. Big...  Read more

Special "gaap" For Small Business

Small businesses have complained for years that the financial reporting standards used in this country, which were developed and refined with large, publi...  Read more

Accounting

Related Terms: Certified Public...  Read more

Audits, External

Related Terms: Audits, Internal ; Read more

Audits, Internal

Related Terms: Accounting Methods Intern...  Read more

Cash Flow Statement

Related Terms: Financial statements ...  Read more

Certified Public Accountants

Certified public accountants (CPAs) provide a broad range of financial services to small businesses. These services include preparation of financial state...  Read more

Depreciation

"Depreciation" literally means the lowering of the value of something—and specifically of fixed or capital assets. In accounting terminology the wor...  Read more

Financial Statements

Related Terms: Annual Report ; Read more

Income Statements

Related Terms: Annual Reports ; Read more

Investor Relations and Reporting

Related Terms: Financial Statements ; Read more

Pro Forma Statements

Pro forma , a Latin term meaning "as a matter of form," is applied to the process of presenting financial projections for a specific time period i...  Read more

Proxy Statements

A proxy statement is, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), "a document which is intended to provide security holders with the inform...  Read more

Sarbanes-Oxley

On December 2, 2001, the Enron Corporation, a highly-respected and rapidly growing energy-trading company filed for bankruptcy. It had inflated its earnin...  Read more

SEC Disclosure Laws and Regulations

Related Terms: Sarbanes-Oxley Companies that are...  Read more

Small Businesses Looking for Bigger Say with FASB

May 27, 2004 --Since the collapses of the likes of Enron and WorldCom and the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley governance laws in 2002, ...  Read more

Private Companies Make SarbOx Changes

June 21, 2004 -- The Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform laws that have forced public companies to take a long, hard look at their financial ...  Read more

Sarbanes-Oxley Draws Renewed Criticism

Jan. 13, 2005 --Less than three years after the public scandals of Enron, WorldCom and Global Crossing first came to light, a group of com...  Read more

Giving Up on SarbOx

There's little more annoying than the biggest kid on the court threatening to take his ball and go home because he doesn't like the rules of the game. B...  Read more

Cash Flow Statement

A breakdown of the cash flow statement, and methods for simplifying the procedure.  Read more

Expensing Options 101

Hot off the presses, here's the report from the accounting gods (by which I mean the P...  Read more

Sarbanes-Oxley Has Some Publics Thinking Private

May 20, 2004 -- The increasing cost of complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law has more public companies mulling going private, acco...  Read more

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency responsible for administering federal securities laws that protect investors. The SE...  Read more

Sarbox No Picnic For Teddy Bear Maker

Oct. 5, 2005 --Vermont Teddy Bear Company CEO Elisabeth Robert feels the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders. "I'm in the...  Read more

Who Wants Your New Product?

Companies waste precious dollars selling to the wrong prospects.  Read more

Fast-Growing Firms Feel Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley

June 28, 2005 --The PricewaterhouseCoopers' Trendsetter Barometer released last week reported that 17% of the fastest growing private comp...  Read more

Can't Find an Accountant?

You're not alone. Sarbanes-Oxley has so overwhelmed accountants that companies are having trouble getting their books audited.  Read more

How to Determine What Type of Financial Professional to Hire

Thinking of hiring a financial professional, but not sure whether you need a bookkeeper, accountant, or chief financial officer? This guide will help you dec...  Read more

Electronic Mail

Related Terms: Spam Electronic mail, or e-mail, has in large part di...  Read more

Leaseback Logic

"Renting Money" (Capital, April) properly pointed out several advantages to a small business that uses sale-leasebacks to finance its growth. We cau...  Read more