Cpascribo's Podcast

Over time CPA firms naturally pick up undesirable clients. It's the Pareto Principle. 20% of your clients take 80% of your time (and yet, you may only receive, for example, less than 40% of your fees from these clients). Some clients take an inordinate amount of time and are difficult to deal with.  In this podcast I talk about three important factors in valuing your book of business: 1. Types of services 2. Payment history of clients 3. Realization Changing the composition of your client portfolio makes all the difference. Listen now to understand why. Then I provide suggestions for improving your book of business.  

A square peg in a round hole. That's how I felt early in my career. The partners in that firm insisted that I do tax work, something I loathed. You see, I'm naturally an audit kind of guy. I know it's strange, but I get into risk assessments, planning for and performing audit procedures. I enjoy compilations and reviews. But tax work--not my thing.  While I love my friends who do tax work, I'm not shaped that way.  Placing your employees in positions that fit them (they like the work) makes your firm more productive and your staff happier. This short podcast simply asks, "are you placing your folks in their natural areas of strength?"  

Most CPA firms lack uniformity of processes and software products used. Why? Because different partners want things done their own way (not the firm way). While this may make sense for the individual partner, it creates confusion and decreases profit for the firm as a whole. Today, we discuss why uniformity equals speed and speed equals profit.   

If you're going to prevent or detect fraud, you have to know where to look. In this podcast episode, we take a look at the key numbers from the 2018 ACFE Fraud Survey. For instance, the median duration of a fraud prior to detection is 16 months. Listen now to be in the know about key fraud metrics.   

Some auditors have been told they can't assess control risk at high. Is this true? Also, is it possible to assess control risk at high and not test controls? Additionally, some auditors believe that control risk is assessed at high only if internal controls are not in place. But is that true? Listen now to hear the answer. (Hint -- assessing control risk at high might be your best answer.)    

Suppose you've completed a client's 1120 and they now need a balance sheet and an income statement -- quickly. Like today. What's the quickest way to deliver those financial statements and still be in compliance with professional standards. Find out here in today's podcast. Easy as pie.    

Seven Excuses for Unnecessary Audit Work Papers Over the last thirty years, I have reviewed audit files for CPA firms and have commonly asked this question: Why is this work paper in the file? Here are a few standard answers. 1. It was there last year. But is it relevant this year? Resist the temptation just to copy or bring forward work papers from the prior year. Performing a proper audit entails risk assessment (e.g., walkthroughs, analytics), planning (i.e., creating an audit plan), and execution (i.e., carrying out the audit plan). Likewise, compilations and reviews should reflect current year planning and performance. 2. The client gave it to me. For some reason, young auditors tend to put everything given to them in the file. I think they believe, "if the client gave it to me, it must be important." There is one reason to place documentation is the file: It provides audit evidence to support the opinion. 3. I may need it next year. Then save it—somewhere other than the audit file—for next year. If the

Many small businesses think they can't prevent fraud. Why? There are not enough people to segregate accounting duties. Also, small businesses may feel like they don't know how to prevent fraud (even if they had more people).  Here are ten ways to lessen the threat of fraud regardless of your company's size. But these suggestions are even more important for the small business that has a limited number of employees. Check these suggestions out to save yourself plenty of heartaches.

Are you an auditor looking for novel ways to be more efficient and effective? A cell phone, that ubiquitous device, can be magic as you perform walkthroughs, look for passwords, schedule events, message your team members and more. In this podcast, we cover a variety of ways you can use your smartphone to make you look smarter and increase your efficiency.

You've been wondering how the Preparation of Financial Statements option in SSARS 21 compares with the Compilation Engagement option in the same standard. Maybe you've also been wondering, "Which is the best to use?" Here's a brief summary of how the two standards compare as well as information about how to choose between the two.

Today we take a look at compilation engagement issues such as: What does the new compilation report look like? Should a compilation report have a title and a salutation? Should the financial statement pages refer to the compilation report? How should a departure from the applicable reporting framework be communicated? How should a going concern issue be communicated? How does the use of the tax basis of accounting alter the compilation report? What are the minimum work paper requirements? Are you required to make inquiries in a compilation engagement?

This week we look at how compilation engagements have changed from SSARS 19 to SSARS 21. We also discuss what compilation engagement elements have not changed. We conclude by providing an overview of the objectives and requirements of the new compilation standard. An overview of the podcast is as follows: What are the key changes in compilation engagements? What has not changed? What are the objectives of a compilation? What procedures must be performed?

CPAs have had many questions about the use of AR-70, Preparation of Financial Statements. Those questions include: When is the standard applicable? What work papers must I retain? Is an engagement letter required? What should the preparation report look like? Should I include a disclaimer page? How do I communicate departures from the applicable basis of accounting? Can I add supplementary information? Can AR-C 70 be used in reference to prescribed forms?  Today we answer your most pressing questions about using the SSARS 21 preparation standard.

If you're presently implementing AR-C 70, Preparation of Financial Statements, then you'll want to hear this podcast. I cover what a preparation service is and when the new standard is applicable -- as well as when it is not. Then I also provide information about the requirements of the standard. The Preparation standard is applicable for periods ending on or after December 15, 2015. Now you can issue financial statements without a compilation report and those statements can be provided to third parties.

This podcast is the first in a series directed at implementing SSARS 21. But before we discuss the details of SSARS 21, let's take a look at why SSARS 21 was created. Today, we'll see that interesting developments led to the need for this new standard. Answering the "why" question will help you answer the "how" question going forward.

In this first podcast, we will take a look at what the CPA Scribo podcast is about and whether it is for you. We'll also address the direction of the podcast, starting with the upcoming SSARS 21 series.