Product Description: The clearest, easiest-to-use guide to understanding GAAS 2012 on the market—fully updated This latest resource to understanding GAAS addresses the toughest part of the job—identifying, interpreting, and applying the many audit, attest, review, and compilation standards relevant to a particular engagement...read more

Compiling the most comprehensive coverage of all the pronouncements in a single volume, Wiley GAAP 2012 includes more real-world examples and illustrations than any other source of its kind. This perennial bestseller provides a thorough study and analysis of all generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) set forth in the pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). This mainstay explains all pronouncements with relevant terminology and practice-oriented, real-world examples. Accountants, CPAs, and financial professionals will continually refer to this resource for coverage of the entire GAAP hierarchy. From the Author: Differences between GAAP and IFRS Fixed assets is an area where there are really significant differences between GAAP and IFRS, so if you are using GAAP right now and you think you will be switching over, then expect to be doing things differently in the future. The biggest difference is that IFRS allows you to either record a fixed asset at its cost, or to revalue it to fair value. But if you do revalue it, you have to revalue the entire class of assets, not just one asset within a class. By making you revalue an entire class of assets, IFRS makes sure that you cannot use selective revaluations. And the same thing goes for investment property. Under GAAP, you carry it at cost, but under IFRS, you have a choice of using either cost or fair value. The obvious question is, how do you account for a change in an asset's fair value under IFRS? Well, if an asset increases in value, then you recognize the gain in other comprehensive income and the offset is to a revaluation surplus in equity. And if the asset value decreases, then you recognize it as a loss. Now, if the value decreases and then goes back up again, you can recognize a profit to the extent of the original loss, and then drop the rest of the gain into other comprehensive income. Of course, there is a problem with revaluing assets all the time, which is that it is expensive and it is time-consuming. So IFRS recommends revaluing about once every 3 to 5 years. And if you do revalue, IFRS recommends that you use a professional appraiser. Another major difference is the treatment of asset impairments. Under GAAP, if you have an impairment, then it is charged to expense, and you cannot take it back. But under IFRS, if the asset's value goes back up, you can take back the amount of the impairment. And also under IFRS, if you are valuing fixed assets at their fair value and you recognize an impairment, then you treat the impairment as the reversal of any upward revaluation that you already recorded, to the extent of the revaluation. If the impairment exceeds the revaluation, then you charge the remainder against current income. A less important difference is that if you pay for a major overhaul of an asset, you have to add the cost to an asset under IFRS, but you generally charge it to expense under GAAP. And that covers the significant differences for tangible fixed assets. But then, we have intangible fixed assets, which are things like copyrights and patents. And there are some major differences here, too. First, under GAAP, you charge all research and development costs to expense right away. But in IFRS, you charge research to expense but you capitalize development and then you amortize it. Now in order to capitalize development costs, you do have to meet a bunch of criteria, so it is not that easy. Still, for a company doing a lot of development work, this could be major change. And also, if you recognize impairment of an intangible asset under GAAP, then you can never reverse the impairment. But, under IFRS you can, though not if the intangible happens to be goodwill. And finally, under some very limited circumstances, you can revalue intangible assets under IFRS, but you cannot do that under GAAP. The problem with revaluing an intangible asset is that there usually is not much of a market for this kind of asset, so you just cannot justifiably revalue it. And if you cannot justify a revaluation, then you have to carry it at cost. So, overall - there are a couple of key points to remember. First, GAAP is very conservative and rigid when it comes to valuing fixed assets, whereas IFRS allows you to take advantage of fair value changes, which is way more common sense. Second, you could see a lot of companies in the R&D field finding an excuse to switch to IFRS, and then start capitalizing their development costs. But keep in mind, if you do that, you still have to amortize the costs eventually, so there may a reportable drop in development expenses in the first year or two, but over the long term, there will not be much of an impact on their profits. And finally, it does sound pretty nifty to be able to revalue your fixed assets, but you also have to pay for the appraisals, so there is an out-of-pocket cost if you choose to go down that path.

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The latest best practices for the inventory function "I don't know how he does it, but Steven Bragg makes reading about a subject such as inventory interesting, informative, and very useful. Reading and implementing even some of the best practices in this book will improve your company. I highly recommend this book for people who deal with inventory and for their managers." -- Gail W. Sevier, CPA Member/Manager, Marrs, Sevier & Company LLC Inventory Best Practices is a powerful tool for selecting best practices that will result in measured improvement in a full range of industry-specific issues and inventory flow concepts. Nearly 200 best practices from today's leading companies address every phase of inventory activities: * Purchase * Receipt * Storage * Picking * Shipment Inventory Best Practices provides controllers, inventory managers, and CFOs across a broad range of industries with expert methodologies and techniques for driving costs down.

The function of the corporate controller has come a long way from its beginning, when controllers were charged simply with the recording of business transactions. Today's controller must be equal parts accountant, manager, computer expert, and detective and must fulfill these roles with resources reduced to match the lean and mean tenor of the times. Yet few if any books on the subject go beyond the standard accounting functions to offer advice on the management of these diverse responsibilities. The Controller's Function provides guidance and advice on every aspect of the position and pays special attention to those areas not generally addressed in the literature. A strong emphasis is placed on recent technological developments that can increase the speed, accuracy, and efficiency with which specific tasks are completed. Controllers will learn how to: Institute quick-closing procedures and supply last-period results more quickly Establish an on-line perpetual inventory system that reduces the need for a year-end physical inventory Select the optimal accounting software for the job at hand Make the most of activity-based costing, manufacturing cells, and electronic data interchange Other topics of special importance include an overview of internal control and business planning functions; spotting and preventing fraud; designing control systems; developing business plans, long-range financial plans, and annual budgets; installing and maintaining accounting, data collection, and internal control software; disaster recovery planning; and more. Easy-to-use tables and checklists help organize tasks, streamline activities, and monitor progress. For company controllers, assistant controllers, and financial executives, The Controller's Function is both an important source of useful, innovative ideas and a handy quick reference for day-to-day use. It is also an indispensable guide for financial analysts, internal auditors, public accountants, and anyone concerned with company financial and accounting operations. Finally, a book that goes beyond the purely technical aspects of the job and examines the controller's duties and responsibilities in a variety of areas: Internal control and auditing Strategic planning Annual and long-range financial planning Sales and distribution expenses Direct labor, material, and overhead cost analysis Research and development General and administrative expenses Cash and investments Receivables and inventory Closing procedures Performance measurements and trends Taxes and insurance Computer hardware and software trends and selection And much more

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