Top Accounting Issues for 2014 CPE Course

CCH’s Top Accounting Issues for 2014 CPE Course helps CPAs stay abreast of the most significant new accounting standards and important projects. It does so by identifying the events of the past year that have developed into hot issues and reviewing the opportunities and pitfalls presented by these changes. The topics reviewed in this course were selected because of their impact on financial reporting and because of the role they play in understanding the accounting landscape in the year ahead.

Module 1 of this course reviews ongoing issues.

• Chapter 1 reviews the rules for testing impairment of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives, including the new qualitative assessment option found in ASU 2012-02 and ASU 2011-08.
• Chapter 2 introduces you to the framework set out in generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for measuring an item at its fair value.
• Chapter 3 discusses the current developments in the establishment of a set of GAAP rules for private, non-public companies.

Module 2 of this course reviews financial statement reporting.

• Chapter 4 discusses ASU 2011-09, which expands the required disclosures for employers that participate in multiemployer pension plans and multiemployer other postretirement benefit plans.
• Chapter 5 discusses the changes that would be made to accounting for leases based on the exposure draft, and the effects those changes may have.
• Chapter 6 discusses several issues that have been addressed by the AICPA, including those related to extraordinary items and involuntary conversions.
• Chapter 7 discusses several practice issues including those arising from imputing goodwill on personal financial statements, the disclosure of policies not applicable to the current year, immaterial GAAP departures, presentation of income tax items, and OCBOA financial statements.

Module 3 of this course reviews current developments.

• Chapter 8 discusses ASU 2013-04: Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date. It examines requirements of the ASU including the scope, disclosures, and transition rules. Numerous examples are included.
• Chapter 9 discusses several ongoing issues in accounting and reporting including the proposed liquidation basis of accounting, going concern assessment by management, politically motivated disclosures, and the effects of post office changes on working capital.
• Finally, Chapter 10 discusses several Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) issued in 2012 and 2013, including ASU 2013-05 regarding foreign currency matters, ASU 2013-02 concerning comprehensive income, ASU 2013-01 concerning disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities, and ASU 2012-05 dealing with not-for-profit cash flow statements.