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Are Inventory Counts the Bane of Your Existence?

inventory.jpgThat’s probably a stretch but we have a tendency to over-dramatize some things, so hang with us.
Since we’re coming up on the end of Q3 next week and many of you are of the audit cloth, we’ll start a thread on inventory counts and how they have the uncanny ability to f*ck with your universe, particularly come December.
One source dropped us a response they received after requesting time off in December:
After the jump

At this time we are not granting any time off for associates during Christmas or New Years weeks – conditional or unconditional. Over the next few months as we receive inventory requests for the holidays, we will make sure that these requests are adequately covered, then we will be able to review our holiday policy and let you all know if time off will be granted and how.

So hold off on making plans because you might need to go to a chicken farm in the middle of Missouri on New Year’s Day. Get it?
Discuss in the comments how well/poorly your office handles the inventory sitch and feel free to give the new hires an idea of what they’re in for. We heard a story once that involved a headless chicken. Run with it.

Score One for U.S. GAAP

two thumbs up.jpegU.S. GAAP just got a little boost in its image versus its sexy rival, IFRS, courtesy of Audit Integrity, a research services firm.
Audit Integrity studied filings by European companies from 2001 to 2008, looking at filings both pre and post IFRS adoption. The objectives were, “to determine whether IFRS has been implemented consistently across Europe, whether it has resulted in a common method of reporting financial data, and how the depth and comparability of data under IFRS compares to U.S. GAAP.”
At first glance, one might think that with all the bashing of U.S. GAAP in recent years that this was IFRS chance to prove once and for all that it was the new cock of the walk.
Well, not so fast GAAP haters:

“Based on our analysis, we are not seeing a significant improvement in financial reporting when companies shift to IFRS,” said Jack Zwingli, CEO of Audit Integrity. “We found that IFRS is a common standard, but there are significant variances in IFRS reporting, in the completeness of information, the timeliness and the filing frequency.”

Sounds like IFRS ain’t all that does it? You want more?

The firm says overall there are indications that financial reporting is more consistent and more comparable under IFRS than before IFRS adoption in Europe, but it’s not clear that IFRS represents an improvement over U.S. GAAP. In fact, the firm’s report says GAAP filers may have an edge over IFRS filing in terms of the timeliness, depth and breadth of financial data provided to investors.

Ouch, IASB. You want the best part? The Europeans disclose less on executive compensation than we do here in America. You’re all familiar with how popular corporate executives are. To wit:

[Jack] Zwingli [Audit Integrity CEO] said he was also surprised that the analysis revealed IFRS generally provides less information about executive compensation. “It’s not good in the United States, but it’s better than it is in Europe,” he said. “There is more consistency in reporting and deeper coverage of data under GAAP than under IFRS.”

Seems like IFRS has got work to do…IASB, you can call us when you want to get serious.

Study Pokes Holes in IFRS Reporting Quality, Consistency [Accounting & Auditing Update/Compliance Week]