CPA Exam gets refresh after practice analysis [Journal of Accountancy] Emphasis on understanding business processes and data analytics is being expanded while other topics are being phased out as the CPA Exam undergoes a refresh designed to maintain its relevance to the evolving work that newly licensed CPAs perform. New CPA Exam Blueprints released Friday are the result of a comprehensive practice analysis performed by the AICPA that included outreach to the profession, educators, regulators, and others, as well as an exposure draft (ED) that prompted more than 180 responses.
CPABC: 1,004 CPA Students Excel in National Exam [Globe Newswire] The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia (CPABC) and the CPA Western School of Business (CPAWSB) congratulate the 1,004 B.C. CPA students who passed the multi-day national Common Final Examination (CFE) written in September 2020. The exam was administered by CPAWSB.
German Prosecutors Examine Ernst & Young’s Role in Wirecard Collapse [Wall Street Journal] German prosecutors are examining Ernst & Young’s role in the collapse of disgraced payments operator Wirecard AG, ratcheting up pressure on the audit firm. Munich prosecutors said they are evaluating a report by the country’s accounting watchdog into the company’s collapse this summer. The watchdog, known as Apas, launched an investigation into the work of the auditing firm’s local affiliate, EY GmbH, after Wirecard admitted that more than $2 billion of cash it had said was held in bank accounts on its behalf didn’t exist.
KPMG says Wirecard obstructed audit [The Independent] Speaking at a parliamentary inquiry in Berlin yesterday, KPMG partner Alexander Geschonnek laid out how his company was confronted with “considerable obstacles” in its task to unpack Wirecard’s accounts dating back several years. Interviews with key counterparts were routinely delayed or moved, and accounting probes couldn’t be fulfilled because the company didn’t provide the required data, Mr Geschonnek said. As a result, KPMG struggled to fulfill its mandate, he said.
Charity fraud accountant who stole £47,000 ordered to repay £1 [BBC] Kim Bruce, 53, of Deer Park, Ivybridge, stole the cash from Cornwall-based Westcountry Rivers Trust and Exeter-based Libraries Unlimited. She used the money to pay off personal debts and used log-in details of other members of staff to cover her tracks. She had no assets and less than £100 in her bank account, a proceeds of crime hearing at Exeter Crown Court heard.
Remote-Work Policies Still in Development: Survey [CFO.com] A survey of 344 North American organizations by Willis Towers Watson in October found that over half (59%) of those companies’ employees were working from home. And the employers expect that number to remain high (52%) through next year’s first quarter. However, many companies have yet to build formal policies and principles around alternative work arrangements. Prior to 2020, only 37% of the surveyed companies had those in place. One-quarter of them (25%) created formal policies this year. Three-fifths (60%) said they were planning or considering adopting one this year or next.
PwC director sues firm over sick leave claims [Financial Review] A PwC employee alleges the professional services giant breached workplaces laws by refusing to grant her personal leave when she was injured and unable to work within days of the firm deciding her role was redundant. Jennifer Whittaker, who was made redundant in July, is suing the firm in the Federal Court alleging PwC refused her leave request and then withdrew its offer of a more lucrative redundancy package after she tried to exercise her workplace rights.
NRA reports alleged misspending by current and former executives to IRS [Washington Post] The NRA said in the filing that it continues to review the alleged abuse of funds, as the tax-exempt organization curtails services and runs up multimillion-dollar legal bills. The assertion of impropriety comes four months after the attorney general of New York state filed a lawsuit accusing NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and other top executives of using NRA funds for decades to provide inflated salaries and expense accounts.
Sounds like E&Y needs to refocus on auditing and cash is a great place to start. Get back to what you once did well and give up all the bullshit social engineering you were never good at.