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Technical Hotline Trends- Questions and Answers by Topic 


Accounting and Financial Reporting

Question- How do I access the FASB Codification and do I have to pay a fee?
Answer- You can go to the FASB website, click on "FASB Store", and then "FASB Codification Online".  Select the basic view to register for one year of free access to the FASB Codification. You can also purchase the Professional View, which includes search capability and a personal annotation feature, for a fee. See FASB website for details. The AICPA also has a section of our Financial Reporting Center that has additional information about the FASB Codification.

Question- I am having trouble using the professional view of the FASB Codification. Are there any resources to help navigate me through?
Answer- FASB recently released a Learning Guide to help navigate new users through the Professional View.




Compilation and Review Engagements

Question- What happened to all of the interpretations of AR section 100, which was superseded by SSARS No. 19?
Answer-  You can find the disposition of all previously issued interpretations under AR section 100 in AR Appendix B of AICPA's Professional Standards. Visit CPA2Biz to order an online subscription or paperback copy.

Question —An accountant has been engaged to compile financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, and plans to issue a compilation report on the comparative financial statements. The accountant did not previously compile financial statements for this client. For the compilation for the year ended 2010, the accountant understands that he or she must follow the requirements of SSARS 19. However, for the compilation for the year ended December 31, 2009, should the accountant follow pre or post SSARS 19 requirements?
Answer—Since the accountant is performing the 2010 engagement in accordance with SSARS No. 19, the accountant may perform the 2009 engagement in accordance with the same literature. However, since SSARS 19 was not effective as of December 31, 2009, the accountant may follow pre-SSARS 19 requirements for the 2009 engagement and SSARS 19 requirements for the 2010 engagement and still be in compliance with the SSARSs.

Question —An accountant has recently been engaged by a new client to review their financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2009, which is prior to the effective date of SSARS 19. Should they use the pre-SSARS 19 literature and report formats, or should they use the SSARS 19 standards and new report formats?
Answer—Since SSARS 19 was not effective as of the date of these financial statements being reviewed, it would be appropriate to follow the pre-SSARS 19 literature, including those report formats. The only section of SSARS 19 that allowed for early adoption was the explanation of the reason)s) for lack of independence being disclosed in your compilation report.




Audit and Attest

Question- When will the clarified audit standards be effective?
Answer- Most of the standards will be effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2012. However, there are a few exceptions.

Question- How can I acces the new clarified audit standards?
Answer- A summary of the clarified standards, issued as SAS Nos. 122-124, are available for free on our Audit and Attest Standards pages under the Research tab. You can also visit the CPA2Biz online store to order a copy of SAS Nos. 122-124.




Service Organizations

Question- Where can I find additional resources related to the new standards related service organization control reports?
Answer- The AICPA has a dedicated section of our web site under the Financial Reporting Center with resources for these engagements, including an FAQ with implementation guidance. 







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