CFO Consulting Partners

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Newsletter – October 2010

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CFO Consulting Partners in the News

First National Bank of Chester County (West Chester, PA): Eric Segal was recently named the Interim CFO and Principal Accounting Officer for this $1.3 billion bank. Some of Eric’s principal roles are to restate and/or issue applicable SEC reports (such as 10-Q’s, 10-K’s) and to produce documents that meet certain bank regulatory requirements. First Chester is in the process of merging with Tower Bancorp. “Being an interim CFO for a company in the process of being acquired is a typical role provided by CFO Consulting Partners,” says Eric. See http://www.implu.com/releases/2010/20100304/37637/implu_viewer for more information.

NYS Society of CPAs (NYSSCPAs): Allan Tepper has been named Chairman of the Banking Committee of the NYSSCPAs for the 2010/2012 years. Allan has been a member of the NYSSCPAs for over 25 years and a Banking Committee member since 2008. Please visit http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/5fb9dae8#/5fb9dae8/8 for more information.

Financial Executives Networking Group: Marc Engel has been named Chairman of the Internal Audit Special Interest group. He was previously Chairman of the Litigation Services Committee at the New York State Society of CPAs. See http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100328/FREE/303289992 for more information.

AccountingWeb: Marc Palker has recently written an article, “A day in the Life of an Interim CFO” that was published in the AccountingWeb.com. Marc covers such topics as SEC reporting, cash management, and biggest challenges. See http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/accounting-auditing/day-life-interim-cfo for more information.

Accountant/Attorney Networking Group: On Thursday October 14, 2010, Marc Palker was elected Executive Vice President of this group. This is a networking group for Accountants and Attorneys. See http://accountantattorneynetworking.com/ for more information.

Newsletter – September 2010

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Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

As most of our readers know, The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed by President Obama on July 21, 2010. This financial reform will introduce a myriad of changes to financial regulation, which raises the question: what are the implications of this act to You?

Many articles have been written, but the three following links provide what CFO Consulting Partners believes is a comprehensive examination by three organizations dedicated to the needs of financial and banking executives.

In the opinion of Allan Tepper, Chairman of the Banking Committee of the NYSSCPAs and co-founder of CFO Consulting Partners LLC, the Act should help avoid a similar banking crisis, and is thus a net plus to our financial system and, by extension, to our economy. However, regulations alone cannot replace the exercise of sound judgment on the part of bank officers whose vision may sometimes become clouded by the profit motive.

Financial Executives International

The Trusted Professional Professional, a newspaper published by the NYS Society of CPAs

New Jersey Banker Fall 2010 Issue, pg. 20

Who We Are

CFO Consulting Partners LLC is a boutique financial management consulting firm that specializes in working with small to midsized public and private companies to provide accounting and risk management services.

Newsletter – June 2010

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CFO Consulting Partners Expands to Long Island

CFO Consulting Partners is pleased to announce that we will now be servicing Long Island.

273 Walt Whitman Road, Suite 305
Huntington Station, NY 11746

Newsletter – May 2010

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Small Company Sarbanes-Oxley is Just Around the Corner

As you may already know, on June 15, 2010 Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes -Oxley Act of 2002 becomes effective for all public companies traded on an exchange that have a market capitalization of under $75 million. What does that mean for you or your clients?

For registrants with a year ending on or after June 15, 2010, their independent registered accountants must issue an opinion on Management’s Assessment of Internal Controls over Financial Reporting disclosed in the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. The opinion will state whether or not the firm agrees with Management’s Assessment. Numerous registrants have performed the basics of documenting their system and identifying key controls. However, many small companies have not done extensive testing that will be acceptable to their auditors.

CFO Consulting Partners LLC can assist you or your client(s) in preparing for the first attestation of internal controls over financial reporting. Our experts can perform the following to get you on the right path:

  • Walkthroughs of existing documentation
  • Review of key control identification
  • Test script review and testing
  • Remediation where necessary
  • Coordination with independent registered accountants

Additional information is available at http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-213.htm

Newsletter – November 2009

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International Financial Reporting Standards and What it Will Mean for Your Company

Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS) from US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) is more than an accounting exercise. For many companies, it can significantly affect the financial reporting for certain aspects of the entity. Hence, the need for proper planning is imperative.

Executives need an early understanding of the potential ways in which conversion to IFRS may affect their accounting policies, people, information systems, and controls. IFRS include a specific standard that sets out all transitional requirements and exemptions available for first-time adopters.

For instance, an opening balance sheet is prepared at the date of transition to IFRSs, which is the beginning of the earliest comparative period on the basis of IFRSs. Accounting policies are chosen from IFRS in effect at the reporting date. Generally, those accounting policies must be applied retrospectively in preparing the opening balance sheet and in all periods presented on the basis of IFRS. However, retrospective application of changes in accounting policy is prohibited in some cases. At least one year of comparative financial statements must be presented on an IFRS basis, and first-time adopters may report initially in either annual or interim financial statements

For more information on getting started, see an article published by The CPA Journal in October, 2009 on “Planning Ahead For IFRS 1” athttp://viewer.zmags.com/publication/742328e2#/742328e2/26

Newsletter – October 2009

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SEC Issues Revised SOX Compliance Date for Smallest Reporting Firms

On October 2, 2009, the SEC approved an additional extension for companies with a public float of $75 million or less. The extension moves the compliance date to June 15, 2010, meaning that companies must comply with Section 404 requirements for periods ending on or after that date.  No further extensions will likely be granted. You can view the SEC press release concerning this matter in its entirety at the following http://sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-213.htm

Newsletter – August 2009

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SOX and Internal Controls Over Excel Spreadsheets

Marc Engel, CPA, CISA, CFE

Many companies not previously subject to SOX are required to comply in their current fiscal year. This includes non-accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies. Existing companies that are SOX compliant should now be compliant for their primary computer systems and applications. However, many of these companies may need to tighten controls over applications such as Excel.   These are often used in accounting and finance departments to generate calculations or support for journal entries or business decisions.

Risks involving the use of Excel need to be considered.  For example, a controller might use an uncontrolled Excel spreadsheet to control fixed assets.  Formulas are not locked, because each new purchase adds a line to the list of fixed assets. Approvals consist of a signature on the hard copy.  Or Excel may be used to prepare financial statements and for variance analyses; but lack of control over input cells, output cells, formula results, and different versions of the spreadsheet may cause errors which may then appear in the financial statements and the MD&A. Consequently, lack of proper controls over such applications could result in a finding of a significant deficiency or even a material weakness. If not corrected prior to year end, this might have to be reported as an exception in the annual report.

The good news is – COSO compliant, effective controls are easily implemented.  Five basic areas are:  Risk Assessment, Limited Access, Design and Documentation, Change Controls, and Monitoring.

 

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