#audit
Independent audit and assurance engagements — SOC 2, financial statement audits, internal controls testing, evidence collection, and audit readiness for service organizations and growing businesses
On April 22, 2026 the DOJ moved certain state-licensed medical marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III, ending Section 280E's ban on ordinary business deductions for qualifying operators — while recreational-only dispensaries remain fully subject to 280E's COGS-only tax treatment.
Draft Finance Bill 2026-27 clauses published on L-Day (July 13, 2026) modernize HMRC's Schedule 36 inspection powers to explicitly cover cloud-hosted accounting records, with consultation open until September 7, 2026. Here's how the change interacts with Making Tax Digital and what UK small businesses should do now.
KPMG Australia is preparing to cut over 1,000 of roughly 10,000 jobs and reduce partner pay by up to 20% after admitting it mishandled a 2024 whistleblower complaint alleging misuse of confidential client data. The same five independence threats behind the scandal — self-interest, self-review, advocacy, familiarity, and intimidation — apply to any local CPA firm, and this guide covers the red flags plus a five-step due-diligence checklist (license lookup, peer review report, references, commission disclosure, engagement-letter scope) for vetting your own accountant.
The PCAOB opened its first-ever public comment period on its standard-setting and research agenda on June 23, 2026, with comments due August 7, 2026 on focus areas, its general approach, and the SEC's semiannual reporting proposal.
FASB's ASU 2025-06 replaces the three-stage ASC 350-40 test with a single "probable-to-complete" threshold for internal-use software, a change expected to decrease capitalization for SaaS companies once it takes effect for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2027.
The IRS's February 2026 policy, IRM 10.24.1, formalizes how AI models — now running 126 active projects across six annual cycles — flag small business and self-employed returns for audit, requiring mandatory human review before any AI referral becomes an examination.
NEMT providers face a documented audit risk unlike most small businesses — a 2022 federal audit found 72% of sampled New York claims non-compliant, and billing a no-show as a completed trip can trigger False Claims Act penalties starting at roughly $14,000 per claim plus treble damages.
First-time SBIR/STTR awardees rarely fail audits on the science — they fail on indirect cost rates, timekeeping, and commingled funds. How to calculate your own indirect rate (DOE now caps reimbursement at 15% for for-profits), log daily hours DCAA will accept, and segregate award money before the SF 1408 survey.
Unreconciled books — not fraud — are the most common way campaigns and PACs draw FEC scrutiny. A treasurer's guide to the $200 itemization threshold, 2025–2026 contribution limits ($3,500 per election to candidates), the 2026 filing calendar, what triggers an audit, and the double-entry bookkeeping practices that prevent RFAIs.
IFTA returns are due four times a year, and two consecutive missed filings can get an owner-operator's fuel tax license revoked. This guide covers the quarterly deadlines, the $50-or-10% late penalty, the four-year record retention rule, the audit triggers auditors actually look for, and the recordkeeping habits that keep filings painless.
ASU 2020-07 requires nonprofits to present contributed nonfinancial assets as a separate line item, disaggregated by category, with disclosed valuation methods. This guide covers the fair-value rules of ASC 958-605 — which volunteer services are recordable, how to value donated goods, professional services, and facility use, the offsetting journal entries, and the $25,000 Form 990 Schedule M threshold.
Under ASU 2020-07 (ASC 958-605), nonprofits must record donated goods, services, and facility use at fair value on a separate line item and disclose valuation methodology by category, or risk an auditor flagging the financial statements.
