The Advanced Health and Welfare Plans Audit Certificate exam tests your ability to plan, perform and evaluate health and welfare plans, in accordance with AICPA standards and DOL rules and regulations. This exam is offered in a timed online format and consists of 75 multiple choice questions. In order to successfully pass the examination, you must be able to evaluate and analyze the core concepts related to client acceptance, engagement planning, engagement analysis, concluding an engagement and guiding principles for health and welfare plan audits. Some of the topics that will be tested on the exam include: Planning and General Procedures Internal Control Net Assets Available for Benefits Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits Benefit Obligations and Changes in Benefit Obligations Plan Tax Status Financial Statement Presentation, Disclosure & Regulatory Reporting Audit Reports & Concluding the Audit Online Access Instructions A personal pin code is enclosed in the physical packaging that may be activated online upon receipt. Once activated, you will gain immediate online access to the product. Your Certificate and Digital Badge After passing the exam, you will be awarded with a certificate in the form of a digital badge. Digital badges allow you to distinguish yourself in the marketplace and show your commitment to quality. The badge can be posted to your social media profiles and linked to your resume or email signature, providing maximum visibility to your achievement. You will receive your official score and certificate or retake information 5 business days after completing the exam. Important note: Your exam purchase entitles you to one exam and one re-take if you do not pass the exam. Prior to using your re-take, the AICPA recommends you study any topics identified in your initial exam results. If you do not pass either the initial exam or the re-take, you must purchase the exam again, in order to take it again. Exams passed outside of these purchase and re-take rules will not result in the issuing of a digital badge. If you have any questions regarding the completion of your exam or re-take, please contact [email protected] to verify your results. By making this purchase, you must understand and agree that the AICPA has the absolute and unrestricted right to revoke or suspend any rights to use the digital badge image, or any representation thereof, if you are (a) convicted of any crime punishable by more than one year in prison or for any crime related to dishonesty, or (b) disciplined by any governmental or non-governmental authority that regulates, or enforces a code of conduct related to, your professional activities, including but not limited to, a state board of accountancy, AICPA, IRS, SEC, or PCAOB, or (c) a peer reviewer restricted from performing peer reviews by the Peer Review Program. System Requirements AICPA's online CPE courses will operate in a variety of configurations, but only the configuration described below is supported by AICPA technicians. A stable and continuous internet connection is required. In order to record your completion of the online learning courses, please ensure you are connected to the internet at all times while taking the course. It is your responsibility to validate that CPE certificate(s) are available within your account after successfully completing the course and/or exam. Supported Operating Systems: Macintosh OS X 10.10 to present Windows 7 to present Supported Browsers: Apple Safari Google Chrome Microsoft Internet Explorer Mozilla Firefox Required Browser Plug-ins: Adobe Flash Adobe Acrobat Reader Technical Support: Please contact [email protected].

The author conducted surveys and performed other analyses of current practice in the allocation and reporting of date processing costs. He found that most companies charge some portion of data processing and systems costs to various departments using the full cost approach. Most also keep about half of their data processing centralized. He compares his findings to the provisions of National Association of Accountants Statement 4F, Allocation of Information Systems Costs. He also provides chapters on software taxation and one covering financial accounting for software costs, which has a comprehesive example of how to amortize capitalized costs in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement no. 86, Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software to Be Sold, Leased, or Otherwise Marketed. Software developed for internal use also is covered. This is a useful book, particularly for accountants in industry. "Journal of Accountancy"

This book, based on the author's own original research, brings together a clearly written summary of the current state of accounting for data processing costs. In addition to reporting on EDP accounting practices, one of the most rapidly changing areas of management accounting, Robert McGee offers a comprehensive guide to how such practices might be effectively applied in a variety of situations and organizations.

Auditor reporting on going-concern-related uncertainties remains one of the most challenging issues faced by external auditors. Business owners, market participants and audit regulators want an early warning of impending business failure. However, companies typically do not welcome audit opinions indicating uncertainty regarding their future viability. Thus, the auditor's decision to issue a "going concern opinion" (GCO) is a complex and multi-layered one, facing a great deal of tension. Given such a rich context, academic researchers have examined many facets related to an auditor's decision to issue a GCO. This monograph reviews and synthesizes 182 recent GCO studies that have appeared since the last significant review published in 2013 through the end of 2019. The authors categorize studies into the three broad areas of GCO: (1) determinants, (2) accuracy and (3) consequences. As an integral part of their synthesis, they summarize the details of each study in several user-friendly tables. After discussing and synthesizing the research, they present a discussion of opportunities for future research, including issues created or exacerbated as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This monograph will be of assistance to researchers interested in exploring this area of auditor responsibility. It will also be of interest to auditing firms and individual practitioners wanting to learn what academic research has examined and found regarding this challenging aspect of audit practice. Auditing standard-setters and regulators will find it of interest as the authors review numerous studies examining issues related to audit policy and regulation, and their effects on GCO decisions. The examination of GCO research is extremely timely given the financial and business disruption caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented global event has caused companies, auditors and professional bodies to revisit and reassess their approach to going concern, and to think even more deeply about this fundamental business imperative.

Advances in Management Accounting (AIMA) publishes well-developed articles on a variety of current topics in management accounting that are relevant to both practitioners and academicians. Featured in Volume 11 are articles on managers' perceptions of the physical reality of the firms' utilization of its physical assets; the perspectives used in analytical and empirical cost system research; operational planning and control involving activity-based costing; effects of benchmarking and incentives on organizational performance; organizational control and work team empowerment; budget slack creation in organizations; taxonomy for the mass customization approach; top management involvement in R&D budget setting; the role of self-interest in project continuation decisions; agency theory determinants of managers' adverse selection in resource allocation; process innovation and adaptive institutional change strategies in management control systems; and change in management accounting controls after implementation of electronic data interchange. Accountants at all levels who work in corporations and not-for-profit organizations would be interested in the AIMA articles.

Despite a plethora of techniques to analyse the financial performance of a business, there has been no single methodology that has been overwhelmingly preferred by users. This could be an indication that either the methods themselves are deficient or they are limited by other factors that are not easily overcome. Unlike the current offerings in the field, which focus on issues relating to business performance management or non-financial aspects (such as market efficiency, satisfaction and workforce productivity), this book offers a solution to a major gap in the literature and understanding for those seeking to measure, analyse and benchmark the financial performance of any organisation (for-profit, not-for-profit and government agencies). It clearly identifies why current techniques fail; proposes and evidences a solution that overcomes these issues by including two algorithms that can be combined, to solve this problem; and demonstrates the practical application of the technique to the benefit of users in order to pinpoint real performance levels and insights. One of the largest issues this book will help to overcome is the inability to compare the accounts of businesses/organisations from different countries that report in different currencies. This technique eliminates the need for currency translations and the issues that arise with that process. This book is an invaluable and practical guide to assist accounting and finance practitioners in measuring and comparing financial performance across firms with different business models, different accounting policies and different scales of operations.

Management Control is the process by which managers at all hierarchical levels ensure that their strategic intentions are realized. This requires a management control system that enables managers to map external developments to the internal planning and control processes and to improve the coordination between all actors. The book offers concrete guidance on how to build an integrated planning and control system. The requirements are derived from management models and from corporate management practice. The book presents the fundamentals and models, while also guiding readers through a comprehensive simulation model programmed in Excel. Using this model, readers can trace the dependencies, structures and calculation methods used in detail, and identify the effects on other areas. The goal is to provide a design template for the implementation of a decision-relevant management accounting system as well as for winning internal piloting indicators and early warning information that readers can use at their own organizations. Given its focus, the book will be a valuable asset for managers and specialists, service providers, project developers, producers and traders, public enterprises, NGOs, consultants and lecturers in the fields of management, controllership and information technology.

As Information Technology continues to evolve as a key strategic enabler, many establishments feel the need to think more holistically about how IT can support corporate sustainability efforts. This book aims to recognize these efforts and best practices in numerous business settings. Sustainability is expensive, and requires collaboration between many different areas of the business. The solution to growing burden of carbon emission lies within the technology innovation as continued advancements in processes make businesses lean and smart. The multidisciplinary approach the book uses will be appreciated by students, academics and researchers in Information Technology, Management, Corporate, and Sustainability Champions. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)

This book reviews a range of reports written by fraud examiners after completing internal investigations. These reports are normally kept secret and are the property of client organizations, which do not wish to disclose potential wrongdoing that can harm the reputation of the businesses. Fraud Examinations in White-Collar Crime Investigations was able to retrieve several recent reports, including foreign aid kickbacks, Russian favors to the Biathlon President, and Leon Black's deals with Jeffrey Epstein. While not claiming that the obtained reports are representative for the outcome of the private investigation industry, the reports do provide insights into the variety of issues that fraud examiners address in their internal investigations and the quality of their work. This book identifies convenience themes and assesses investigation maturity across the reports analyzed. It considers the motives of and opportunities for white collar criminals, as well as their willingness to engage in unlawful activity, and assesses to what extent fraud examiners are either efficient or deficient in their work. A compelling read, this book will appeal to students and scholars of criminology, sociology, law politics and all those interested in fraud examinations in relation to white-collar crime.

Performance Measurement Systems (PMSs) are of utmost importance for multinational companies since they provide head offices with information on the subsidiaries' performance and are expected to influence the subsidiaries' decisions. However, despite their high importance, little is known about the design and adoption of PMSs in multinational companies. Therefore, this study analyzes in detail how head offices of German multinational companies design their PMSs. Furthermore, it also investigates how this PMS is adopted by the subsidiaries of these multinational companies. The findings have implications for researchers and practitioners such as management accountants in multinational companies' head offices and subsidiaries.

This book weaves together current understanding around financial literacy and ageing, arguing for the relevance of financial literacy for old age security. Building upon on the experiences of ten developing Asian economies with a focus on India, the book enters new territory by developing frameworks that identify predictors of financial literacy and a mechanism for its internalization, as well as recognising the need for specialized training programs for the older population in order to establish a link between financial literacy and old age security. It thus makes a case about the centrality of financial literacy in creating an environment conducive to a dignified ageing experience in this world of shouldering one's own responsibility. Going forward, the book comprehends financial literacy for India as a skill which enables an individual to decide the suitable avenues to invest savings, utilize monetary resources and shape financial decisions aligned with their financial goals, in accordance with the dynamic financial & economic environment. This original volume is a first-time attempt to provide an in-depth account of financial literacy and its association with savings behavior, old age planning, wealth accumulation, healthcare and wellbeing in older age. It also provides a detailed account of various measurement tools used and policy initiatives undertaken across the globe for financial literacy. It is an indispensable reference guide for scholars and researchers, cutting across multiple disciplines particularly financial and development economics, gerontology, demography, social work, psychology and public policy.

In recent years, nonprofit and voluntary organisations have faced challenges and unanticipated pressures as a result of increased competition for funding, technological advancements, the need to comply with government regulations, and increased social and community expectations regarding greater accountability and transparency. Cost accounting and cost management tools are considered to be a means of providing adequate and quality information for management control for all sorts of organisations, including nonprofits. Using empirical evidence from the Australian nonprofit sector, this research monograph offers insight into how nonprofit and voluntary organisations control and manage the costs of their operations and projects through cost accounting and cost management tools. The book will be of benefit to a range of stakeholders in the sector, including financial and management accountants, professional accounting bodies, the government, policymakers, academics, consultants and operational managers.

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, corporate collapses, accounting scandals and concerns around competition and auditor choice, the European Commission (EC) promoted the preparation of various reports on audit policy to support a harmonisation process of European auditing regulation. Consequently, the European Union Audit Regulation and Directive was implemented from 2016. This book provides a timely picture of the audit sector and how it responds to regulatory and technological challenges. It analyses the impact of EU reforms on audit practices by comparing the U.K. and Italy, which, representing two very different regulatory and cultural contexts, will offer insight into how the efforts at standardising audit regulation may lead to very different organisational firm responses within Europe. It addresses issues relating to public policy work and the concerns faced by the market for audit and assurance services, in promoting audit quality, better communication about the role of the auditor, capital market stability and confidence, and auditor independence. Moreover, it highlights what the future of auditing might look like in the EU particularly after the U.K. has left, and how meeting public expectations will continue to be a struggle for the accounting profession given the many problems ahead. The book encourages a deeper awareness of the challenges faced by those that monitor and certify the financial statements of the world's largest public companies and contributes to the general understanding of this controversial industry. It will serve as a useful guide to the recent EU audit reforms, not only for academics, and research students but also to regulators, policymakers, standard setters, industry professionals, and business executives worldwide.

With over 40 case studies, Management Accounting: A Cases Approach is an ideal companion for students who want to reinforce and deepen their understanding of management accounting theories by working on real accounting challenges.

The book aims to show what managers need when solving daily problems in management accounting, in a real, practical setting.

It is exceptionally well suited for Master’s programs and Management training programs where participants need to see the usefulness of analysis.

Containing simple to advanced level cases, they are ordered by subject matter such as

·         Budgeting and planning

·         Cost Accounting

·         Internal transfer pricing

·         Corporate capital investment decisions

Many auditors are now encountering Agile management methodologies for the first time. In some cases, this can cause problems for the audit process because the methodology is very different from traditional approaches. Aside from the difficulties faced by the auditor, an ineffective audit can have a negative effect on an Agile project by giving a false impression of its progress. It might even harm the final project outcome. Written for auditors and Agile managers, Agile Governance and Audit bridges the gap between traditional auditing approaches and the requirements of Agile methodologies. It provides an overview of Agile for auditors and other risk professionals who have not encountered the approach before. The book also tells Agile teams what auditors and risk professionals need, and the sort of questions they are likely to ask. Each chapter includes hints and tips for auditors, and a selection of case studies is included to illustrate the practical issues involved in auditing Agile projects. This makes it an ideal book for any auditor encountering the Agile methodology, and any Agile teams preparing for a management audit. This book will enable you to understand how to get the most out of Agile audits, whatever your role.

This book clarifies the theory and practice of management control for strategy changes through the study of profit organizations, non-profit organizations, manufacturing and service industries. The relationship between strategy and management control is clearly elucidated in the book, which enables readers to understand how to implement management control systems for strategic changes in their organizations. The unique topics covered in this book include the methodology for continuing existing businesses and spreading the risk in the business portfolio, the management control systems for the new platform business models such as IT hardware and SaaS (Software as a Service) needed for business structure transformation, as well as management controls that are functioning in various industries and organizations.

Auditing Fundamentals covers the exciting and developing financial area of both External and Internal auditing in a clear and reader friendly way. This up-to-date textbook examines the fundamentals of auditing in terms of legislation, codes affecting the profession, and the International Auditing Standards.

Extraordinary technological progress, but also the experience gained from the global COVID-19 pandemic, force the future vision of the world's economic development to assume a close coexistence and intense interaction between production (manufacturing) and logistics and supply chain management. This perspective requires that the current functioning of organizations will have to be radically remodeled so that they can face not only market competition, but also the turbulent changes (VUCA) that take place in their close environment. Therefore, in the next few years, one of the most important tools for improving organizations may become the industry audits, especially logistics audit. This book explores the development, methods and impact of logistics audits on organizations. In a holistic way, the book refers to topics such as internal audit, control, logistics system of enterprises, principles of conducting logistics audit and its problem areas (risk), logistics audit of procurement, production, warehousing, distribution, and supply chains, impact of the digital economy on organizations, and the European market for logistics audit services. Undoubtedly, the greatest asset of this book is that, in international terms, it is the first compact book devoted to the issue of logistics audit. Unique and timely, the book will be an essential resource for academics and postgraduate students of logistics, supply chain management and global operations in particular.

In 2020, the G20 proposed a solution for the debt-related issues affecting the world's poorest countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their initiatives have failed to meet their objectives. The author argues that the reason for this failure is the inability to bring sovereign countries to the table to re-negotiate their debt agreements with private creditors as they fear credit rating agencies and the prospect of a downgrade. The author refers to this as the 'credit rating impasse'. This book proposes a novel solution. The author asserts that there is a need in the literature to unpick the dynamic that exists and creates that impasse, namely the pressures that exist between sovereign states, private creditors, credit rating agencies, and the geo-political backdrop that is massively influential in the dynamic, that is, the adversarial relationship between China and the US. This book addresses the recent history of debt treatment for poorer countries and related successes and failures: COVID-19-related issues and the development of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework for Debt Treatment. This book examines the reasons for their failure by analysing the positions of the sovereign states, the division between private and official creditors and between multilateral institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, credit rating agencies, and the competing political entities of China and the US. It presents a wider picture of the systemic underpinnings to such debt-related issues and, when examined through a geo-political perspective, the subsequent chances of future debt treatment-related successes. Licence line: The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Law of one price continues to be a central tenet of Financial Economics. This book is devoted towards examining law of one price in the context of dually-listed shares of Indian companies. Put simply, this book delves on the relationship between the prices of domestic shares issued by Indian companies and the prices of foreign shares issued by the same companies. It also examines the evolving uncertainty in relationships between such dually-listed shares issued by Indian companies. It draws upon the insights that we garnered over the years while working on technical papers in this area. The book, thus, undertakes concerted efforts to present facts in a manner that sensitize and meaningfully inform readers of the prevalent breadth and depth of dual-listing (cross-listing) landscape globally and more so, locally (India).

Modern companies are under increasing pressure to conduct their business in an environmentally responsible manner due to social and environmental problems. They must find the means to deploy their businesses in a socially- and environmentally-sustainable way without sacrificing their economic performance (e.g., profits to shareholders and owners) and wellbeing. By integrating multiple processes and methods, management accounting plays a key role in achieving a company's sustainability, notably by providing reliable, relevant, accurate, and timely information to managers. Management Accounting Standards for Sustainable Business Practices is a pivotal reference source that explores how management accounting plays a key role in establishing future business strategies and adapting to business, corporate image, and reputation, and identifies responses to the requirements of the business environment and all stakeholders in developing multilateral communication and interactive relationships. It contrasts external financial accounting for government regulators and the investment community with internal management accounting for managers to leverage for decision making. Featuring research on topics such as ethical practices, creative accounting, and strategic planning, this book is ideally designed for CFOs, financial controllers, business analysts, FP&A analysts, managers, leaders, researchers, and students.

The fully updated, second edition of Management Control Systems supports students to develop an investigative approach to implementing planning and control systems for strategic success. With strong links between theory and modern real-world practices, the new edition reflects developments in global management and business, plus contemporary design and use of management control systems. Students have access to a wealth of diverse analytical cases, balanced with current content and international examples. Key features of this new edition include: *Fully revised to incorporate current methods in management control *New chapters on Managers, Human behaviour and Organizations, Risk Management and The controllers - past, present, future. *New coverage of topics such as Risk management, Sustainability, Globalisation and Ethics.". *New end-of-chapter and additional cases that cover chapter topics and provide questions and discussion topics for students to put their knowledge to practice. *Full coverage of current management control systems roles and responsibilities, including controllers, BU-controllers and the CFO *Learning Objectives at the beginning of each chapter provide a structure for students to progress their knowledge from. *Now available with Connect (R), including access to a Testbank and 10 case studies that are assignable and autogradable. Available with McGraw Hill Education's Connect (R), the well-established online learning platform, which features resources to help faculty and institutions improve student outcomes and course delivery efficiency. Are you a student? Gain easy online access to homework, tests and quizzes with immediate feedback on your progress as well as access to practice materials. Are you an instructor? You can create auto-graded assignments, tests and quizzes. Detailed visual reporting allows you to easily monitor student progress. Explore the updated instructor resources that include an instructor's manual, solutions manual, PowerPoints, glossary and appendices. Frank G.H. Hartmann is a Professor of Accounting at the Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University. Kalle Kraus is Professor in Accounting at the Stockholm School of Economics. Goeran Nilsson is a Senior Lecturer in Management Control at Uppsala University. Robert N. Anthony was the Ross Graham Walker Professor Emeritus of Management Control at Harvard Business School. Vijay Govindarajan is the Coxe Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Best Selling author.

Auditor reporting on going-concern-related uncertainties remains one of the most challenging issues faced by external auditors. Business owners, market participants and audit regulators want an early warning of impending business failure. However, companies typically do not welcome audit opinions indicating uncertainty regarding their future viability. Thus, the auditor's decision to issue a "going concern opinion" (GCO) is a complex and multi-layered one, facing a great deal of tension. Given such a rich context, academic researchers have examined many facets related to an auditor's decision to issue a GCO. This monograph reviews and synthesizes 182 recent GCO studies that have appeared since the last significant review published in 2013 through the end of 2019. The authors categorize studies into the three broad areas of GCO: (1) determinants, (2) accuracy and (3) consequences. As an integral part of their synthesis, they summarize the details of each study in several user-friendly tables. After discussing and synthesizing the research, they present a discussion of opportunities for future research, including issues created or exacerbated as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This monograph will be of assistance to researchers interested in exploring this area of auditor responsibility. It will also be of interest to auditing firms and individual practitioners wanting to learn what academic research has examined and found regarding this challenging aspect of audit practice. Auditing standard-setters and regulators will find it of interest as the authors review numerous studies examining issues related to audit policy and regulation, and their effects on GCO decisions. The examination of GCO research is extremely timely given the financial and business disruption caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented global event has caused companies, auditors and professional bodies to revisit and reassess their approach to going concern, and to think even more deeply about this fundamental business imperative.