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Accounting Author Barry Jay Epstein Advises Rapid Deployment by CPA Firms of New GAAP Codification

"This is a sleeper issue that may not become fully apparent to some accounting firms until they are deep into their busy audit season in the first quarter of 2010," warns Epstein, a consulting and litigation partner with the Chicago-based accounting firm Russell Novak & Company LLP (www.rnco.com). "Now is the best time to update audit files so that firms are ASC compliant, which will obviate criticisms in routine peer reviews and possibly also in future adversary proceedings."

Accounting firms should take the following five steps now to conform to the Accounting Standards Codification, according to Epstein:

1. Assign a partner or other senior level CPA within the firm to oversee ASC adoption

2. Train all accountants and support staff in the use of the restructured professional literature

3. Implement a thorough review of all files to identify references, such as technical memoranda supporting audit positions taken, that require updates

4. Determine appropriate treatment for compliance with FASB Statement No. 168, which implemented ASC

5. Document the actions taken by the firm

Accounting for leases under FASB Statement 13, which has been in place since November 1976, is just one example of a widely used accounting standard. Effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009, this and thousands of other U.S. GAAP pronouncements are now reorganized into a single source organized by topic and subject. Accounting firms that are slow to adopt these new standards face a loss of credibility and may be subject to future charges of accountant malpractice.

Intended as a resource to help accounting firms successfully navigate this transition, the book "Wiley GAAP Codification Enhanced" contains complete coverage of all levels of GAAP, with fully integrated cross-references to the new ASC.

About the Book

Wiley GAAP Codification Enhanced
By Barry J. Epstein, Ralph Nach, and Steven M. Bragg
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 978-0-470-49828-6
Adobe E-Book, 1,440 pages, April 2009, US $110.00
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470498285.html

Editors: A book review copy is available on request to the contact below. Author interviews can be arranged. The next annual edition, "Wiley GAAP 2010," is expected later this year.

About Accounting Expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, CPA

Lead author Dr. Barry Epstein is a Partner in the Chicago accounting firm Russell Novak & Company LLP (www.rnco.com). He is an international accounting expert on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Dr. Epstein provides technical consultation on GAAP, IFRS, auditing standards, litigation consulting, and Sarbanes-Oxley audit committee compliance. He works extensively with attorneys and government agencies in the areas of securities litigation, white collar defense, financial fraud, accountants' liability, securitization accounting, and accounting for derivatives. See also www.ifrsaccountant.com and www.ifrsaccounting.com.

For Dr. Barry Epstein
Legal Expert Connections
Margaret Grisdela, 866-417-7025
mg@legalexpertconnections.com