News/Events2023-03-28T13:14:17-04:00

2023 News

Natasha Perssico Escobedo Speaks at Valuation Webinar

Natasha Perssico Escobedo, MBA, CPA, ASA-BV, was proud to be a panelist in a March 23rd webinar on the topic “Valuing Lost Profits for Litigation Purposes,” sponsored by HKA. This webinar – one of five episodes that comprise Financial Poise Webinars’ Valuation 2023 series – summarized how to measure lost profits and detailed other critical elements to consider in developing and presenting a damages theory in court. HKA, based in London, is a leading global consultancy in risk mitigation and dispute resolution. About Natasha Perssico Escobedo, MBA, CPA, ASA-BV Natasha Perssico Escobedo is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in Business Valuation with [...]

March 30th, 2023|

2022 News

Seeking Truly Global Financial Reporting Standards

For decades, leading standards setters have advocated a single set of global financial reporting standards. After large strides were made in converging U.S. GAAP and IFRS in the first decade of this century, progress seemingly stalled. The authors believe that the nascent movement towards global sustainability reporting standards provides an opportunity and a model for U.S. standards setters to re-engage with their international counterparts and renew the push for truly global financial reporting standards. Accounting expert Barry Jay Epstein, Ph.D., CPA (Inactive) is a co-author with Peter Harris, CPA, CFA, CMA, CIA,  and Eva K. Jermakowicz, PhD, CPA in an [...]

April 21st, 2022|

Accounting Treatment of State Pass-Through Entity Taxes

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) enacted on December 22, 2017 that became effective for tax years after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026 included a provision that limited the annual federal personal income tax deduction for state and local taxes (“SALT”) to $10,000. The taxes to which this limit applies are state and local income, sales, and property taxes paid by the individual taxpayer. Additionally, the TCJA also increased the standard deduction to $12,000 for single tax filers and $24,000 for joint filers. These were significant increases from the prior standard deductions which were $6,300 and [...]

April 21st, 2022|

2020 News

2020 Continuing Education Courses

Dear Clients, Colleagues and Friends, In troubled times like these, we believe it is critical for us all to be versatile, adaptable, flexible, resilient, and innovative. It is in that spirit that we are pleased to present our year 2020 Offerings and Solutions Catalog that is designed to enable you to maintain and enhance the skills of your workforce even while stay-at-home provisions are still in effect in many states. We hope that this catalog will serve as a valuable resource to you in planning your learning and development programs for this year. We are introducing several innovations in this [...]

May 20th, 2020|

2019 News

2019 Continuing Professional Education Courses

CPA firms with accounting and auditing practices are invited to learn about trends affecting the CPA profession by engaging Epstein + Nach to present live, in-firm sessions of three continuing professional education courses offered by Ralph Nach, Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, and Natasha Perssico Escobedo. Course details regarding the 2019 Accounting & Auditing Clinic, Accounting for Leases of Lessees, and Revenue from Contracts with Customers are detailed below. Each course is designed for a high level of interaction between the instructor and participants, with ample opportunity to practice application of the concepts covered. 2019 Accounting & Auditing Clinic This full-day [...]

May 14th, 2019|

2018 News

Navigating Tax Risks In Shareholder Executive Compensation

IRS disputes with business owners over shareholder executive compensation is the topic of a recent article titled "Navigating Tax Risks In Shareholder Executive Compensation,"written by principal Natasha Perssico Escobedo, MBA, CPA, AM-ASA, and published on Law360.com. The article also addresses relevant federal income tax statutes and judicial precedents related to shareholder-executive compensation. In recent years, the Internal Revenue Service has focused on shareholder executive compensation paid to executives who are shareholders in business enterprises, to ensure compliance with employment and income tax requirements. These steps are part of the IRS' goal to improve tax compliance by corporations and high-income taxpayers. C [...]

October 2nd, 2018|

2017 News

Barry Jay Epstein Receives The CPA Journal’s 2016 Max Block Award

Sridhar Ramamoorti and Dr. Barry Jay Epstein have been awarded The CPA Journal’s 2016 Max Block Award for their  "outstanding" News & Views/Opinion article titled "When Reckless Executives Become Dangerous Fraudsters: Reward Structures and Auditing Procedures Need to Be Reformed to Deter ‘Dark Triad’ Personalities." The news announcement from The CPA Journal reads, Sridhar Ramamoorti, PhD, CPA, CFE, CFF, MAFF, an associate professor in the department of accounting at the School of Business Administration at the University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, and Barry J. Epstein, PhD, CPA, CFF, a principal with Epstein + Nach LLC based in Chicago,  received the award for Outstanding Article in the [...]

June 17th, 2017|

Bloomberg Quotes Dr. Barry J. Epstein on PBM Accounting

In a Bloomberg Technology article titled, “Drug Middlemen Have Slim Profit Margins -- Just Ask Them,” reporters Tom Metcalf and Neil Weinberg quote Dr. Epstein in regard to the accounting practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The PBMs’ method of counting complies with generally accepted accounting principles. Regulators haven’t expressed displeasure with the way these drug middlemen -- namely the PBM units of CVS Health Corp., Express Scripts Holding Co. and OptumRx (part of UnitedHealth Group Inc.) -- present their revenues, costs and margins. It’s a judgment call and both approaches can be reasonably justified in this case, said Barry [...]

April 5th, 2017|

2017 Accounting & Auditing Seminar Now Available

Chicago CPA Ralph Nach is now scheduling sessions for his 2017 Accounting & Auditing seminar, an annual favorite among Illinois accountants.  The course provides in-depth, hands-on coverage of recent developments in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. Strong emphasis is placed on the practical application of selected newly issued and/or effective authoritative pronouncements affecting practitioners who perform or supervise compilation,review, and/or audit engagements for small and middle-market,privately held businesses. This stimulating and educational 1-day session includes the following segments: The State of the Profession Report Private Company Financial Reporting Accounting Standards Codification (R) Developments Compilation and Review Developments Audit and Assurance [...]

March 8th, 2017|

2016 News

White Paper on Accounting for Leases Under New FASB Standard Available

Epstein + Nach LLC, a financial reporting consulting firm based in Chicago, is pleased to publish an in-depth white paper on Accounting for Leases under the New FASB Standard. As financial reporting entities and other businesses across the U.S. work to understand the scope and extent of changes to lease accounting, this white paper helps to clarify key facts about the new standard. The proper accounting for lease arrangements, both by lessees and by lessors, has been one of the more contentious areas of financial reporting theory for the past six decades. A disproportionate fraction of extant accounting guidance, both [...]

April 13th, 2016|

Accounting and Auditing Clinic Available

Recent developments in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting, including implementation issues, are covered in this 2016 Accounting and Auditing Clinic. Strong emphasis is placed on the practical application of selected newly issued and/or effective authoritative pronouncements affecting practitioners who perform or supervise compilation, review, and/or audit engagements for small and middle-market, privately held businesses. The session is designed for a high level of interaction between the instructor and participants. CONTENT SUMMARY The State of the Profession Report FASB/IASB Convergence Project Status Report AICPA 6-Point Plan Progress Report Truth or Consequences: Evolution of Peer Review Educating Clients and Bankers – An [...]

January 8th, 2016|

Financial Reporting Fraud Clinic Now Available

Financial reporting frauds that are currently endemic, posing threats to accounting clients, users of financial statements, and professional service providers, are the focus of this one-day training program now available from Epstein + Nach LLC. This course provides in-depth coverage of a wide spectrum of financial reporting (accounting) fraud techniques, and the audit approaches and specific tools needed to detect them. The program will also be useful in advising clients on controls and other devices needed to prevent or timely detect frauds. The session is designed for a high level of interaction between the instructor and participants. Topics covered in [...]

January 6th, 2016|

2015 News

Barry Jay Epstein Speaks on U.S. Multinational Tax Strategies

International accounting expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein participated in a panel discussion on the topic, “Corporate Tax Evasion or Tax Avoidance? Understanding the Changing Global Tax Landscape and its Investment Implications.” CFA Society Chicago sponsored the Wednesday, December 16, 2015 event, which was also hosted by Education Advisory Group. Dr. Epstein has published several articles on multinational tax strategies recently, including a November 9th article titled, “Criticism of Pfizer Tax Accounting Unwarranted.” In the article he notes: There has been a great deal of public debate regarding the U.S. corporate tax rate and the impact it has on tax compliance, [...]

December 2nd, 2015|

Accounting Expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein to Speak on Fighting Financial Reporting Fraud in Singapore

Singapore is the site of an international accounting conference to be conducted by accounting expert Barry Jay Epstein, Ph.D., CPA, CFF, principal of Epstein + Nach LLC on Monday, 26 October 2015. The event, titled “Fighting Financial Reporting Fraud: A Shared Responsibility for Management and Auditors,” is sponsored by Morison Consulting Singapore Pte. Ltd. Click on the link for event details. “I am honored to address this esteemed international audience of business management, accountants, auditors, and fraud examiners,” said Dr. Epstein. “As a practicing accountant and frequent expert witness who has consulted or testified on more than 140 cases, I [...]

September 14th, 2015|

Barry Epstein to Speak on How Auditors Can Evaluate Personality Factors in Management Fraud

Auditors will continue to be blamed for the costs of management fraud, notes accounting expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, CPA, CFF, in comments prepared for a panel presentation titled “The Human Side of Financial Fraud,” scheduled for the American Accounting Association’s annual meeting in Chicago on August 8-12, 2015. The session is on the need to revise the conduct of audits to take into account new insights into how personality differences--including the presence of so-called "dark triad" personality types that are estimated to be present in as many as 20% of management ranks (Narcissistic, Machiavellian, and psychopathic types)--should be taken [...]

August 6th, 2015|

Common Auditor Failures: Overlooking Insolvency Risk and Earnings Manipulations

Auditors are often blamed, and not infrequently sued, by clients and third parties alleging a range of failures in the conduct of annual financial-statement examinations. Despite auditors’ decades of efforts to educate clients, investors, regulators and others about the practical limitations of audits, users of financial reports continue to treat “clean opinions” as guarantees of company viability and management probity. Auditors cannot be expected to foretell the normal vicissitudes of business cycles and the effects they may have on any given enterprise, let alone the possible impacts of wholly exogenous factors like global financial crises. In many instances, these lawsuits [...]

July 8th, 2015|

Auditor Liability Declines with Enhanced Auditor Skepticism

One key to effective auditing is for auditors to maintain a high level of professional skepticism, according to accounting expert and Epstein + Nach LLC (www.epsteinnach.com) principal Barry Jay Epstein, Ph.D., CPA, CFF. A new white paper titled, “Auditor Liability and Professional Skepticism: A Look at Lehman Brothers and MF Global,” is the latest in a series of articles and white papers by Dr. Epstein that explore the realm of auditor liability and accountant malpractice. “Auditors should adopt a ‘trust but verify’ approach when asked by management to accept questionable financial reporting that favorably influences the apparent profitability, liquidity, or [...]

June 27th, 2015|

New York Times Quotes Dr. Barry Jay Epstein on FIFA Corruption Scandal

In a New York Times article titled, "Corruption in FIFA? Its Auditors Saw None," reporter Lynnley Browning quotes Dr. Epstein: “It’s legitimate to raise questions about the effectiveness of the audits, given that the risks were already widely rumored,” said Barry Jay Epstein, a financial-reporting expert and certified public accountant who is a principal in Epstein & Nach, a consulting firm based in Chicago that specializes in forensic accounting. Mr. Epstein, who wrote a widely used professional handbook on accounting and auditing, added that if the Justice Department’s accusations of $150 million in bribes and kickbacks related to World Cup [...]

June 6th, 2015|

Accountant CPE Training Begins, Now that Tax Season is Over

Now that the 2015 tax season is over, it is time to consider CPA learning and development needs for the off-season. Epstein + Nach principal Ralph Nach is offering an in-house, high-quality group study program: 2015 Accounting and Auditing Clinic™ - Our signature program designed to enliven, while enlightening! This program has consistently received high marks from participants for providing just the right mix of discussion, group exercises, and emphasis on practical application of technical pronouncements to real-life client situations. This course provides in-depth, hands-on coverage of recent developments in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. Strong emphasis is placed on [...]

May 15th, 2015|

Do Accountants Face Risk as Fiduciaries?

Courts are increasingly treating accountants as fiduciaries, creating significant risk that they -- and their insurers -- may not realize they face. Outside accountants – including auditors, those providing other attestation and compilation services, tax preparers and even mere advisers – are increasingly facing allegations that they served their clients in a fiduciary capacity. These are not simply idle observations: In general, they are made by clients and third parties seeking to obtain monetary damages from the accountants as a result of, inter alia, errors in financial reporting, tax positions that are subsequently rejected by the IRS or other authorities [...]

May 5th, 2015|

Tax Heavens: Methods and Tactics for Corporate Profit Shifting

Accounting expert Barry Jay Epstein co-authored an article titled, "Tax Heavens: Methods and Tactics for Corporate Profit Shifting," with lead authors Mark Holtzblatt and Eva K. Jermakowicz, published in the January-February 2015 issue of the International Tax Journal. Excerpts from the article appear below. Taxes paid to governments are among the most significant costs incurred by businesses and individuals. Tax planning evaluates various tax strategies in order to determine how to conduct business (and personal transactions) in ways that will reduce or eliminate taxes paid to various governments, with the objective, in the case of multinational corporations, of minimizing the [...]

March 19th, 2015|

2014 News

Dr. Barry Jay Epstein and Ralph Nach Form New Consulting and Training Venture

Chicago, Illinois (PRWEB) November 03, 2014-- Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, an internationally-recognized accounting and auditing expert, and Ralph Nach, an accomplished consultant, speaker, author, instructional designer, and facilitator of the well-known Accounting and Auditing Clinic professional education program, announce the formation of a new business enterprise, Epstein + Nach LLC (https://www.epsteinnach.com). The newly-launched international consulting firm provides forensic accounting expertise and services in the areas of financial reporting, white collar crime, auditor liability, and the interpretation of domestic and international accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards. In their capacities as practicing auditors, authors, educators, and forensic accountants, the two founding [...]

November 3rd, 2014|

Accounting Experts Dr. Barry Jay Epstein and Ralph Nach Participate in the Asia Pacific Auditing and Assurance Conference 2014

Back by popular demand, international accounting expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein once again participated as a speaker at this annual Asian accounting conference attended by hundreds of international accountants. Ralph Nach also served as one of the speakers and joined Dr. Epstein as a panelist. Dr. Epstein addressed “Fraud Risks Arising from Management Override of Controls and Manipulation of Revenue Recognition: Lessons Learned from Past Cases,” and also “Driving Quality from the Top: Are Auditing Firms Doing Enough and What is Enough?” Mr. Nach addressed “How is Fair Value Fair” and “Professional Skepticism: An Essential Attitude.” Click on the link [...]

July 8th, 2014|

2013 News

Bloomberg in last clash with NYC teachers over $3.5 bln claim

By Edward Krudy, Reuters, Dec. 10, 2013. Accounting expert Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, CPA, CFF, is quoted in this Reuters article describing a $3.5 billion municipal accounting dispute between the administration of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city’s public school teachers over retroactive pay raises. Click on the link to read the press release.

December 10th, 2013|

Deutsche Bank Opaque Loans From Brazil to Italy Hide Risk

By Elisa Martinuzzi and Vernon Silver, Bloomberg, July 10, 2013 Dr. Barry Jay Epstein, CPA, CFF, is quoted in this Bloomberg article on the accounting treatment used by Deutsche Bank AG to downplay the risk associated with billions of dollars in loans made worldwide. Click on the link to read the press release.

July 10th, 2013|

Dr. Barry Jay Epstein to Speak at International Accounting Conference in Bali, Indonesia

July 15, 2013 Accounting expert Dr. Barry J. Epstein, CPA, CFF, Principal of Forensic Accounting and Litigation Consulting Services at Cendrowski Corporate Advisors (“CCA”), will speak in a preconference lecture on July 30, 2013 at the 2013 Morison International Asia Pacific (MIAP) Annual Conference. The Conference takes place from July 31 to August 2, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Bali Hotel in Bali, Indonesia. Click on the link to read the press release.

July 5th, 2013|
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