Hey, if you haven’t been there in a while, go check out the SEC’s home page!
As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!
The complicated world of SEC reporting has now gotten even more complicated! Be sure you are prepared to comply with the recently enacted changes and have a plan in place to deal with the SEC staff “hot buttons”. Attend SECI’s live workshop SEC Reporting Skills Workshop 2017 being held August 17-18 in New York City, August 21-22 in Grapevine and September 25-26 in San Francisco with additional dates and locations listed on the SECI website.
http://www.pli.edu/Content/SEC_Reporting_Skills_Workshop_2017/_/N-1z10oe8Z4k?ID=290537
In this workshop designed primarily for financial reporting professionals, our experienced faculty use interactive lectures and examples to give participants the foundational knowledge and practical experience necessary to prepare and review the SEC’s periodic and current reporting forms, including the 10-K Annual Report, the 10-Q Quarterly Report and the 8-K Current Report. Participants will also gain an understanding of how to comply with the annual proxy requirements and how insider trading rules work. Build an understanding of the structure and use of the SEC’s guidance and knowledge of the key disclosure issues in the SEC’s periodic and current reports
Up to 16 CPE credits Available!
August 17-18 – New York City August 21-22 – Dallas
September 25-26 – San Francisco October 12-13 – New York City
October 23-24 – Chicago November 9-10 – San Diego
November 30-December 1 – Atlanta December 4-5 – Orlando
December 13-14 – San Francisco December 18-19 – New York City
http://www.pli.edu/Content/SEC_Reporting_Skills_Workshop_2017/_/N-1z10oe8Z4k?ID=290540&t=ZLC7
The FASB’s new lease accounting standard presents complex accounting, internal control, systems and implementation challenges. Attend SECI’s live interactive workshop, Implementing the FASB’s New Leases Accounting Standard Workshop being held September 8th & November 3rd in New York City and October 16th in San Francisco. Attendees will learn the conceptual underpinnings, overall structure and details of this new standard as it applies to both lessees and lessors. Implementation considerations, system issues and related topics will be discussed in detail and concepts will be reinforced by use of examples and case studies.
By: George M. Wilson & Carol A. Stacey
Our first two posts in this series have presented an example of a company (Sears Holdings) and auditor reporting requirements for going concern issues as well as reviewed reporting requirements for companies. In this last post we review reporting requirements for auditors and explore the gaps in more detail.
Auditor Requirements
For auditors of public companies the PCAOB did not change existing GAAS when the FASB Issued ASU 2014-15. Auditors follow this guidance in section AS 2415 of the PCAOB’s auditing standards:
02 The auditor has a responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed one year beyond the date of the financial statements being audited (hereinafter referred to as a reasonable period of time). The auditor’s evaluation is based on his or her knowledge of relevant conditions and events that exist at or have occurred prior to the date of the auditor’s report. Information about such conditions or events is obtained from the application of auditing procedures planned and performed to achieve audit objectives that are related to management’s assertions embodied in the financial statements being audited, as described in AS 1105, Audit Evidence.
02 The auditor has a responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed one year beyond the date of the financial statements being audited (hereinafter referred to as a reasonable period of time). The auditor’s evaluation is based on his or her knowledge of relevant conditions and events that exist at or have occurred prior to the date of the auditor’s report. Information about such conditions or events is obtained from the application of auditing procedures planned and performed to achieve audit objectives that are related to management’s assertions embodied in the financial statements being audited, as described in AS 1105, Audit Evidence.
The Gaps
There are gaps between what companies disclose and how auditors report. Two of the gaps are:
Time Period Gap
The auditor’s GAAS reporting requirement clearly states that the period over which going concern issues are evaluated is a “reasonable period of time, not to exceed one year beyond the date of the financial statements being audited”. The requirement under GAAP for companies is “within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued”. In practice, many auditors have actually used the period of one year after the financial statements are issued as their going concern disclosure threshold, but they are not strictly required to do this.
Probability GAP
The disclosure requirement for management in GAAP is that if it “is probable that an entity will be unable to meet its obligations as they become due within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued” then they must make disclosures. This threshold of “probable” has its roots in one of the earliest FASB standards (SFAS 5, now ASC 450) dealing with contingencies. This standard set out the definition of “probable” as:
“The future event or events are likely to occur”.
The auditor’s GAAS standard uses the probability threshold “substantial doubt”:
The auditor has a responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time
So, what is the difference between “probable that an entity will not be able to meet its obligations as they become due” and “substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time”? This is of course a matter of judgment. Many practitioners would believe that probable is a higher threshold than substantial doubt. What is clear is that this is a subjective evaluation.
The PCAOB addressed this difference in their guidance about the new disclosure requirements. This language is from Staff Audit Practice Alert No. 13:
In evaluating whether the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with the applicable financial reporting framework, including whether they contain the required disclosures, auditors should assess management’s going concern evaluation. In making this assessment the auditor should look to the requirements of the applicable financial reporting framework
In addition, auditors should continue to look to the existing requirements in AU sec. 341 when evaluating whether substantial doubt regarding the company’s ability to continue as a going concern exists for purposes of determining whether the auditor’s report should be modified to include an explanatory paragraph regarding going concern. The AU sec. 341 requirements for the auditor’s evaluation, and the auditor’s reporting when substantial doubt exists, have not changed and continue to be in effect. Under AU sec. 341, the auditor’s evaluation of whether substantial doubt exists is qualitative based 341.Accordingly, a determination that no disclosure is required under the ASC amendments or IAS 1, as applicable, is not conclusive as to whether an explanatory paragraph is required under AU sec. 341. Auditors should make a separate evaluation of the need for disclosure in the auditor’s report in accordance with the requirements of AU sec. 341.
This is of course another gap between GAAP and GAAS. Time will tell how the market reacts to this kind of presentation. And this explains why Sears Holdings disclosed their going concern uncertainty and their auditors did not modify their report.
There is one more interesting aspect to all this disclosure and auditor reporting discussion. What happens in a Form 10-Q where generally there is no auditor’s report?
The requirements in ASC 205-40-50 for interim periods are:
If conditions or events continue to raise substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern in subsequent annual or interim reporting periods, the entity shall continue to provide the required disclosures in paragraphs 205-40-50-12 through 50-13 in those subsequent periods. Disclosures should become more extensive as additional information becomes available about the relevant conditions or events and about management’s plans. An entity shall provide appropriate context and continuity in explaining how conditions or events have changed between reporting periods. For the period in which substantial doubt no longer exists (before or after consideration of management’s plans), an entity shall disclose how the relevant conditions or events that raised substantial doubt were resolved.
Sears Holdings’ Form 10-Q for the first quarter of F/y 18 includes this disclosure:
We acknowledge that we continue to face a challenging competitive environment and while we continue to focus on our overall profitability, including managing expenses, we reported a loss in the first quarter of 2017, when excluding significant items noted in our Adjusted Earnings Per Share tables, and were required to fund cash used in operating activities with cash from investing and financing activities. We expect that the actions outlined above will further enhance our liquidity and financial flexibility. In addition, as previously discussed, we expect to generate additional liquidity through the monetization of our real estate, additional debt financing actions, and potential asset securitizations. We expect that these actions will be executed in alignment with the anticipated timing of our liquidity needs.
We also continue to explore ways to unlock value across a range of assets, including exploring ways to maximize the value of our Home Services and Sears Auto Centers businesses, as well as our Kenmore and DieHard brands through partnerships or other
means of externalization that could expand distribution of our brands and service offerings to realize significant growth. We expect to continue to right-size, redeploy and highlight the value of our assets, including monetizing our real estate portfolio and exploring potential asset securitizations, in our transition from an asset intensive, historically “store-only” based retailer to a more asset light, integrated membership-focused company.
We believe that the actions discussed above are probable of occurring and mitigate the liquidity risk raised by our historical operating results and satisfy our estimated liquidity needs during the next 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements. The PPPFA contains certain limitations on our ability to sell assets, which could impact our ability to complete asset sale transactions or our ability to use proceeds from those transactions to fund our operations. Therefore, the planned actions take into account the applicable restrictions under the PPPFA.
If we continue to experience operating losses, and we are not able to generate additional liquidity through the actions described above or through some combination of other actions, while not expected, then our liquidity needs may exceed availability under our amended Domestic Credit Agreement and we might need to secure additional sources of funds, which may or may not be available to us. Additionally, a failure to generate additional liquidity could negatively impact our access to inventory or services that are important to the operation of our business. Moreover, if the borrowing base (as calculated pursuant to our outstanding second lien debt) falls below the principal amount of such second lien debt plus the principal amount of any other indebtedness for borrowed money that is secured by liens on the collateral for such debt on the last day of any two consecutive quarters, it could trigger an obligation to repurchase or repay second lien debt in an amount equal to such deficiency.
No more use of the term “substantial doubt”. It might be helpful if the change from year-end to quarter-end was explained in more detail.
As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome!
The Financial Reporting Regulatory landscape is chock full of recent updates and new regulations, chief among them is the new FASB Revenue Recognition Standard and revised Lease Accounting. Most surveys agree that filers are well behind schedule in implementing the changes needed to comply. Practitioners at small and mid-sized companies will receive the essential information and advice needed to get up to speed by attending SEC Reporting & FASB Forum live program September 14-15 in Las Vegas.
http://www.pli.edu/Content/13th_Annual_SEC_Reporting_FASB_Forum_for/_/N-1z10lptZ4k?ID=298604
The complicated world of SEC reporting has now gotten even more complicated! Be sure you are prepared to comply with the recently enacted changes and have a plan in place to deal with the SEC staff “hot buttons”. Attend SECI’s live workshop SEC Reporting Skills Workshop 2017 being held July 20-21 in Las Vegas, with additional dates and locations listed on the SECI website.
http://www.pli.edu/Content/SEC_Reporting_Skills_Workshop_2017/_/N-1z10oe8Z4k?ID=290534
The Financial Reporting Regulatory landscape is chock full of recent updates and new regulations, chief among them is the new FASB Revenue Recognition Standard and revised Lease Accounting. Most surveys agree that filers are well behind schedule in implementing the changes needed to comply. Practitioners at small and mid-sized companies will receive the essential information and advice needed to get up to speed by attending SEC Reporting & FASB Forum live program September 14-15 in Las Vegas.
http://www.pli.edu/Content/13th_Annual_SEC_Reporting_FASB_Forum_for/_/N-1z10lptZ4k?ID=298604
Auditors and Financial Officers of companies who raise capital with complex financial instruments often find themselves drowning in convoluted accounting issues and restatements. Avoid the confusion by attending the live workshop, Debt vs. Equity Accounting for Complex Financial Instruments being held June 23rd in San Francisco. Through a detailed review of the accounting literature and numerous examples and case studies this Workshop will help you build the knowledge and experience to appropriately recognize, initially record and subsequently account for these complex financing tools
How do the latest SEC, EITF, PCAOB and FASB updates affect your reporting? Attend FASB, SEC and PCAOB Update for SEC Reporting Professionals Workshop being held August 23rd in Grapevine, Tx. Get up to date in-depth information on all the latest developments and practical tips on applying existing financial reporting requirements, including pushdown accounting, debt issuance costs and commitment fees, discontinued operations and dispositions, segment reporting and goodwill impairment.
http://www.pli.edu/Content/FASB_SEC_and_PCAOB_Update_for_SEC_Reporting/_/N-1z10odqZ4k?ID=290526