Assurance Services

Financial Accounting Advisory Services

From accounting principles to business practice

Despite signs of recovery, today’s economic environment remains uncertain. As companies continue to seek growth in developed and rapid growth markets, challenges clearly remain.

You need to continue keeping a close eye on costs and carefully manage cash flow. You also face an increasingly complex and rapidly changing regulatory environment, in which changes to accounting guidance can impact business decision-making.

And you need to anticipate the impact of key business decisions on your accounting and financial reporting.

Is your organization raising debt or equity? Acquiring a business? Carving-out a non-core operation? Complex accounting and financial reporting issues can arise as a result of changes dictated by your entity’s capital agenda.
Are you undertaking a significant business transformation? Assessing how a shared services center can improve efficiencies in your reporting process? Streamlining your accounting policies can help you reduce risk and manage cost.
Does the business operate in multiple jurisdictions? An assessment of your statutory reporting processes can allow you to manage risk, increase consistency in financial reporting, and realize efficiencies.
Are you planning to upgrade or replace your existing ERP system? Early assessment of changing accounting requirements should be incorporated into planned migrations to avoid expensive rework later.

The pace of change to accounting standards is unprecedented—in the U.S. and globally. Multinational enterprises need to understand how business decisions affect accounting and reporting. They also need practical strategies for managing the impact of accounting changes on their organization.

We can help
Our Financial Accounting Advisory Services practice assists finance leaders in addressing the strategic accounting and financial reporting challenges facing their businesses and the finance function. Our professionals are not only deeply versed in technical accounting, but can provide practical, business-focused advice to leading organizations.

Our services include:

Financial Reporting & GAAP Advisory

Our Financial Accounting Advisory Services professionals advise leading organizations on technical accounting and financial reporting issues, including:

Complex issues arising from proposed new accounting guidance, including impacts on existing systems and processes
Enterprise-wide accounting policy frameworks and documentation
Streamlining financial processes and controls, including developing and/or integrating processes as part of finance transformations and ERP implementations
Remediation of control accounts and material weaknesses
Accounting for financial derivatives and commodities contracts
Rationalizing statutory reporting processes

Transaction Accounting Advisory

Our Financial Accounting Advisory Services practice provides accounting and financial reporting assistance to organizations throughout the investment life-cycle. We advise leading corporations and private equity firms on:

Structuring complex domestic or international deals, and the related key accounting and financial reporting issues
GAAP and IFRS conversions, including accelerated conversions after cross-border transactions
Accounting for high-value mergers or acquisitions, and prospective carve-outs
Preparing for IPOs, including advice in advance of filing Form S-1s
Analyzing debt issuances and/or equity offerings to identify where accounting provisions affect contract value and terms
Post-bankruptcy workouts and fresh-start accounting

Proposed new path for classification and measurement of financial instruments

This FASB proposal would upend the current model for classifying financial assets, requiring updates to processes and controls. While some outcomes for debt instruments will be the same as the present model, changes are inevitable.

The shifting pharmaceutical landscape

Our latest report reviews key areas of focus by regulators related to financial statement reporting disclosures on critical business and accounting matters. Additionally, the report provides insights on pending accounting change expected in the near future and an analysis of industry disclosures by leading pharmaceutical companies.

Credit losses recognized sooner under FASB proposal

The FASB proposes a “current expected credit loss” model that would replace today’s “incurred loss” model. Credit losses on loans, receivables, and debt securities would all follow the same impairment model and would all result in earlier loss recognition than current US GAAP requires. All entities, not just financial institutions, would be affected by this new proposal.