Accounting Education Store

The AICPA Audit Committee Toolkit: Public Companies
Author: The AICPA Audit Committee Effectiveness Center in cooperation with CNA
Product # PMA1402P

This version of the popular audit committee toolkit is written to help students understand how audit committees of public companies can achieve best practices for managing and incorporating their role in the organization. Now with downloadable content, this Toolkit offers a broad sampling of checklists, matrices, reports, questionnaires and other pertinent materials specifically tailored to public companies and designed to make audit committee best practices actionable.

This book includes:

• Administrative guidelines – including a sample charter matrix, audit committee roles and responsibilities, and an overview of the AICPA peer review program
• Roles and responsibilities – with checklists, tools, and guidelines for the audit committee, independent auditors, and a sample whistleblower policy and tracking report
• Performance evaluation tools – key forms needed to evaluate internal audit teams, independent auditors, and an audit committee self-evaluation

The AICPA Audit Committee Toolkit: Private Companies
Author: The AICPA Audit Committee Effectiveness Center in cooperation with CNA
Product # PMA1403P

The AICPA Audit Committee Toolkit: Private Companies is designed to support audit committee related issues, including discussion of IFRS. This book takes the guesswork out effectively establishing and managing an audit committee by providing the student with dozens of useful tools. Developed specifically for private companies, it provides all of the most common forms, and additional tools tailored for the private company. The accompanying downloadable content features forms and checklists that can be filled out and saved to effectively create, file, and track documentation.

This book includes:

• Administrative guidelines – including a sample charter matrix, audit committee roles and responsibilities, and an overview of the AICPA peer review program
• Roles and responsibilities – with checklists, tools, and guidelines for the audit committee, independent auditors, and a sample whistleblower policy and tracking report
• Performance evaluation tools – key forms needed to evaluate internal audit teams, independent auditors, and an audit committee self-evaluation

Strategic Business Management: From Planning to Performance
Author: Gary Cokins
Product # PCG1305P

Presenting core theories alongside practical applications, this publication will help students understand how to effectively move an organization toward strategic goals. Author Gary Cokins uses his deep knowledge of the subject matter to deliver an easy-to-follow road map to effective and strategic management through:

• Establishing the integral links between planning and performance
• Demonstrating how risk management and performance assessment impact planning
• Applying business analytics and Big Data in the finance and accounting functions as well as marketing, sales, operations and other functions
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a strategy map and the balanced scorecard as a management tool
• Tying budgeting to strategy and measuring the effectiveness of both via ongoing performance

Written in a plain, straight-forward fashion that will allow students to draw immediate value from its content, this book pulls together several topics in an elegant yet sophisticated approach. It uses detailed graphics and diagrams to provide students with a clear understanding of the dynamic intersection between key management and organization leadership topics that management accountants need to master in order to fill a strategic leadership role within their organizations.

The Traits of Today’s CFO: A Handbook for Excelling in an Evolving Role
Author: Ron Rael, CPA, CGMA
Product #PCG1303P

As the business world grows in complexity and increases in pace, organizations expect the leaders of their management accounting teams to be just that — leaders. Crunching the numbers, running financial reports, and complying with rules and regulations are only a part of contemporary CFOs’ or controllers’ work. Equally important is CFOs’ participation
on the executive team as a strategic leader of the finance function, a strong communicator, high-level negotiator, and builder of a collaborative environment.

This book explores in detail controllers’ and CFOs’ critical traits and explains specifically what actions are required to meet these requirements. It provides a wealth of information on coaching employees and, in the process, transferring accountability for results back to their hands. It further includes thorough coverage of best practices in governance and risk programs, gap analysis, shaping organizational culture, and team building.

Drawing on studies of executives and leaders of finance teams, The Traits of Today’s CFO develops a detailed picture of the contemporary and future controller and CFO and tells students how to prepare for these roles.

Includes checklists, self-assessments, position descriptions, coaching exercises, and other practical tools.

Risk Assessment for Mid-Sized Organisations: COSO Tools for a Tailored Approach, 2nd Edition
Author: Scott McKay, CPA, CPE, CIA, CCSA
Product #PCG1307P

This resource offers practical examples and explanations that lay out a clearly defined framework for approaching enterprise risk management from start to finish. It identifies risk at the entity level in small and medium size enterprises, and allows students to develop a tailored approach to an organization’s risk management requirements.

The publication features tightly written strategies and helpful diagrams that translate COSO guidelines into tactical plans and also includes a free download containing a set of Excel worksheets that show how following the ERM tactics will impact quantitative financial measurements. It also includes a PowerPoint presentation for training others involved in the ERM process.

Together, this approach will allow students to create a solid structure for a risk management process that helps them avoid the internal and external risks that damaged so many organizations in the recent past. They will be able to:

• Create a common language to define, identify, evaluate, and manage risk
• Establish and agree on risk tolerances and risk appetite
• Identify risk management expectations, current gaps, and risk owners
• Leverage cross-functional expertise to manage risk to within acceptable levels

Internal Control – Integrated Framework (3 volume set)
Product #990025P

Developed by the Committee on Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO), this new framework consists of three volumes:

• Executive Summary — The summary provides a high-level overview and lays out the definition and limitations of internal control, and the requirements for an effective system of internal control, including a description of the roles of components and principles. It highlights several important enhancements and clarifications that are intended to ease use and application of the framework.
• Framework and Appendices — The framework sets forth and describes the five components and 17 principles of a system of internal control, illustrates many approaches and examples relating to entity objectives, and provides direction for all levels of management to use in designing, implementing and conducting a system of internal control, and in assessing its effectiveness. The appendices provide additional reference material, including a glossary of key terminology, a discussion of roles and responsibilities of both responsible and external parties, and more.
• Illustrative Tools for Assessing a System of Internal Control (Tools) — The tools provide illustrative templates and scenarios that may be useful in applying the framework and assessing its effectiveness.

Marketing Management for Non-Marketing Managers
Author: Heather Fitzpatrick, CPA, CGMA
Product #PCG1304P

Although marketing-related expenses are a significant portion of most organizations’ budgets, it is often frustrating for those with budget oversight to get a clear picture of the returns on their marketing investment. This engaging book offers practical ways for non-marketing managers and executives to measure and improve marketing returns. Students will learn:

• Why market leaders achieve significantly greater returns on their marketing than others within their market.
• The three main reasons most marketing plans fail to live up to their potential, and the steps to avoid these pitfalls.
• How to evaluate a marketing investment’s likely ROI before investing the money.
• When and how to assess the financial returns of marketing efforts.

The book includes:

• Case studies from companies of various sizes and in a cross-section of industries, including not-for-profits
• Four tests to use prior to the approval of a marketing budget
• A marketing performance evaluation tool

Communications: Methods and Applications for Financial Managers
Author: James Carberry
Product #PCG1301P

Improving communication is one of the most important — and challenging — issues that management accountants face. In a global survey of CFOs, Ernst & Young said: “Despite two thirds of respondents saying that increasingly they act as the public face of the organization, most point to communication and influencing as the most important area for improvement.”

In this publication, students will learn:

• How do management accountants know if they are effectively communicating?
• What are the most effective techniques for improving their communication skills?

This book draws on interviews with finance professionals at every level of corporate accounting, as well as with communication consultants, executive recruiters and educators. It looks at how management accountants communicate inside and outside their organizations, identifies best practices, and gives hands-on strategies that students can use right away.

Students will discover how to:

• Move their current communication skills to a higher level.
• Recognize the importance of communication within the context of their financial manager function.
• Understand the right way to deliver bad news and resolve conflicts.
• Manage the impact of new technologies on traditional communication channels.
• Develop the skills to use active listening as the foundation for positive communication tactics.

Smart Risk Management: A Guide to Identifying and Calibrating Business Risks
Author: Ron Rael, CPA, CGMA
Product #PCG1401P

Management accountants must be able to define the payoffs from their organization’s risk taking, as well as identify, understand, and reduce the negative effects of everyday business risks. This book defines organizational risk taking and outlines a formal process to handle risk effectively.

The book details six steps for sound risk management:

• Defining risk
• Examining your attitude toward risk
• Analyzing your organization’s ability to handle risk
• Minimizing a risk’s exposure or downside
• Recovering quickly from a risk’s negative impacts
• Expanding your knowledge so you can accept more risk with confidence

Written for management accountants, Smart Risk Management analyzes your position in the middle of the organization, both that it does not take risks whose costs it cannot afford and that it takes enough risks to stay competitive in the evolving marketplace.

Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting in Uncertain Times
Authors: Michael Coveney, Gary Cokins
Product #PCG1306P

Budgeting, planning and forecasting are critical management tasks that not only impact the future success of an organization, but can threaten its very survival if done badly.

Yet in spite of their importance, the speed and complexity of today’s business environment has caused a rapid decrease in the planning time horizon. As a consequence, the traditional planning processes have become unsuitable for most organization’s needs.

In this book, students will find new, original insights, including:

• 7 planning models that every organization needs to plan and manage performance
• 6 ways in which performance can be viewed
• A planning framework based on best management practices that can cope with an unpredictable business environment
• The application of technology to planning and latest developments in systems
• Results of the survey conducted for the book on the state of planning in organizations

Strategy and Risk Management: An Integrated Practical Approach
Author: Ron Rael, CPA, CGMA
Product #PCG1309P

Employees make dozens of day-to-day decisions — and any one of them could come back to haunt them, even when the decision does not seem to have hidden or unknown ramifications. That is why an organization must have a protocol in place for identifying and mitigating all major business risks long before it is needed.

At the strategic level, risk management and strategic management are intertwined. Using this book, students learn how to apply powerful tools and approaches to make planning processes more effective and flexible and build a set of decision-making processes based on plain language. Author, Ron Rael, uses quality concepts/language (TQM & Six Sigma) to define the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process and value of prevention, while showing how these elements are both necessary and highly desired in an organization’s strategic decision-making.

ERM extends to everyday business decisions because employees take actions and make daily choices that could have a detrimental effect on profits and business’s longevity and future. This book will:

• Provide a best practices view on the latest developments in ERM
• Deliver how-to guidance on developing ERM processes at the enterprise and department levels
• Facilitate enterprise-wide ERM participation via practical information and examples
• Deliver cross-functional management and implementation of ERM

Controller as Business Manager
Author: Jim Lindell
Product #PCG1402P

This publication will help students understand and apply a critical set of financial and business management skill sets in order to become integral contributors to the higher level business activities within an organization. With insight and examples, the author will lead them through the strategies and thought processes that address key areas such as risk, communications, planning and profitability. The content emphasizes the additional roles that controllers and accounting managers are now playing within their organizations. It will show students a roadmap that can expand their role from a simple internal process/ transaction orientation to an external orientation focused on understanding business, industry and macro trends.

This book will address:

• Controllers and accounting managers who are being increasingly called on to assume an enterprise-wide management role in their organizations.
• Tools and techniques that can have immediate impact.
• Sufficient business theory to inform, but deliver enough strong practical content to lead to actionable strategies.

Change Management for Finance and Accounting Professionals
Author: Ron Rael, CPA, CGMA
Product #PCG1302P

This leadership book tackles the often intimidating concept of instigating change. It removes the shroud of mystery and misunderstanding from it while providing students with the wealth of tools and tactics that they will need to lead a transformation effort. Once they master the tools that cause shifts and spark transformations, they will become a powerful professional change agent — one who is able to get people and organizations to shift and is sought after and commands higher compensation.

Key Overriding Messages:

• Change happens; it is what you do with it that makes you important
• You can either be impacted by change or you can impact change; a great leader choses to impact change.
• Change and improvement are two unique events. The first one is inevitable, the second one is optional.
• Change is the journey, not the destination

U.S. GAAP Financial Statements — Best Practices in Presentation and Disclosure
Product #ATTATT14P

Save time and improve efficiency with the unrivaled presentation and disclosure examples found in U.S. GAAP Financial Statements. With comprehensive coverage of virtually every required disclosure, this resource is designed to give students an unparalleled picture of U.S. GAAP compliance.

This valuable tool provides hundreds of high quality disclosure examples from carefully selected companies of varying sizes in more than 100 industries. Illustrations of the most important and challenging disclosures are provided, such as derivatives and hedging, consolidations, and fair value measurement.

Also included are up-to-date auditors’ reports, fully in compliance with the Clarified Auditing Standards, and detailed indexes to help students find exactly what they need in as little time as possible.
Updates:

• No. 2014-10, Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, Including an Amendment to Variable Interest Guidance in Topic 810, Consolidation
• No. 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements--Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) - Disclosure of Uncertainties about and Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern
• No. 2014-17, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Pushdown Accounting
• No. 2015-01, Income Statement - Extraordinary and Unusual Items (Subtopic 225-20), Simplifying Income Statement Presentation by Eliminating the Concept of Extraordinary Items