Anticipating the Future an Accounting Requirement, Not Just Good Business Practice, say BNA Portfolio Authors

ARLINGTON, Va., June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In today's volatile economy, predicting the possible future financial effect of a current condition, situation, or set of circumstances on a business seems more difficult than ever. However, both Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) require planning for and accounting of any potential gains or losses on an entity's future operations, cash flows, and net worth.  Accounting for Contingencies, BNA's latest Portfolio analysis, examines the key issues and details the reporting requirements and procedures for such contingencies.

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Number 5165 in BNA's Accounting Policy and Practice Portfolio Series, this Portfolio examines the full spectrum of contingencies: litigation, claims, and assessments; product warranties; product defects; environmental liabilities; collectability of receivables; threat of expropriation of assets; and the risk of loss resulting from the absence of insurance or inadequate insurance.

The authors — Dr. Cheri R. Mazza, CPA, Dr. Allen I. Schiff, Dr. Jonathan B. Schiff, Dr. Joan Van Hise, CPA, and Dr. Dawn W. Massey, CPA — provide detailed discussions about handling both gains and losses and examine possible expanded disclosure requirements for loss contingencies.

"This Portfolio not only addresses textbook contingencies, but it also identifies other similar items not properly accounted for as contingencies," says BNA Tax & Accounting Executive Editor George Farrah.

Accounting for Contingencies discusses the provisions, contingent liabilities, and contingent assets under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 37 and provides examples of assessing, recognizing, and disclosing contingencies under IAS 37.

About the Authors:

Dr. Cheri R. Mazza, CPA, is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Fordham University where she teaches graduate and undergraduate financial accounting courses.

Dr. Allen I. Schiff is Area Chairman of Accounting at the Schools of Business at Fordham University. Dr. Schiff also serves as the Director of the MBA Field Study Consulting Program.

Dr. Jonathan B. Schiff is professor of accounting at the Silberman School of Business of Fairleigh Dickinson University and has extensive consulting experience with top companies such as American Express, DaimlerChrysler, GE, Merck & Co.

Dr. Joan Van Hise, CPA, is Chair of the Accounting Department at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University. Her research focuses on accounting ethics and pedagogy.

Dr. Dawn W. Massey, CPA, is a Professor of Accounting at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business at Fairfield University. She has published numerous articles in the areas of accounting ethics and pedagogy and was co-recipient of the 2001 American Accounting Association Innovation in Accounting Education Award.

About BNA Tax & Accounting

BNA Tax & Accounting is the foremost source of news, analysis, and practice tools for tax attorneys, estate planners, accountants, and corporate tax and financial accounting professionals. For more than 50 years, BNA Tax & Accounting has offered practitioners expert insights and guidance on every significant issue in tax planning and financial accounting. Written by practitioners for practitioners, BNA's award-winning Portfolios offer topic-driven, in-depth guidance on transactions designed to help tax professionals achieve new levels of excellence and client service. For more information on BNA's Federal Tax series of which this Portfolio is a part, go to http://www.bnatax.com/tm/apps_details.htm or call 800.372.1033.

SOURCE BNA Tax & Accounting