Investment Company Notebook

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) finalized changes to fair value measurement disclosure requirements that had been under debate for several years as part of the disclosure framework project.

From time to time, we receive resources from industry colleagues that we believe would be of value to our clients and industry friends.

Generally speaking, investment companies are exempt from presenting a statement of cash flows in their semi-annual and annual reports, provided they meet three conditions.

In order to achieve tax efficiency and maintain the single layer of taxation concept of Subchapter M, regulated investment companies (RICs) use various techniques. Two common techniques in the industry are equalization debits and the use of redemptions in-kind instead of cash redemptions. ETFs tend to use in-kind redemptions more than non-ETF groups.

In a recent report published by the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) in April of 2014, a recommendation was made to shorten the U.S. Trade settlement cycle for equities, municipal and corporate bonds and unit investment trusts from trade date plus three days (T+3) to trade date plus two days (T+2).

One of the more potentially divisive items included in the Auditor’s Report to the Audit Committee is the Summary of Audit Differences (SADs). At times, it seems that SADs are perceived as a black mark on an otherwise clean audit report, which is most likely due to a misunderstanding of what a SAD represents.

The buzz surrounding International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption in the United States, once a hot topic, has waned significantly in the past few years.

Commission recapture occurs when a fund enters into an agreement with an institutional broker to rebate a portion of trading commissions directly to a fund. How does commission recapture work?

Through our interaction with various clients, it has become clear there is much uncertainty with respect to the identification and treatment of organization and offering costs as they relate to a newly established open-ended mutual fund. In hopes of providing clarification on this matter, we have illustrated the accounting treatment of both types of costs in several different scenarios through which they may apply.

Late this summer, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) released for public comment drastic changes to the auditors’ reporting model. These changes would be accomplished through two new auditing standards. The first proposed auditing standard- The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion- establishes requirements regarding the content of the auditor’s written report. The second proposed auditing standard- The Auditor’s Responsibilities Regarding Other Information in Certain Documents Containing Audited Financial Statements and the Related Auditor’s Report- establishes requirements regarding the auditor’s responsibilities with respect to information, other than the audited financial statements and the related auditor’s report, in a company’s annual report that is filed with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and contains that company’s audited financial statements and the related auditor’s report.