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FBAR Deadline Extended for Certain Finance Pros FinCEN said last week that it has further extended the FBAR deadline for individuals who have signature authority over foreign accounts but no financial interest in them. Treasury and finance professionals with the ability to direct cash flow in their organizations’ foreign accounts now have until June 30, 2014 to report.
Jan 03, 2013
Keys to Effective Capex Management In today's resource-constrained environment, the pressure is on to reduce capex and opex. What is inputted today as a capital investment and an asset may have strong future impact on operational efficiencies and return on investment (ROI) figures....
Dec 27, 2012
Treasury Alert: Is There a Fatal Flaw in the New IFRS 9? A single paragraph in the proposal is giving accountants, industry pros and corporate practitioners severe heartburn. If the language survives, cash flow hedges of FX will potentially cause significant volatility in income statements.
Nov 28, 2012
AFP Conference Preview: Key Issues for End-Users of Derivatives Daniel Vogel of Barclays Corporate U.S. Division discussing his upcoming roundtable at the 2012 AFP Annual Conference, which focuses on key issues for corporate end-users of derivatives.
Sep 14, 2012
Best Practices: Why Corporates Should Adopt OIS Rates Most FIs have made the switch to using OIS, but many corporates have not. It is important to understand the rise of OIS and how it can be incorporated into existing processes to ensure that organizations are prepared when asked to use this new methodology for hedge accounting and valuations of their derivatives portfolio.
Sep 05, 2012
Best Practices: Investing in Finance Management Processes A recent survey by APQC found that 81 percent of large corporations are investing in at least one major program to improve core financial processes. The top three choices for change: planning and performance management, general accounting, and close-to-disclose activities.
Aug 31, 2012
Study: Closing Process Determines CFO Efficiency One of the most effective ways of measuring a CFO’s effectiveness is the length of time it takes to close the books, according to a new study by Ventana Research. Organizations that close their monthly, quarterly or semiannual accounts within six days of the end of the period tend to display a higher level of efficiency than those who take longer.
Jul 06, 2012
Report: CFOs and Other Execs Not Hiring Treasury and finance professionals should settle in to their current positions for a while, if the Robert Half Professional Employment Report for Q3 2012 is any indication.
Jun 04, 2012
GCTF: Corporates to Bail on MMFs if Rule Changes are Enacted At the recent CTC Global Corporate Treasurers Forum, a money market fund discussion reaffirmed what AFP members have been saying for months: if the SEC’s proposed rule changes are enacted, corporates are likely to shed their money market fund investments.
May 26, 2012
E&Y Survey: 15 Percent of CFOs Willing to Pay Bribes A new survey revealed that a significant number of CFOs and other senior executives are growing more prone to unethical practices.
May 25, 2012
Governance, Accounting & Compliance Newsletter Seeks Editorial Advisory Board Volunteers AFP Governance, Accounting & Compliance newsletter is seeking volunteers to serve on its Editorial Advisory Board—and you are invited to join.
May 15, 2012
AFP Voices Concerns about Lease Accounting Proposal to FASB and IASB AFP has issued a joint comment letter, along with 21 other associations, to the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board, voicing concerns over the Proposed Accounting Standards Update on Leases.
Apr 27, 2012
New RFP Evaluates 401(K) Plan Service Providers The Association for Financial Professionals is readying a Request for Proposal (RFP) template to help treasury and finance professionals evaluate 401(k) plan service providers.
Apr 24, 2012
FinCEN Extends FBAR Filing Deadline on Signature Authority Good news for treasury and finance pros with signature authority over certain foreign financial accounts: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has extended the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) filing deadline to June 30, 2013, from June 30, 2012.
Feb 15, 2012
FBAR Individual Reporting Requirements Coming for Treasurers Corporate treasury and finance professionals need to review the Q&A on AFP’s website to see if they have an individual reporting responsibility regarding Financial Bank Account Reporting, or FBAR. Treasury and finance professionals with signatory authority over their corporation’s foreign accounts and who have the ability to direct the flow of cash in those accounts, alone or in conjunction with another person, may be scoped in the guidance (e.g. initiate wires transfers).
Feb 08, 2012
Preparing for Sovereign Default With Greece near default and several other European nations downgraded by rating agencies (Portugal is now junk-bond status), the risk of default should be a significant concern for organizations that are heavily invested in these nations.
Feb 03, 2012
How Treasurers Apply Hedge Accounting With updates being proposed, there is an expectation that hedge accounting regulations will be simplified. However, with the new proposals a few years away—and the enforcement of the new rules yet uncertain—financial professionals still need to overcome the compliance challenges today. This question is, how are treasurers applying hedge accounting?
Jan 17, 2012
Which Standard Setter will be Crowned the Winner in 2012? In the upcoming year, FASB has two matches ahead where it must defend its title. The first match is with AICPA over who should set standards for private sector accounting. FASB will also go up against IASB to keep its title as the premier standard setting authority for the United States, and for the most part, the world.
Dec 22, 2011
IRS Issues Guidance for Canadian Expats and FBAR Noncompliers The IRS recently met with the U.S. Ambassador to Canada and Canadian officials to address their concerns about harsh penalties for failure to file timely reports regarding foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) requirements. As a result, the IRS issued a fact sheet that clarifies when a person would be subject to the penalties. The fact sheet provides examples for what the IRS considers “reasonable cause.”
Dec 19, 2011
Cash Repatriation Takes Center Stage at AFP Annual Conference BOSTON -- When is a dividend not a dividend? When a foreign country decides it is actually an intercompany loan. “One country might say it’s an intercompany loan, but the other country might say it’s a dividend, so make sure you have the proper documentation to show it’s really a dividend,” said Brenda Szymanowski, CTP, Corporate Treasurer, AstenJohnson, speaking at a cash repatriation session Monday at the AFP 2011 Annual Conference.
Nov 07, 2011
AFP Urges U.S. Treasury to Reconsider FBAR Rules Professionals who sign foreign bank accounts for their employers, but who have no personal interest in the accounts, might face personal tax reporting burdens.
Sep 13, 2011
Governance, Accounting and Compliance Weekly: September 12, 2011 In this week's issue: highlights from the recent FASB meeting; IASB publishes an effect analysis for IFRS 10, 11 and 12; the FDIC launches its Investor Match Program, and more.
Sep 12, 2011
SIDEBAR: 10 Components of a Corporate Investment Policy Sassan Parandeh, CTP, treasurer of ChildFund International, lists the most important components of an effective corporate investment policy.
Aug 29, 2011
Corporate Investments 2.0 - New Realities Demand New Governance Policies It is very hard to justify high non-earning cash balances to stakeholders who rightfully expect funds to be invested in productive ventures with healthy returns.
Aug 29, 2011
From Basel III to Bribery, New Regulations Will Impact Corporate Treasurers Banking executives discuss the impact of global regulations on corporate treasury at the AFP Global Corporate Treasurers Forum in Chicago.
Aug 29, 2011

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