MFA Business Insights Blog

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Welcome to the MFA Business Insights Blog

For decades, we have made it our business to connect with our clients and our community. We have also embraced strategies that add to our accessibility: little things like glass-walled conference rooms and offices, an open door policy for our professionals, and a general environment that is built around open communication. Ideas drive evolution, and we believe an open atmosphere is an important part of capturing the innovative energy that makes us who we are.

Enter the MFA Business Insights Blog. Unusual for an accounting and consulting firm? Perhaps. But we believe sharing our insights on finance, business (large and small, private and public), and the events that move us offer an even greater opportunity to connect. We encourage all to comment on our thoughts, to challenge us, to let us know where our ideas intersect with theirs.

The Efficient Audit: Debt Modification

January 16, 2013
Greg Famiglietti and Stacie McDermott

In the midst of a renegotiation process with your lenders, there are a number of important factors to consider. Although it may not be your primary concern, you should at some point begin to think about how this [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Income Taxes

December 26, 2012
Dylan Maguire, Erin Carmody and Yanna Yao

When preparing for an audit, taxes may not be the first thing to come to mind, but it is an important audit area that can require attention before, during and even after fieldwork is complete. While much of the income [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Goodwill Impairment Testing

December 12, 2012
Michele Iovino and Michael Piessens

Historical Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) authoritative guidance requires an entity to test goodwill for impairment on at least an annual basis based upon two basic steps. Step one entails [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Financial Statement Preparation

December 5, 2012
Timothy Brown

Having your financial statements prepared in advance of the audit, rather than as an afterthought, can be instrumental in finalizing the audit on time. Although examination of key audit areas will still heavily influence [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Complex Equity

November 28, 2012
Matthew Glazier

One audit area in which companies and their auditors sometimes experience significant delays in terms of post-fieldwork wrap-up time, and also the greatest number of audit adjustments, is complex equity. The definition for [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Business Combinations

November 21, 2012
James McCarthy and Stacie McDermott

Continuing in our series of articles related to the ways CFOs, Controllers and their teams can get ready for their upcoming audit, our next area of focus is business combinations. When working through a complicated [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Revenue Recognition

November 7, 2012
Christine Schneider and Alfred Magid

The most recent post in our year-end audit preparedness series spoke about the challenges stock options can present during the audit process. If there is one area that rivals the frustration that stock options [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Stock Options

October 31, 2012
Timothy Brown and Douglas Munro

As my colleague, Matthew Glazier mentioned in a previous blog post, our team of audit professionals is producing a series of articles about things CFOs, Controllers and their teams can do to prepare for their audit. [...]

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The Efficient Audit: Being Prepared is Critical

October 24, 2012
Matthew Glazier

How do you feel about your last audit? Were you happy with the audit team? Did the audit finalize in a timely manner? Were you billed what you expected to be? Were you able to avoid being bombarded with numerous [...]

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Fair Share Contribution Audits - Did the Changes Impact Your Business?

April 13, 2010
Joyce Ripianzi

Employee Benefit Plans have become a greater area of concern for the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance, especially with regard to the “fair share contribution” (FSC) requirement of the Massachusetts Healthcare Reform Act.

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