Accounting Today - October 11 2010

Vol. 24 I No. 13 I October 11-24, 2010
webcpa.com
In a rough economy, when liability claims

against accountants tend to rise, it’s especially critical for CPA ;rms who expand their practices beyond their comfort areas to know exactly what their policy covers and to make any necessary adjustments.

It’s especially important considering that liability carriers treat issues di;erently in their policies, according to Gary Sutherland, chief executive of North American Professional Liability Insurance Agency, an independent broker.

“;e hard issue right now is data loss, and every carrier is addressing it di;erently,” he said. “For example, the American Institute of CPAs program [Aon] and CPA Gold have both put out a cyber-security endorsement to their policies as a rider. Travelers took a di;erent approach and just made changes to their base policy. Philadelphia has an endorsement which is sold as an additional premium, while some have not addressed

Data loss, ID theft top malpractice concerns

BY ROGER RUSSELL

See INSURANCE on 31

Buyer’s Guide to Liability Insurance See page 32

Balancing Act Helping clients manage their investments CPA Wealth Provider special report begins on page 35

If the profession was expecting the Pub- lic Company Accounting Oversight Board to step gingerly after weathering a Supreme Court ruling that could have padlocked the audit overseer, or at least radically altered the way it operated, the board has been anything but timid.

In rapid succession, the PCAOB has issued a spate of announcements that include a series of stricter risk assessment standards and a plan to impose tougher sanctions on ;rms that don’t adequately supervise their sta;s, and drafted a petition to lawmakers to allow the board to make its disciplinary hearings of audit ;rms public.

“;e PCAOB has been unrelenting in looking for ways that audit e;ectiveness can be enhanced,” said Michael Young, an expert in securities law and partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York. “It’s typically a matter

THE PCAOB FLEXES ITS MUSCLES

Audit overseer calls for transparency in discipline and tougher sanctions

See PCAOB on 44

WASHINGTON, D.C.

CLAIMS IN THE MAKING Number of data loss incidents

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

*To date Source: Open Security Foundation/ DataLossDB.org

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010*

Global CPA and business advisory ;rm Grant ;ornton has kicked o; a sweeping growth initiative that seeks to balloon its annual revenues to $2 billion by 2015.

Titled “Unleashing Our Potential,” the roadmap, which o;cially launched August 1, includes an aggressive push into selected markets, attracting top-level talent, and

Grant Thornton details ;ve-year strategic plan

BY BILL CARLINO / CHICAGO

implementing a strategy of mergers and acquisitions.

“Our vision is to become the leading ;rm
serving dynamic organizations,” said chief
executive Stephen Chipman in an exclusive
interview with Accounting Today. “Our goal
is not necessarily to become the ;fth- or
sixth-largest ;rm, but rather to be the lead-
ing ;rm serving dynamic organizations in
our chosen markets. We don’t believe there
is any ;rm out there that can match our in-
tegrated level of service and expertise.”
Chipman included among the “dynamic
organizations” that interest the ;rm certain
high-growth start-ups, companies that are