Book excerpt: The newly updated fast-reference problem solver The Vest Pocket CPA-the convenient, comprehensive reference professionals have relied on for nearly fifteen years-is now updated in a new Fourth Edition to give today's busy executives and accountants the helpful information they need in a quick-reference format. Whether in public practice or private industry, professionals will always have this reliable reference tool at their fingertips because it easily goes anywhere-to a client's office, on a business trip, or to an important lunch meeting. Fully revised, the Fourth Edition: * Includes complete coverage of the New Risk Assessment Auditing Standards and Standards of the PCAOB * Covers new pronouncements on important accounting principles including fair value measurement, financial assets, accounting changes, exchanges of nonmonetary assets, and compilation and review services * Adds new chapters on professional ethics and quality controls for CPA firms * Packed with practical techniques and rules of thumb for analyzing, evaluating, and solving day-to-day accounting issues, The Vest Pocket CPA, Fourth Edition helps you quickly pinpoint what to look for, what to watch out for, what to do, and how to do it. In an easy-to-use Q & A format, it covers such useful topics as financial measures, ratios, and procedures and includes checklists, samples, and worked-out solutions to a variety of accounting problems. The Vest Pocket CPA, Fourth Edition is a powerful companion for the complex, ever-changing world of accounting.