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The rapid growth of technology is moving finances from being a physical commodity to digital. In fact, according to research, digital assets across the globe have a value of US$120 billion last February 2019. 53% of that amount is under the popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. This massive change in the financial sector has sparked debates on how digital assets can affect the future of accountancy.

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CPAs and accountants are especially vulnerable to these changes. The reason is that accounting standards, both locally and internationally, often have difficulty catching up. Thus, this leaves everyone in the industry wondering how to account for these assets properly.

This article that was posted by Amanda Wilkie on the Journal of Accountancy talks about some key things that CPAs should know about crypto assets.

What CPAs need to know about 4 cryptoasset classes

Happy 10th birthday, bitcoin! You too, blockchain! The first block of the bitcoin blockchain was created on Jan. 3, 2009. A decade later, it’s amazing to witness what has evolved from the birth of the first “genesis block.”

Where there was once one cryptocurrency, there are more than 2,000 cryptoassets. Yes, you read that right. While you probably are familiar with the term cryptocurrency, you might not know that other classes of cryptoassets have been created during the past 10 years. Click here to read more…

 Learning about the key differences among major cryptocurrencies is just the first step in learning how to manage digital assets. Learning how to account for them requires just the same amount of study as with any other asset. This article by Jeff Drew on the Journal of Accountancy talks about the basic steps in handling the digital assets of clients.

How to handle accounting for digital assets

In a business environment that’s changing rapidly, even the currency used to pay for transactions is evolving in ways that challenge accountants and auditors.

The growing popularity of various forms of digital (or crypto) assets has required many CPAs to consider how to appropriately account for them under GAAP. Questions and answers related to this issue are included in a free practice aid published Monday by the AICPA that provides nonauthoritative guidance on how to handle accounting questions related to digital assets. Click here to read more…

Now that your familiar with both what digital assets are and how to account for them, you should also consider ways on how you can protect them. Cryptocurrencies are one of the highest valued assets in the market. Hence, it is no surprise that people are trying to get their hands on these properties.  

For these reasons, the security of these assets should be a top priority both for you and your client. It would be best if you considered investments on security measures such as offline databases and encryption programs. This article by Mark Shelhart explains why cashing out on these types of security measures are worth every penny.

Why cyberdefenses are worth the cost

Yes, all organizations are vulnerable, and yes, you’ve heard the warnings that it’s likely only a matter of time before a data breach happens at your organization. But how do data breaches apply to not-for-profit (NFP) organizations? Why would anyone want to target an NFP?

The primary motivation for today’s attacks is to acquire information and money. Every new person a hacker can identify can be a new victim or opportunity, and NFPs possess information about donors that may be very useful to hackers. Click here to read more…

Digital assets are no longer just traditional programs and software. Actual high-valued currencies are now becoming more common as the internet is growing. Hence, every accountant must consider this growth to make sure that their future clients are safe from all types of danger.