CRANSTON – A Rhode Island Society of CPAs task force last week announced a new accounting model it says “re-conceptualizes traditional financial statements.”
The task force says the new model recognizes assets and liabilities that aren’t fully valued in generally accepted accounting principles, including “human capital.”
“We knew we had to focus on capturing and measuring the value that is created through sustainability strategies,” said Joy Pettirossi-Poland, task force co-chair, in a statement. “If there is one profession that relies most heavily on ‘human capital’ than any other, it is the CPA (certified public accountant) profession. And, because we’re in a new economy, we need new metrics to quantify and assess these intangible value drivers.”
RISCPA is a statewide association for certified public accountants. The new model is the first phase of the task force’s “Intangible Asset Valuation,” which will move forward with the following goals and objectives:
“Although many organizations are developing metrics, to the best of our knowledge, no one has yet created a hybrid set of financial statements that integrate qualitative and quantitative assets and liabilities,” said co-chair Michael Kraten, professor at Providence College School of Business. “A central goal of the task force was to determine how one places a ‘qualitative’ asset or liability on a balance sheet and I’m delighted to say that we rose to the challenge.”
A celebratory kick-off event is scheduled for April 16 to celebrate findings from phase one, according to a press release.
