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• FAF Will Now Maintain XBRL GAAP Taxonomy

  February 5, 2010

  The Financial Accounting Foundation has a new responsibility: ongoing maintenance of the U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy using the data-tagging format mandated by the SEC.

• Notaries Subject to Stiffer Requirements

  February 5, 2010

  The National Notary Association has published a much-anticipated revision of its Model Notary Act with fraud deterrence, identity theft, and electronic document protection rules, to improve the standards of care for notaries.

• IPSASB Publishes Intangible Asset Standards

  February 3, 2010

  The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has published a new standard that covers the accounting for and disclosure of intangible assets: IPSAS 31, “Intangible Assets.”

• SEC to Offer Guidance on Climate Change Disclosure

  January 28, 2010

  The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to issue interpretive guidance on how public companies should disclose any business and legal developments related to climate change.

• Standards Issued for Financial Instruments in Public Sector

  January 22, 2010

  The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has published three new standards that cover all aspects of the accounting for and disclosure of financial instruments in the public sector.

• Accounting Boards Define Fair Value

  January 21, 2010

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board tentatively decided to define fair value as an exit price during a three-day joint meeting this week.

• Free Training Offered on IFRS for SMEs

  January 19, 2010

  The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation has published a set of training material on International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Midsized Entities, the streamlined set of accounting standards for private companies issued last year.

• IFRS 9 — A Perspective on Financial Instrument Accounting

  January 18, 2010

  IAS 39, “Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement,” is arguably the most complex of International Financial Reporting Standards.

• More Companies Preparing for XBRL Adoption

  January 15, 2010

  Many companies are getting a jump on preparing for adoption of interactive data-tagging technology on their financial statements, even before they are subject to SEC requirements.

• Central Bankers Want Less Fair Value

  January 13, 2010

  A group of top central bank governors is calling for accounting standard-setters to develop a provisioning approach for troubled loans based on an expected-losses model rather than fair value.

• AICPA Issues Compilation and Review Standard

  January 11, 2010

  The American Institute of CPAs has issued a new standard on compilation and review engagements that represents one of the biggest changes to its Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services since 1978.

• Analysts Want New Insurance Reporting Model

  January 11, 2010

  Financial analysts who cover the insurance sector are generally dissatisfied with the current financial reporting framework for the insurance industry.

• The risks in fair value

  January 11, 2010

  Dangers lurk in fair value measurements and disclosures

• The Spirit of Accounting: It's principles and rules, not principles or rules

  January 11, 2010

  It should not have to be one or the other

• New York exempts all CPAs from tax preparer registration

  January 11, 2010

  Bill signed into law gives CPAs a pass

• IFRS is dangerous to your health

  January 11, 2010

  As always, the devil is in the details

• OO Decade or Eww Decade?

  January 6, 2010

  Call it what you like, but the first decade of the millennium has passed with many a whimper.

• GASB Finalizes Standards for Retiree Benefits, Municipal Bankruptcy

  January 4, 2010

  The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued final standards on postemployment benefits and municipal bankruptcy.

• IRS Proposes Preparer Registration, Testing and Continuing Ed

  January 4, 2010

  Registration, testing and continuing education are at the core of the requirements proposed by the Internal Revenue Service in response to calls for greater oversight of paid tax preparers.

• Argentina to Adopt IFRS in 2012

  December 31, 2009

  Public companies in Argentina will be required to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards starting in 2012.

• FASB Rethinks Subsequent Events Standards

  December 30, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed accounting standards update on its subsequent events standards, amending certain recognition and disclosure requirements to avoid a conflict with the SEC.

• AICPA Offers Guidance on Fair Value of Investments

  December 29, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs has published a set of technical practice aids to help auditors and preparers understand the accounting rules on determining the fair value of investments in entities that calculate a net asset value.

• All I Want for Christmas is Regulatory Reform

  December 24, 2009

  Silver bells and major snow storms aside, I am struggling to get into the holiday spirit.

• IAASB Releases Outsourcing Service Standard

  December 22, 2009

  The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released a new assurance standard on controls at service organizations such as international outsourcers.

• House Passes XBRL Legislation

  December 18, 2009

  The House passed two bills earlier this month with provisions related to the use of Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, the interactive data-tagging technology that the SEC has begun requiring large public companies to use when filing their financial statements.

• Panel to Deliberate on Private Company Standards

  December 17, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs and the Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board, are setting up a “blue-ribbon panel” to discuss how U.S. accounting standards can best meet the needs of users of private company financial statements.

• Revenue Recognition Fraud Declines

  December 15, 2009

  Revenue recognition fraud seems to be on the wane, according to a report by the Deloitte Forensic Center.

• Private co. committee wants standards clarified

  December 14, 2009

  The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met recently to discuss the impact of recent changes in accounting standards on private companies, including some confusion in the Financial Accounting Standards Board's new Codification updates.

• Financial reform advances in EU - slowly

  December 14, 2009

  If you want to know how financial regulation legislation and accountancy reforms are shaping up in the EU, you need to glance back to the start of the century.

• The Spirit of Accounting: Memo to the SEC on IFRS and convergence

  December 14, 2009

  Our goal is to clarify just what lies behind the "convergence" movement.

• AIPCA survey: CPAs slowing down on IFRS

  December 14, 2009

  The U.S. accounting profession slowed down its preparation for adoption of international accounting standards over the last six months, according to a survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs.

• Japan Allows Voluntary IFRS Adoption

  December 11, 2009

  Japan’s Financial Services Authority has decided to permit voluntary domestic use of International Financial Reporting Standards, putting added pressure on the U.S. to follow suit.

• Accounting Groups Call for Climate Change Standards

  December 10, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs joined with over a dozen other accounting organizations around the world to call for a single standard for climate change reporting.

• IASB’s Leisenring: Pay No Attention to IFRS 9

  December 10, 2009

  James Leisenring, a member of the International Accounting Standards Board, told attendees at an accounting conference in New York to disregard the board’s recently issued standard for recognizing and measuring financial instruments, acknowledging that political pressures had forced the board to publish the standard.

• CFA Institute Backs Decoupling of Accounting Standards

  December 9, 2009

  The CFA Institute expressed its support for Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz’s statements on the need to “decouple” accounting standard-setting from bank regulation.

• SEC Settlements Fall to Lowest Level in Post-SOX Era

  December 8, 2009

  The number of Securities and Exchange Commission settlements declined for the second consecutive fiscal year in 2009, with 626 defendants, compared to 673 in fiscal year 2008, according to a new report.

• Herz: Not All Assets Need to Be at Fair Value

  December 8, 2009

  FASB Chairman Robert Herz and AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee Chairman Jay Hanson separately acknowledged that many assets and financial instruments do not need to be measured at fair value on the balance sheet.

• SEC Chief Accountant Tells CPAs to Consider Investors

  December 8, 2009

  Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant James L. Kroeker told leaders of the accounting profession that independent auditors will be expected to consider the interests of the “investing public” — not just their audit clients — when performing their duties.

• IASB Trustees Start Search for Tweedie Successor

  December 7, 2009

  The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, which oversees the International Accounting Standards Board, said they are seeking nominations to identify a successor to IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie.

• Private Company Committee Gets Update from FASB

  December 4, 2009

  The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met Thursday and Friday with the Financial Accounting Standards Board to hear about the progress of the latest projects affecting privately held and small businesses.

• Officials Warn Auditors Not to Overly Rely on Specialists

  December 2, 2009

  Officials from the Security and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board cautioned a group of auditors against placing too much reliance on specialists hired for their expertise in areas such as fair value measurement.

• SEC Distributed over $2 Billion from Fair Fund in 2009

  November 25, 2009

  For the first time, the Securities and Exchange Commission has distributed more than $2 billion in a single calendar year to injured investors as a result of SEC enforcement actions and proceedings.

• FINRA Fines Terra Nova Financial $400,000

  November 24, 2009

  The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has fined Terra Nova Financial $400,000 for making more than $1 million in improper “soft dollar” payments to hedge fund clients for accounting expenses, estate planning fees and more questionable expenses.

• CCH and Grant Thornton Create IFRS Tax Guide

  November 23, 2009

  CCH and Grant Thornton have teamed up to produce IFRS Tax Manager, an online guide to International Financial Reporting Standards, aimed at helping tax, audit and accounting professionals comply with tax accounting and reporting standards under IFRS.

• XBRL US Issues Call for Research Partners, Names Fellows

  November 19, 2009

  XBRL US Labs has issued a call for research partners to expand the research and development projects it already has underway and named its first three research fellows.

• Tips from the SEC on Avoiding Trouble

  November 18, 2009

  Wayne Carnall, the chief accountant in the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance, had some good advice to dispense to corporate accountants on keeping out of hot water with his department.

• FASB, IASB Describe Convergence Plans

  November 16, 2009

  Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Bob Herz said the $64,000 question is, “Where are we going with IFRS?” as he described plans for FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board to work more closely on uniting U.S. GAAP with International Financial Reporting Standards.

• AICPA, CAQ: Banking Regulators Should Not Set Standards

  November 16, 2009

  Leaders of the American Institute of CPAs and the Center for Audit Quality registered strong objections to proposed legislation that would put banking regulators in control of U.S. accounting standards.

• ASSURANCE BRIEFS

  November 16, 2009

  Companies want SEC to approve IFRS roadmap.

• ACCA: Standards needed for climate change

  November 16, 2009

  The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants recommends in a new report that environmental regulators should work with international accounting standard-setters to develop a universal climate change reporting standard for organizations of all sizes.

• SEC 5-yr. plan backs global standards

  November 16, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has released a draft of a five-year strategic plan that calls for a single set of high-quality global accounting standards.

• IN BRIEF

  November 16, 2009

  IASB not waiting for U.S.; Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu revenues hit by economy; and FASB launches nonprofit advisory committee.

• THE SPIRIT OF ACCOUNTING: The AICPA and G-20 on convergence: Lots of supply, not much demand

  November 16, 2009

  We don't know about the rest of you in the profession's rank and file, but we're feeling steamrollered over "convergence," a code word meaning hastily dumping the independent Financial Accounting Standards Board and embracing the vulnerable International Accounting Standards Board.

• Battle lines form over LIFO

  November 16, 2009

  Lawmakers and industry are choosing sides on repeal efforts

• FASB Adds New Fair Value Disclosures

  November 13, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has beefed up the disclosure requirements for some types of fair value measurements.

• Grant Thornton CEOs Discuss Accounting Standards

  November 12, 2009

  Grant Thornton CEO Ed Nusbaum and incoming CEO Stephen Chipman talk with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Bill Carlino about international expansion and their thoughts on accounting standards.

• AICPA Sues FTC over Identity Theft Rule

  November 11, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission challenging the applicability of the so-called “Red Flags Rule” to CPAs.

• Grant Thornton CEOs on Regulatory Reform

  November 11, 2009

  Grant Thornton CEO Ed Nusbaum and incoming CEO Stephen Chipman talk with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Bill Carlino about regulatory reform, tax preparer registration and the role of CPAs in tax preparation.

• ACFE Warns Not to Change SOX Rules

  November 11, 2009

  A measure approved last week by the House Financial Services Committee to change Sarbanes-Oxley audit rules would lead to a higher incidence of fraud and an increase in the amount of fraud losses, said the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

• AICPA, FEI Object to Federal Accounting Oversight Board

  November 6, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs and Financial Executives International have written to Congress to express their objections to proposed legislation that would displace the SEC from its role of overseeing the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

• IASB Treads Cautiously on Asset Impairment

  November 5, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed new standards for measuring the impairment of financial instruments and assets using amortized cost, taking a different tack than the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board.

• CAQ Wants Congress to Preserve SEC Oversight of FASB

  November 4, 2009

  The Center for Audit Quality and other influential organizations are asking leaders of the House Financial Services Committee to safeguard the role of the SEC in overseeing the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

• IASB Eases Related-Party Disclosures

  November 4, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has issued a revised version of its standard for related-party transactions, simplifying the disclosure requirements and clarifying the definition of a related party.

• Financial Planners Oppose FINRA Oversight

  November 3, 2009

  Financial planning trade groups have written a letter to congressional leaders protesting an amendment that would extend the regulatory authority of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to cover investment advisers who are associated with broker-dealers under FINRA authority.

• International Auditing Standards Spread to 126 Countries

  November 3, 2009

  The International Federation of Accountants has released a new online chart showing the growing adoption of International Standards on Auditing.

• FTC Extends Deadline for ‘Red Flags’ ID Theft Rule

  November 2, 2009

  The Federal Trade Commission has once again extended the deadline for enforcing the so-called “Red Flags Rule” that requires financial institutions and creditors to develop identity theft prevention programs.

• Can Uncle Sam go on?

  November 2, 2009

  Americans may be in for shocking news soon. Under a new standard issued by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, the federal government is going to have to issue annual reports on its fiscal sustainability.

• Prep school

  November 2, 2009

  What seems like a lifetime ago, I was sitting in 7th grade math class - come to think of it, that was a lifetime ago - being lectured by Mrs. Kennedy on the U.S.'s inevitable conversion to the metric system.

• A better answer

  November 2, 2009

  The creation of a super agency to regulate banks is a beguilingly simple idea.

• Kroeker: Keep Converging With or Without Roadmap

  October 30, 2009

  SEC Chief Accountant Jim Kroeker said the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board should proceed with their efforts to converge U.S. and international accounting standards, even though the SEC commissioners have not yet formally approved the proposed roadmap to International Financial Reporting Standards.

• A Better Answer

  October 30, 2009

  The creation of a super agency to regulate banks is a beguilingly simple idea.

• IASB and FASB to Meet Monthly on Standards Overhaul

  October 29, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board and its U.S. counterpart, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, plan to meet on a monthly basis in order to achieve the goal of converging accounting standards by June 2011.

• U.S. Execs Prefer FASB to Set Accounting Standards

  October 29, 2009

  Seventy-one percent of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers surveyed by Grant Thornton believe that the Financial Accounting Standards Board should set U.S. accounting standards, instead of the International Accounting Standards Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission or Congress.

• U.S. CFOs Leery of IFRS

  October 26, 2009

  Forty percent of U.S. CFOs and senior comptrollers polled by Grant Thornton said they do not believe U.S. companies should be required to use International Financial Reporting Standards.

• Private Company Committee Wants Standards Clarified

  October 23, 2009

  The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met to discuss the impact of recent changes in accounting standards on private companies, including some confusion in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new Codification updates.

• CalCPA Helps Inactive California CPAs Reactivate

  October 22, 2009

  The California Society of CPAs is offering a special CPA Activate Pass to help inactive CPAs regain active status.

• FASB Creates Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee

  October 22, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has established a Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee to offer input to the board on guidance, current and future technical projects, and longer-term issues affecting nonprofits.

• IASB Not Waiting for FASB

  October 20, 2009

  International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie said he won’t wait for the board’s U.S. counterpart to finalize its own revisions to fair value accounting for financial instruments.

• Private Cos. Reporting Head: Now Is Time for Separate GAAP!

  October 20, 2009

  As the SEC resurrects its focus on the roadmap to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards, the 30-plus year debate over a GAAP for private companies has progressed somewhat but remains on the back burner amidst legislative and standard-setters’ priorities for global convergence.

• House Panel Approves Derivatives Regulation Bill

  October 16, 2009

  The House Financial Services Committee has approved legislation that would require regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market.

• Insurers Challenge FASB Fair Value Proposal

  October 15, 2009

  A trade group representing insurance and reinsurance companies has taken exception to a proposed standard on fair value accounting and said it will make financial statements harder to understand.

• SEC Strategic Plan Backs Global Accounting Standards

  October 9, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has released a draft of a five-year strategic plan that calls for “a single set of high-quality global accounting standards.”

• Companies Want SEC to Approve IFRS Roadmap

  October 6, 2009

  Seventy percent of CFOs and other finance professionals support approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s roadmap for adopting International Financial Reporting Standards, according to a new survey by Deloitte.

• FASB Beefs Up XBRL Features in Codification

  October 5, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has expanded the use of interactive data-tagging technology in its official FASB Accounting Standards Codification.

• Provision as a Process

  October 2, 2009

  Today, more than three years since it was issued, FIN48 remains the bane of many tax departments’ existence.

• FASB and IASB Try to Avoid Divergence

  September 30, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board and its global counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board, hope to stay in lockstep on standards, but oftentimes it's not so easy.

• Firms Warned to Deploy GAAP Codification Soon

  September 29, 2009

  The author of a new book on the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s recently released GAAP Codification said CPA firms could be exposed to litigation risks unless they deploy the new codification rapidly.

• Accountants Divided over Regulatory Overhaul

  September 23, 2009

  Accountants have mixed feelings about the Obama administration’s proposed financial regulatory overhaul, according to a new survey.

• AICPA Wants CPAs Exempted from Consumer Agency

  September 23, 2009

  The American Institute of CPAs testified before Congress in favor of exempting CPAs from oversight by the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, arguing that CPAs are already highly regulated.

• SEC Reconsiders IFRS Roadmap

  September 23, 2009

  The SEC is expected to turn its attention once again this fall to the question of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards now that the financial crisis has eased.

• Monitoring Board Defends Independent Standards

  September 22, 2009

  A group of securities regulators from around the world is defending the need to safeguard the independence of the accounting standard-setting process.

• SEC Fines Former PurchasePro Chief $3 Million

  September 18, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has levied a $3 million penalty against Charles Johnson Jr., the former CEO of PurchasePro, a now-defunct business-to-business online exchange company that was involved in an accounting fraud case with AOL.

• SEC Chief Accountant Warns Against Standards Race

  September 17, 2009

  SEC Chief Accountant Jim Kroeker told a group of CPAs that accounting standard-setters should avoid a “race to the bottom” when working on convergence.

• IASB Reassures G-20 on Loan Accounting Standards

  September 16, 2009

  The group overseeing the International Accounting Standards Board has written to President Obama and the other G-20 leaders saying it is following the G-20 recommendations for dealing with fair value accounting for loans, after banking interests charged that it was not.

• Accounting Regulators Not Necessarily in Harmony

  September 16, 2009

  The banking and insurance industries have been playing arbitrage with the various accounting standards produced by U.S. and international standard-setters.

• Insurers Criticize IASB Proposals for Insurance Contracts

  September 15, 2009

  An organization representing major life and property/casualty insurance and reinsurance companies has criticized a new measurement approach for insurance contracts recommended by the staff of the International Accounting Standards Board.

• SEC Hopes to Correct Madoff Goofs

  September 10, 2009

  SEC officials testifying at a Senate Banking Committee hearing pledged to do more to investigate Ponzi schemes.

• Bankers Want G-20 to Rein in FASB, IASB

  September 10, 2009

  The American Bankers Association has written to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke asking them to raise accounting issues at the upcoming G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh in order to curb efforts by standard-setters to expand mark-to-market accounting to loans and debt instruments.

• IASB Could Be Renamed IFRS Board

  September 9, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board’s oversight body has proposed a series of changes aimed at providing better governance of the standard-setter, including renaming the organization the International Financial Reporting Standards Board.

• FASB Updates Guidance on Income Tax Uncertainty

  September 4, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has published implementation guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes and disclosure amendments for nonpublic entities.

• Financial Planners Want SEC to Restrict FINRA

  September 1, 2009

  The Financial Planning Association is urging SEC Chair Mary Schapiro to clarify and restrict the scope of authority of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority related to financial planning services.

• FASB Proposes Expanding Fair Value Disclosures

  August 31, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a set of proposed changes to fair value measurement rules that would require companies to provide more information about illiquid assets.

• Basel Committee Doesn’t Want Fair Value for Loans

  August 28, 2009

  The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, an influential group of international banking regulators, has released a set of guiding principles to help the International Accounting Standards Board set new standards for financial instruments to deal with the aftermath of the financial crisis.

• Regulators Mull Impact of Accounting Rules on Bank Capital Requirements

  August 27, 2009

  The major federal banking regulatory agencies are asking for comments on a proposed rule for banks’ minimal capital requirements, stemming from two accounting standards that would change how banks will account next year for many items they currently keep off their balance sheets.

• IASB Plans Annual Improvements

  August 26, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has published a set of proposed amendments to 11 International Financial Reporting Standards as part of its annual improvements project.

• Bernanke’s Back and Barack’s Got Him

  August 26, 2009

  The extension of Ben Bernanke’s term as Federal Reserve chairman shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, except to those who were hoping for better management of the economy.

• Kroeker Officially Becomes SEC Chief Accountant

  August 25, 2009

  The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed James L. Kroeker as chief accountant.

• The 5 Stages of Valuation

  August 25, 2009

  The 'Five Stages of Grief' are the steps of the psychological process by which people deal with unfortunate circumstances. And nowadays we have seen this process, and the psychological character of our clients, reflected during our valuation engagements.

• FASB Reconsiders Loss Contingencies for Litigation

  August 20, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board took up the controversial question of disclosure requirements for loss contingencies at its latest meeting and decided that companies need to make more disclosures.

• PCAOB Reporting Rules Take Effect October 12

  August 14, 2009

  The SEC has approved rules requiring registered public accounting firms to report events such as legal proceedings and changes in a firm’s contact information within 30 days to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, as well as file annual reports on disciplinary matters and other issues.

• GASB to Decide on Municipal Bankruptcy Standards

  August 14, 2009

  The Government Accounting Standards Board has drafted proposed standards for local government bankruptcies, and is giving interested parties until August 28 to comment.

• FASB May Extend Mark-to-Market to Loans

  August 14, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board may expand the use of mark-to-market accounting to the loans held by banks.

• Bankers Object to Standards-Setting Process

  August 13, 2009

  The American Bankers Association has released a letter and white paper raising concerns over the process taken by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board in their financial instruments projects.

• Revenge of the Accounting Authorities?

  August 12, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board took plenty of heat in April for loosening mark-to-market guidelines, a move that critics assailed as a gift to the financial industry and a nod to political pressures.

• PCFRC Eyes Global Standards for Small Business

  August 10, 2009

  The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee took a close look at the International Accounting Standards Board’s new “IFRS for SMEs” standards at its meeting last week.

• Bankers Protest Latest Mark-to-Market Proposals

  August 6, 2009

  The American Bankers Association is objecting to the newest proposed accounting standards for financial instruments, claiming that they would dramatically expand the use of the much-maligned mark-to-market accounting.

• U.S. GAAP XBRL Tags Aligned to FASB Codification

  August 5, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board and XBRL US have completed their work in revising the XBRL U.S. GAAP Taxonomy to reflect the FASB Accounting Standards Codification that was released on July 1.

• NASBA Wants Independent Funding for Standard-Setters

  August 5, 2009

  The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy called for independent funding of global accounting standard-setters.

• Tweedie Warns of 2011 Deadline for IFRS Choice

  August 4, 2009

  International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie said that other countries are running out of patience waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to decide on whether to approve a roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards and that the U.S. would need to commit by 2011.

• Execs Rethink M&A Deal Strategy

  August 3, 2009

  More than two out of five business executives said in a recent poll that an accounting standard on business combinations is causing them to reassess their strategy for M&A deals.

• PCAOB Forms Investor Advisory Group

  July 31, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has created an Investor Advisory Group to solicit input from investors on how to carry out the board’s responsibilities in overseeing public auditing firms.

• IFRS Conversion Puts Demand on Technology

  July 31, 2009

  Switching to International Financial Reporting Standards could prove to be a costly move for many companies’ IT departments, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.

• Regulating Systemic Risk is a Job for a Council

  July 31, 2009

  It is widely believed that the U.S. financial system needs a systemic risk regulator to help prevent future financial crises.

• Financial Crisis Group Exonerates Accounting

  July 28, 2009

  The Financial Crisis Advisory Group has published a report concluding that accounting standards are not to blame for the economic crisis.

• New York CPA Requirements Take Effect July 26

  July 24, 2009

  New York State CPAs are facing a Sunday deadline to register with the State Education Department under a recently passed law.

• SMBs Weigh Separate Accounting Standards

  July 24, 2009

  Slightly more than half of small and midsized businesses prefer to have a separate set of accounting standards for private companies, according to a new survey by Deloitte.

• PCAOB Considers Audit Engagement Changes

  July 24, 2009

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has scheduled an open meeting next week to discuss making changes in engagement quality auditing and sign-off requirements.

• Alliance Tries to Make Financial Reporting Simpler

  July 17, 2009

  The task of making financial reporting simpler and more useful isn’t so simple as one might hope, according to several influential accounting officials who met to discuss the problem.

• IASB Proposes Financial Instrument Accounting Changes

  July 15, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed changing the accounting standards for measuring and classifying financial instruments in response to concerns raised by the financial crisis.

• Financial Crisis Creates Fair Value Skeptics

  July 13, 2009

  Turmoil in the financial markets has negated the value of fair value accounting, according to more than half the respondents to a new survey.

• More Stringent Accounting Ethics Code Released

  July 10, 2009

  The International Federation of Accountants and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants have issued a revised Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants that strengthens the independence requirements of auditors.

• FASB Fights Disclosure Overload

  July 10, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a new project to its agenda aimed at making financial disclosures more organized and less redundant.

• International Accounting Standards Issued for SMBs

  July 9, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has published a stripped-down set of International Financial Reporting Standards aimed at small and midsized privately held businesses.

• CCH Incorporates New FASB Codification

  July 2, 2009

  CCH said it is supporting the new FASB Accounting Standards Codification in its CCH Accounting Research Manager service.

• FASB Debuts Accounting Standards Codification

  July 1, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has officially launched its FASB Accounting Standards Codification, an online interactive research tool that will serve as the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

• Obama Proposes Consumer Finance Agency Bill

  June 30, 2009

  The Obama administration has sent legislation to Capitol Hill to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

• PCFRC Works on Revenue Recognition

  June 29, 2009

  The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met to discuss topics ranging from revenue recognition to FIN 48-d and loan-loss contingencies.

• Herz: Accounting Did Not Cause the Crisis!

  June 29, 2009

  Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz refuses to accept the inevitability of another financial system collapse.

• FASB Proposes Standard for Credit Losses

  June 25, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has proposed a new standard for disclosures about the credit quality of financing receivables and the allowance for credit losses.

• XBRL Catches on in U.S. and Europe

  June 24, 2009

  Now that the largest public companies in the U.S. are scheduled to begin filing their financial statements using Extensible Business Reporting Language data-tagging technology this year, financial regulators are weighing additional areas to leverage the technology, said industry representatives at the XBRL International Conference in Paris.

• Off-Balance-Sheet Accounting Changes Offer Challenges

  June 23, 2009

  Credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings said in a new report that it does not expect FASB’s recent amendments to off-balance-sheet accounting standards to result in negative rating actions, but it believes there will be challenges for issuers and analysts in transitioning to the new standards.

• Trade Groups Aim to Influence Accounting Standards

  June 22, 2009

  Nine trade groups representing the financial, insurance, banking, real estate and other industries have united to create a coalition with the goal of influencing accounting standard-setters who are working on revising the rules for financial instruments.

• Audit Watchdog Finds IFRS Discrepancies

  June 19, 2009

  A new study of accounting-related fraud in Western Europe has found substantial differences in the approach taken to International Financial Reporting Standards by different countries and companies.

• FASB Plans Different Views for GAAP Codification

  June 17, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to provide two different views of its new online FASB Accounting Standards Codification when it launches July 1.

• FASB Changes Standards on Securitizations and Special-Purpose Entities

  June 12, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued new standards aimed at fixing the way banks account for securitizations and off-balance-sheet special-purpose entities.

• IASB Plans Further Revisions to Impairment Standards

  June 11, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board is readying new revisions to its standards for accounting for impaired assets in response to pressure from European regulators who have threatened to upset support for International Financial Reporting Standards.

• A Mini Shareholder's Report

  June 9, 2009

  I have a friend with an accounting degree and a law degree who complained about the length and complexity of annual reports.

• Study Predicts Little Benefit to Adopting IFRS in U.S.

  June 5, 2009

  A new academic study takes issue with claims that U.S. companies would benefit from adopting International Financial Reporting Standards.

• FASB GAAP Standards Codification to Debut July 1

  June 3, 2009

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to approve the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the single authoritative, nongovernmental source of information on GAAP, with an official launch date set for July 1.

• IASB Tries to Simplify Fair Value Measurement

  May 29, 2009

  The International Accounting Standards Board has published draft guidance to try to settle the controversial issue of fair value measurement and calm some of the recent political pressure.

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