Accounting standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a proposed accounting standards update to clarify the guidance on performance obligations and licensing contained in the new revenue recognition standard.

The Private Company Council that the Financial Accounting Foundation created three years ago appears to be fulfilling its mission of providing relief for privately held companies from onerous accounting requirements, but some groups are worried that it will lose its powers and independence.

Toshiba Corp. lost $2.8 billion in market value after the industrial and electronics group withdrew its earnings forecast pending an internal probe into improper accounting on infrastructure projects.

Securities and Exchange Commission chief accountant James Schnurr is rethinking a proposal he made last December that the SEC allow U.S. companies the option of providing some information, such as revenues, using International Financial Reporting Standards as a supplement to U.S. GAAP without requiring reconciliation.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a communication to audit committees known as an Audit Committee Dialogue, promising it will be the first in a series to provide insights from inspections of public company auditors that may be helpful to audit committee members in their oversight of auditors.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has re-exposed a proposed standard to guide auditors, other professional accountants in public practice, and professional accountants in business to help them decide how best to act in the public interest when they come across an act or suspected act of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To many, “sustainability accounting” sounds like an oxymoron.

Thomson Reuters has introduced PPC’s Guide to SSARS Preparation Engagements to explain the new financial statement preparation service introduced by the American Institute of CPAs’ Accounting and Review Services Committee.

The lease accounting industry desperately needs disruption

The International Federation of Accountants has convened the first meeting of a coalition of major accounting firms, civil society groups and international organizations to develop strategies to encourage high-quality public sector financial reporting, greater government transparency and accountability, and empowered citizen engagement.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued for public comment Wednesday a proposed accounting standards update that would defer the effective date of its new revenue recognition standard by one year.

Members of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators agreed in principle on the text of a multilateral arrangement for exchanging information about audit firms during a meeting in Taipei.

The International Accounting Standards Board voted Tuesday to propose a one-year deferral of the revenue recognition standard that the IASB converged last year with the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has proposed three accounting standards updates related to employee benefit plans and another update for electricity contracts.

The recent IFAC Global SMP Survey from the International Federation of Accountants showed that attracting new clients is a top concern for accountants in small and medium practices, with 58 percent of respondents rating it as a high or very high challenge.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has voted to begin research on improving the disclosures by state and local governments about going concern and debt.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed accounting standards update to improve the information provided in not-for-profit financial statements and notes to financial statements that could have major implications for nonprofit organizations.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board released two accounting standards updates last week, one of which covers the fees paid for cloud computing while the other applies to defined benefit obligations and plan assets.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has revised its ethics code to improve the independence provisions for auditors.

SAP released a new SAP Revenue Accounting and Reporting application to address requirements derived from the new revenue accounting standards.