Accounting standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is expected to issue a document Thursday proposing to improve the financial reporting of insurance contracts, including the measurement of insurance liabilities and the related effect on the statement of comprehensive income.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposal to improve disclosures of uncertainties related to an organization’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued for public comment a proposed concepts statement that would guide GASB when establishing standards regarding the measurement of assets and liabilities for U.S. state and local governments.

The International Accounting Standards Board has issued a revised exposure draft containing proposals for changing the accounting for insurance contracts.

The New York State Society of CPAs has expressed concern that an International Audit and Assurance Standards Board proposal that aims to make auditor reporting more transparent and improve users’ understanding of audited financial statements goes too far in expanding the scope of auditor responsibilities.

The current accounting rules for accounting for loan losses were in part responsible for the failures of community banks in the wake of the financial crisis, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon has written to the leaders of the state CPA societies in response to an announcement from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy urging private companies not to use the AICPA’s recently unveiled Financial Reporting Framework for Small and Medium-sized Entities.

For anyone evaluating the principles of the new service organization controls (SOC), particularly SOC 2, BrightLine CPAs & Associates principal and SOC reporting practice leader Greg Miller describes the five key principles and how to select the right one.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to indefinitely defer certain disclosures about investments held by a nonpublic employee benefit plan in its plan sponsor’s own nonpublic equity securities.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales are urging the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reconsider two separate elements of FASB’s financial instruments convergence project with the International Accounting Standards Board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has endorsed three proposals from the Private Company Council that would simplify the accounting for privately held companies.

The American Institute of CPAs has released its much-anticipated Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities, which is aimed at providing an alternative reporting option for small businesses that aren’t required to use GAAP.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an accounting standards update setting forth a new approach for determining whether a public or private company is an investment company.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Carbon Disclosure Project to deepen their partnership for advancing corporate disclosure on material sustainability issues.

The IFRS Foundation said Wednesday it has completed the first phase of an effort to assess the state of progress on global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards.

Leslie Seidman, the outgoing chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, spoke about her experiences leading the board and its work on the upcoming revenue recognition standard during a sometimes emotional speech Wednesday that will be the last of her term.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board responded to a post-implementation review of its accounting standard for business combinations by saying that it would consider the findings of the report, along with an upcoming post-implementation review of its fair value measurement standards, and may make changes once the International Accounting Standards Board concludes its own post-implementation review of the corresponding International Financial Reporting Standards.

A new academic study argues that proposed changes in fair value measurement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board would make it harder to assess the financial soundness of banks, and it’s co-authored by a member of the FASB board.

Robert Herz, the former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, discusses his new book, "Accounting Changes," including the lessons learned from the financial crisis, the reasons behind his sudden retirement from FASB, the many roles he has been filling since he left FASB, along his accomplishments (and a few regrets) from his time at FASB.

Former Financial Accounting Standards Board chairman Robert Herz discusses his new book, "Accounting Changes," along with where he sees FASB and the IASB's convergence effort going, his experience at Coopers & Lybrand with structuring transactions, and how "Bad Bob" went from being a "poacher" to a "gamekeeper" to a standard-setter.