Accounting standards

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released new standards aimed at improving the accounting and reporting of combinations and disposals of government operations for U.S. state and local governments.

Red Wing Software has created a report tool within its CenterPoint Payroll Software designed to track employee status for the upcoming Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requirement that employers with 50 or more full time employers must offer health coverage.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has completed a post-implementation review of an accounting standard dating back to 1996 that aimed to improve the way public companies report financial information about their business segments, and found that it generally achieved that purpose, although some companies are being less than forthcoming about all of their business segments.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued for public comment a proposal to improve financial reporting about repurchase agreements such as the type used by Lehman Brothers.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has issued the first four chapters of its Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities.

Cloud financial and accounting software company FinancialForce.com has formed trust.financialforce.com, a new site that helps describe the company’s control processes, security, application quality and platform monitoring environment.

International Accounting Standards Board chairman Hans Hoogervorst said the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board is not likely to face obstacles in joining the new multinational Accounting Standards Advisory Forum that is being set up to provide input to the IASB on setting future accounting standards, even though the Securities and Exchange Commission has not formally committed to supporting International Financial Reporting Standards.

Private company stakeholders have never been in a better position to have their concerns addressed in the standard-setting process, according to Billy Atkinson, the chair of the new Private Company Council: “We have the wind in our sails.”

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has approved a new standard intended to improve accounting and financial reporting for state and local governments’ combinations and disposals of government operations.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed clarification to a fair value disclosure exemption affecting private companies and nonpublic not-for-profit organizations.

We have come to realize that it's long past time to question using LIFO to allocate costs first to the cost of goods sold and then inventory.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chairman Leslie Seidman and International Accounting Standards Board chairman Hans Hoogervorst appeared side by side at an American Institute of CPAs conference in early December to discuss what went awry in U.S. support for International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released a report in early December in which it identified widespread problems at eight major firms with their audits of internal control over financial reporting.

The Private Company Council held its inaugural meeting in early December to discuss how accounting standards should be adjusted for privately held companies.

Ten years on, SOX doesn't appear to be working

The Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, is coming out in support of a proposal to create a new Accounting Standards Advisory Forum of international standard setters, but is balking at a requirement that participants need to make a commitment to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, as well as amendments to other standards from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a proposal for comment to improve reporting on expected credit losses on loans and other financial assets held as investments by banks, financial institutions and other public and private organizations.

The International Accounting Standards Board has settled on its future agenda and priorities following a public consultation.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Center for Audit Quality issued a summary Wednesday of observations from two forums on disclosure effectiveness.