Accounting standards

On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission leveled charges and an emergency asset freeze on the perpetrators of an alleged $600 million Ponzi scheme that was on the verge of collapse.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Wednesday adopted Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, which establishes requirements that enhance the relevance and timeliness of communications between the auditor and audit committee, in addition to amendments to other PCAOB standards.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board has drafted a proposed revision of its standards for the professional development of audit engagement partners.

An independent study of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board commissioned by its parent organization finds opinions divided on what GASB’s responsibilities should include as a standard-setter for state and local government accounting.

Odds have now turned against those hoping that the health care law passed in 2010 will "just go away."

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a staff paper with recommendations on which criteria and circumstances should be used to determine when it is appropriate to adjust U.S. GAAP reporting requirements for private companies.

Critics of fair value accounting have indicted it as being the cause, or at least having exacerbated, the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.

The Financial Accounting Foundation is seeking people who would like to participate in a post-implementation review survey of how well its business combinations standard has worked.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board has released a proposed revision of its professional development standard for educating accountants in values, ethics and attitudes.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an accounting standards update intended to simplify the testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets, such as trademarks, licenses and distribution rights, for impairment.

The International Accounting Standards Board said Thursday that its staff will develop guidance to help “micro-sized entities” apply International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities.

Less than half of senior insurance executives from companies around the world believe the U.S. should abandon U.S. GAAP standards in favor of International Financial Reporting Standards, according to a new survey.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board said it is taking a different approach than the International Accounting Standards Board in the impairment of financial instruments after a joint meeting Wednesday.

The International Accounting Standards Board responded with dismay to the Securities and Exchange Commission staff report on International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is inviting comments on its proposed Disclosure Framework, requesting input on ways to improve the effectiveness of disclosures in notes to financial statements.

After looking into the role of the auditors in the recent accounting scandals at camera-maker Olympus Corp., Japan's Financial Services Agency ordered KPMG Azsa LLC and Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC to improve their systems -- though it noted that it had not found "any intentional acts or grave negligence."

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has released for comment a consultation paper on its future work program for the next two years.

Highlights in auditing and assurance from the last month

Other companies' and countries' experiences offer useful lessons in preparing your clients for adopting IFRS

the trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation's board of trustees voted in late May to establish a new Private Company Council that will determine whether exceptions or modifications to U.S. GAAP for privately held companies are necessary -- and gathered crucial support from various professional bodies, most notably the American Institute of CPAs.