Accounting standards

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Kayla Gillan as senior advisor to new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro, effective immediately.

Approximately 80 percent of companies are not ready for government or regulatory investigations, according to a new survey.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a pair of agenda projects aimed at improving the application guidance used to determine fair values and disclosure of fair value estimates.

An international group of accountants, regulators, bankers and business luminaries met to discuss the impact of the financial crisis and the implications for financial reporting.

The International Accounting Standards Board wants the U.S. to remain committed to its roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards and is making the case directly to the new SEC chairman.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has chosen John J. Brennan, chairman of mutual fund giant Vanguard Group, as its new chairman and a member of its board of trustees.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun requiring 500 of the largest companies to start filing their financial statements in an interactive data format.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro announced plans to make it easier for SEC staff to bring enforcement actions and indicated that the Financial Accounting Standards Board would further modify fair value accounting standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Robert Malhotra as a senior advisor in the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that Bernard Madoff has consented to a proposed partial judgment imposing a permanent injunction on him.

A global alliance of the chief executives of 10 accounting institutes has issued a report advocating more useful and less complicated financial reporting requirements.

New guidance aims to help organizations better monitor the effectiveness of their internal control systems.

Even with the current downturn in the real estate market, like-kind exchanges continue to be a popular way to dispose of property while deferring the taxable gain.

A new board that includes the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies will now oversee the trustees who oversee the International Accounting Standards Board.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has posted the final version of its rule mandating Extensible Business Reporting Language for public companies.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed standard that would require disclosures about the fair value of financial instruments in interim financial statements as well as annual statements.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board wants to bring more clarity to some of the complex credit derivatives that contributed to the financial crisis.

New York Governor David Paterson has signed a bill expanding the regulation of CPAs throughout the state.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published guidance to help auditors apply Auditing Standard No. 5 to audits of internal controls at smaller public companies.

Newly approved Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner moved to provide more transparency in the controversial Troubled Assets Relief Program by posting investment contracts on the Internet.