Accounting standards

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.

The incoming chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, criticized the International Accounting Standards Board and expressed reluctance to move to International Financial Reporting Standards.

With the election over, we now must focus on what real changes will advance the markets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released its congressionally mandated report on mark-to-market accounting, calling for improvements in the standards, but not their suspension. The 211-page report's recommended improvements include reconsidering the accounting for impairments and the development of more guidance for determining the fair value of investments in situations where market prices are not readily available.The report noted that investors generally believe that fair value accounting increases reporting transparency and facilitates better investment decision-making. It also indicates that fair value accounting did not appear to play a meaningful role in the bank failures in 2008.

Though the Governmental Accounting Standards Board expects to issue only one new standard in 2009, the year should be productive enough to position the board for significant advances over the subsequent two years.You could call it a year of research and deliberation - some of it conducted in-house by staff, and some by requests for comments and ideas from the field of state and local governments and the users of government financial information.

On Dec. 16, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service released the long-awaited final tax return preparer regulations. Although they had been expected to be issued in November, they were further delayed by the changes to Code Sec. 6694 included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In addition to the final regulations, the agency also promulgated Notice 2009-5, providing some interim guidance for the 2008 tax filing season, and Revenue Procedure 2009-11, updating the list of IRS forms that are subject to the preparer penalties.The final regulations do not differ significantly from the proposed regulations, but make several changes in response to comments received. The interim guidance responds to the statutory changes made by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and can be relied on by tax return preparers until final guidance is issued. Tax return preparers will want to make sure that they are familiar with these new requirements to avoid penalties as the 2008 tax return season gets underway.

The Senate has approved Mary Schapiro by a unanimous vote as the next Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will make sure that companies are properly using fair value accounting and not deceiving investors, warned an SEC official.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Economic Analysis has extended the deadline to January 31 for public companies to participate in a Web-based survey about the costs and benefits of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The Group of 30, a set of economists from around the world, has produced a report recommending a series of reforms to address the financial crisis and provide financial stability.