Accounting standards

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to publish the long-delayed roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards on Friday.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Fall Council meeting in October focused on the state of the economy, a proposal to internationalize the CPA credential, distinguished service awards and welcoming the upcoming year’s new chairman of the board.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the North American Securities Administrators Association said they would waive for nine months the initial set-up and annual renewal fees paid by investment adviser firms to join their registration system.

The International Accounting Standards Board has issued educational guidance from an expert advisory panel on the controversial issue of fair value measurement when markets become inactive.

Fair value under fire Financial crisis spurs debate over standardAs the financial community scrambles to regain the trust of investors angered by the Wall Street crisis, fair value accounting continues to come under fire.

The financial rescue plan approved by Congress included many extensions of expiring tax credits and deductions that helped it win passage in the House, but it also left out some tax issues that will surely be bones of contention for the next Congress."It's safe to predict that not much will happen in a lame duck session," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation at the American Institute of CPAs.

In what can be seen as a cruel irony in the midst of the current financial crises, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed staff position - 144-d, Amending the Criteria for Reporting a Discontinued Operation.The proposal, issued as an exposure draft, redefines "discontinued operation" and matches a simultaneous proposal issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. The proposals also establish identical new disclosure requirements. The new definition would no longer include certain subsidiaries and asset groups.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon defended fair value accounting standards at a securities industry conference, but admitted the standards could be improved.

Optimism among CFOs about the U.S. economy and their own companies fell precipitously in the third quarter, according to a new survey.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he did not plan to have Congress suspend fair value accounting rules.

The Securities and Exchange Commission held the first of two roundtable discussions on fair value accounting standards, receiving input from accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Grant Thornton, along with other organizations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to hold its annual forum on small business capital formation on Nov. 20 at its headquarters.

“An emperor of a prosperous city who cares more about clothes than military pursuits or entertainment hires two swindlers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime. (acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech—Ed.) The emperor then goes on a procession through the capital showing off his new ‘clothes.’ During the course of the procession, a small child cries out, ‘But he has nothing on!’ The crowd realizes the child is telling the truth. The Emperor, however, holds his head high and continues the procession.”

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board said it is getting close to completing an 18-month project aimed at making audit standards more understandable.

Finance and accounting staff will receive an average salary boost of 3.4 percent next year despite the economic downturn, predicts recruiting company Robert Half International.

Leaders of six business associations have written a joint letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission complaining that recent guidance about the use of judgment in fair value accounting "has the potential to cloud transparency."

Accounting regulators from more than 15 countries plan to gather at a forum in Boston next week hosted by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

Bank of America's audit committee has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to replace KPMG as the auditor for its recently acquired Countrywide Financial unit.

The dispute between the American Bankers Association and the Financial Accounting Standards Board heated up as ABA president Edward Yingling called for a new accounting oversight board that would hold sway over FASB.

More than half of internal auditors say they are not familiar with new technology that provides interactive data tags for financial statements, according to a new survey.