Accounting standards

The International Accounting Standards Board and its U.S. counterpart, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, plan to create a global advisory group to review financial reporting issues related to the credit crisis.

The Center for Audit Quality, the CFA Institute, the Council of Institutional Investors and the Consumer Federation of America have written to the Securities and Exchange Commission opposing demands for the SEC to override the Financial Accounting Standards Board's rules on fair value accounting.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt blamed recent SEC actions for contributing to the credit crisis and urged legislators to expand fair value accounting.

The American Bankers Association has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission demanding that it override the Financial Accounting Standards Board's guidance on fair value accounting.

The former CEO and CFO of drug store chain Duane Reade were indicted on fraud charges for allegedly inflating the company's income.

The Tax Court has amended its rules of rules of practice and procedure for whistleblower actions, making it easier for informants to keep their identities confidential.

The Securities and Exchange Commission named Dr. Amy Edwards to the post of Assistant Chief Economist for Markets and Intermediaries in the agency's Office of Economic Analysis.

The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation gave the International Accounting Standards Board the go-ahead to suspend due process rules in order to accelerate their response to the credit crisis.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued two separate but related exposure drafts proposing standards on going concerns and subsequent events.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has provided new flexibility to allow banks and other financial institutions to re-price their assets during the credit crisis by amending its standard on fair value measurements.

An 83 percent majority of CFOs favor separating the roles of CEO and chairman, according to a survey by Grant Thornton.

To assist companies in dealing with the plunging markets and subsequent fallout, Protiviti, a provider of internal audit and risk advisory services, has assembled a Financial Crisis Team.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has started work on a study of mark-to-market accounting authorized by the financial rescue bill that was approved last week.

Participants in a Securities and Exchange Commission roundtable discussed how the credit crisis would affect the SEC's plans for an improved financial disclosure system.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice late last week that allows U.S. corporations to get more tax-free loans from their foreign subsidiaries.

The Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession has released its final report outlining recommendations on how to improve the sustainability of the audit profession, including a dissenting statement from one of its members.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice aimed at calming fears that it would act against insurance-dedicated money market funds that take advantage of a new temporary guarantee program.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released an audit practice alert to help auditors deal with the controversial issue of fair value accounting estimates.

The passage of the financial rescue plan by Congress last week depended in part on the insertion of a provision on reevaluating the fair value accounting standards, which could come back to bite the same lobbyists who urged its inclusion.

The International Accounting Standards Board said it is taking steps in conjunction with the U.S.'s Financial Accounting Standards Board to address the crisis in the credit markets.