Financial reporting

After starting the year with a wobble, the accounting profession's expectations for economic growth remained uncertain, according to the February edition of Accounting Today’s monthly Accountants Confidence Index.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has drafted a proposed Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for State and Local Governments, listing the order of priority for the types of pronouncements that a state or local government should look to for guidance when preparing their financial statements.

The International Federation of Accountants’ Professional Accountants in Business Committee has issued proposed guidance on supplementary financial measures such as EBITDA, free cash flow and underlying profit.

A post-implementation review of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s fair value measurement standard by FASB’s parent organization found the standard generally met its objectives, even though some investors have difficulty understanding fair value information provided in the financial statements, and their level of satisfaction with the information varies.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has issued provisional standards for seven industries in the financial services sector.

New accounting websites, blogs and more...

Members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted at a meeting Wednesday to scale back FASB’s convergence efforts on insurance accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has written a letter to the Financial Accounting Foundation, the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, questioning the FAF’s recent decision to contribute up to $3 million to the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, the parent of the International Accounting Standards Board.

By any measure, BDO USA had a great 2013 in terms of Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients.

Anniversaries, M&A survey, new partnerships and more…

Financial executives should become more involved in their company’s sustainability reporting efforts, according to a new report.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has launched GASB Outlook, a quarterly electronic newsletter designed to keep stakeholders informed about key GASB projects and activities.

The New York State Society of CPAs is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to tighten its proposed regulations on crowdfunding, arguing the proposals would loosen the rules to the detriment of unwary investors.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board has released a paper on the development and management of written examinations for accountants.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has excluded credit unions from the definition of “public business entities,” exempting them from certain reporting provisions under GAAP and giving credit unions more latitude to determine what their reporting requirements should be.

During 2013, the scene was set for significant changes in financial reporting for private companies and evolved into a battle between standard-setting bodies. All the changes centered on the desire to simplify, and therefore reduce the cost of accounting for private companies. The question is, however, is simpler good enough?

PricewaterhouseCoopers has just joined the rest of the Big Four firms in officially sponsoring the work of the International Valuation Standards Council, which aims to create globally recognized and accepted valuation standards, particularly for financial instruments, and promote quality within the valuation profession.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants have proposed a framework with the goal of bringing consistency to management accounting practice across the world.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission has released a new paper examining how frameworks such as the ones it has issued for internal control and enterprise risk management can improve the performance and governance of an organization.

Check out the digital edition of the February 2014 issue of Accounting Today.