Financial reporting

The Canadian member firm of KPMG has acquired the Abbotsford, British Columbia-based firm, Cochrane & Associates Chartered Accountants. The deal closed on November 1, 2012.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman discusses the status of the revenue recognition, leasing, financial instruments and insurance standards that FASB is converging with the International Accounting Standards Board.

The International Federation of Accountants has elected Warren Allen of New Zealand as president for a two-year term and former American Institute of CPAs chair Olivia Kirtley as deputy president, succeeding Allen.

Despite negative market sentiment due to concerns over the looming "fiscal cliff," many investors are unprepared for it, according to a recent survey by Nationwide Financial.

U.S. investors expect the country will eventually support International Financial Reporting Standards, but the process will take time and require substantial investment in staff and training, according to new research from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Bank of America Corp.’s commercial customers are already reacting to the “fiscal cliff” looming over the U.S. budget by putting off purchases, chief executive officer Brian T. Moynihan said.

Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP named Lisa Dane as a director in its business intelligence services practice.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman talks with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Daniel Hood about FASB's accomplishments in converging accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board on the 10-year anniversary of the Norwalk Agreement.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has named the appointments and positions on its 2012-2013 board of directors, which will be chaired by Gaylen R. Hansen, CPA, a partner at the Denver-based firm Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman.

Recent network memberships, awards, new Web sites and more

The parent organization of the International Accounting Standards Board has opened its first regional office abroad, choosing Tokyo as the location of the London-based IFRS Foundation’s Asia-Oceania office.

Staffing company Accounting Principals has released its new 2013 salary guide, showing how much money finance and accounting professionals are earning around the country.

Voller, Lee, Suess & Associates has agreed to join Eide Bailly LLP. The deal is set to close by December 1, 2012.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have released A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 120-page guide providing a detailed analysis of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, including the accounting provisions, and closely examining the SEC and DOJ approach to FCPA enforcement.

The role of the CFO will evolve in the future to encompass new challenges such as global economic uncertainty and volatility, fluctuating energy prices, and turbulent currency markets, along with a shift in economic power, according to a new report.

A female presence on a company board reduces the chance of financial restatements by close to 40 percent, according to a new study.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Accounting and Review Services Committee has issued exposure drafts of its proposed Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services as part of its Clarity Project and is asking for public comment on them.

Blain Heckaman is the new managing principal at Kaufman, Rossin & Co.

Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial system, even as an increasing number of foreign companies file their financial reports with the SEC using IFRS.

Jennifer Jarvis Hamberger has joined Freed Maxick CPAs as chief marketing officer.