Financial reporting

Firm News - January 20

Five Accounting Firms Make Fortune's Best Companies List

Succession planning, recruiting, M&A and developing top talent and pricing pressures were among several front-burner issues that came to the forefront during a roundtable discussion by members of the Advisory Board.

Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said in a new report that it expects the U.S. will still move forward with plans to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into U.S. GAAP, but in a “prolonged, cautious and incremental way.”

HA&W Names Next MP

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has made available the 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which can be used to submit XBRL-format financial filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Canada’s three legacy accounting bodies—the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Certified Management Accountants of Canada, and the Certified General Accountants of Canada—presented a proposed framework to their members Tuesday for uniting Canada’s accounting profession.

More than three-quarters of investment bankers surveyed by BDO USA indicated that Chinese accounting scandals have led them to increase their due diligence when vetting China-based offerings.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman has been reviewing the suggestions that have been coming in about the proposed Private Company Standards Improvement Council while awaiting a decision on how much authority her board will have over the new council.

Firm News - January 13

Financial Executives International has released a list of the top challenges in 2012.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has conducted its first post-implementation review of an accounting standard, starting with FIN 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Tax Positions,” and found it generally achieved its purpose, though it still needs some improvement.

Call for Submissions: Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders

Check out the digital edition of the January 2012 issue of Accounting Today.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants could eventually merge with the American Institute of CPAs, according to CIMA’s chief executive.

New York State’s Accounting Reform law makes quality reviews of the attest services of accounting firms mandatory as of Jan. 1, 2012.

The Financial accounting Standards Board recently approved a revised accounting standard that requires contributing non-governmental employers to provide more information about their financial obligations to multi-employer pension plans.

AICPA SETTLES COPYRIGHT SUIT

Many of us on the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard-Setting for Private Companies believed we were on the verge of an historic change that would have relieved millions of privatecompanies of accounting standards geared more to the needs of public companies and their financial statement users. That's why there is so much disappointment over the fact that the recent proposal by the Financial Accounting Foundation rejected the cornerstone of the panel's recommendations - to create a new standard-setting board that would have the authority to establish modifications in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that reflect differences for private companies.

Fort Worth, Texas-based accounting firm Sanford, Baumeister & Frazier was recently awarded the inaugural Best Workplaces for Women award in the small business category by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce’s Women Influencing Business group.