Financial reporting

In an effort to raise the troubling level of math proficiency among elementary school children, regional CPA and business advisory firm Parente Beard created "Making the Holidays Count," an instructional book that shows how important numbers are in many of the holiday activities such as baking and gift wrapping.

The Financial Accounting Foundation, overseer of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, has pushed back to Jan. 6, 2012, the deadline for submitting applications to participate in private company accounting standards roundtable discussions scheduled for January, February and March.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has deferred some of the rules it issued earlier this year to make the presentation of other comprehensive income more prominent on financial statements.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board released a new assurance standard Wednesday on pro forma financial information included in a prospectus.

Accountants and tax practitioners had a busy time this past year keeping up with all the changes in the profession. Here’s our annual list of the top stories in the past year that kept our readers coming to the site for the latest developments:

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission has released for public comment an updated version of its internal control framework in response to changes in the business environment and their associated risks.

Jeffrey Thomson, president and CEO of the Institute of Management Accountants, worked for over two decades in the telecommunications industry and knows a thing or two about competition.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board issued common disclosure requirements Friday to help investors better understand the impact of offsetting, or netting, on a company’s financial position.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the December issue of Accounting Today.

Olympus has until December 14 to fix its financial statements in the wake of a high-profile accounting scandal if the camera maker wants to retain its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The American Institute of CPAs and two Brazilian accounting organizations have signed a two-year agreement paving the way for the CPA Exam to be offered in South America next year.

Proposed changes in lease accounting standards could have a broad negative impact on the U.S. economy, triggering a $10 billion reduction in gross domestic product and 60,000 fewer jobs by 2016, according to a new study from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board appear to be growing tired of trying to resolve their many disagreements after 10 years of ups and downs in their relationship, and the main question now seems to be whether it will be an amicable split.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman advocated a cautious transition to International Financial Reporting Standards during a speech Tuesday in which she said the board should retain its control over U.S. GAAP.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will delay its eagerly anticipated decision for a few more months on whether or not to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system.

BDO International said Friday the worldwide revenue of its network of accounting firms increased 7.36 percent for the year ended Sept. 30, 2011, to $5.672 billion, mainly due to growth in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

SEC WARNED AGAINST CONDORSEMENT APPROACH

'Wow" would be sort of an understated onomatopoeia to describe the past year in terms of events, changes and headlines within the accounting profession. As this is my 11th end-of-the-year column, I'll again foolishly predict that 2012 could not possibly top the previous year, despite a decade of being proved wrong. Perhaps this is why I rarely gamble while attending various events in Las Vegas.

Your November coverage of the Chartered Global Management Accountant accreditation, in addition to your, "AICPA, CIMA Plan Push for New Management Credential," (AccoutingToday.com, October 18) sheds light on the critical role management accountants play in today's competitive global marketplace. What this article fails to share is that there are, in fact, gaps with regard to the testing, assessment and measurement of critical skills during the first three years of this venture.

The European Commission has proposed a draft law that could split up the largest auditing firms and force them to use a separate entity and name for their advisory and non-audit practices.