Financial reporting

In a rough economy, when liability claims against accountants tend to rise, it's especially critical for CPA firms who expand their practices beyond their comfort areas to know exactly what their policy covers and to make any necessary adjustments. It's especially important considering that liability carriers treat issues differently in their policies, according to Gary Sutherland, chief executive of North American Professional Liability Insurance Agency, an independent broker.

Our column in the Feb. 11, 2008, issue addressed the pitfalls of pursuing off-balance-sheet financing. In light of the August 2010 exposure draft from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board that proposes capitalizing all leases, we decided to republish it in order to help readers who might be baffled by this massive paradigm shift. In the next issue, we'll reprint a follow-up column in which we responded to criticisms from an individual who basically had no problem with operating lease accounting, to the point that he didn't even consider it as a way for management to deliberately mislead financial statement users.

A majority of members of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies voted in favor of establishing a separate standard-setting board for private company accounting at a meeting Friday, but will wait until December to issue its final recommendations.

The International Accounting Standards Board has amended its standards on financial instrument disclosures to beef up the disclosure requirements for financial asset transfer transactions such as securitizations, and discourage questionable balance-sheet “window dressing.”

Accounting Today’s Growth and Profitability Summit is taking place November 17-18, 2010 at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon is calling for the Financial Accounting Foundation to set up a separate standards board for private company accounting.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the October 11, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent the Financial Accounting Standards Board a letter criticizing FASB’s proposal to account for nearly all financial instruments at fair value.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the October 11, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has told the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board that FASB’s proposed rules for financial instruments accounting would make financial statements harder to understand and complicate the convergence process.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have completed the first phase of a joint project to develop an improved conceptual framework for future accounting standards.

EQUIPMENT FINANCE GROUP BALKS AT LEASING PROPOSAL

The most powerful nations in the world share a commitment to finding a common financial language and reporting standards that will encourage cross-border investment and drive healthy competition between international companies.

NEW GAAP TAXONOMY DEBUTS

Tradition has dictated that for us, August is a slow news month.

With a slate of exposure drafts awaiting comment and a June 2011 deadline for major projects on convergence between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board nevertheless has little choice but to navigate that imposing agenda without its long-time chairman and with some empty seats on its board.

In mid-August 2010, the American Institute of CPAs released a video interview with Sir David Tweedie, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (available on the Journal of Accountancy Web Site, www.journalofaccountancy.com). The content of the interview was also summarized by the British Web site AccountancyAge (www.accountancyage.com).

All clients are looking for lower fees and cost-cutting measures from their CPAs. That's a no-brainer. But do nonprofit organizations have higher expectations around what support and resources they receive from their most trusted advisors?

SourceMedia, Accounting Today’s publisher and a media company serving the financial services industry, has launched a professional education and training business to provide digital training to professionals and companies.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the Sept. 27-Oct. 10, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.