Financial reporting

Washington, D.C. - A group of Democratic senators has written to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the SEC to require more complete and accurate corporate accounting disclosures, especially of off-balance-sheet transactions.

It's the beginning of the school year and we're seeking relief from a deadline by reprising a column that appeared in November 2008. Back then, we provided this conceptual primer to show that market value reporting could not be legitimately blamed for the credit crisis, and that it actually offers major advantages over the existing reporting model that enabled the credit crisis to go undetected for so long and to be so serious when ultimately revealed.

We asked candidates for our Top 100 Most InfluentialPeople in Accounting the following question:

A pair of former executives standing trial for embezzling from the Russian oil company Yukos are claiming that PricewaterhouseCoopers withdrew its certified audits under pressure from the Kremlin.

The International Federation of Accountants’ Professional Accountants in Business Committee has released a paper highlighting how employer expectations of professional accountants in business are expected to change in light of global trends and evolving organization needs.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed set of standards that aim to shed more light on the financial reports of organizations that participate in multi-employer pension plans and other post-retirement benefit plans.

The Financial Accounting Foundation and the Securities Exchange Commission have released a proposed 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy that public companies will be expected to use when filing their financial reports with the SEC.

The Texas Society of CPAs pointed to what it sees as several problems in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s proposed standards for financial instruments in a stinging letter addressed to the board.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the Financial Accounting Standards Board requesting a delay in finalizing its proposed standards on disclosing companies’ loss contingencies in the event of litigation until it can work out a “treaty” with the American Bar Association on how accountants and attorneys can share information.

Leslie Seidman has been a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board since July 2003 and is set to become acting chairman of the board on Oct. 1.

Barney Frank once urged Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Bob Herz not to let the FASB become the “Slows-B” when it came to revamping accounting standards in the midst of the financial crisis, and Herz certainly isn’t being slow when it comes to his just-announced retirement.

Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz plans to retire after more than eight years of leading the board, which will now increase in size to seven members.

The leader of a trade association representing the equipment finance sector criticized the new accounting standards for leasing contracts proposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board this week.

Golden Gate University plans to offer a forensic accounting certificate completely online in the fall semester.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has voted to extend the comment period by an additional 30 days for its proposed standards on the disclosure of loss contingencies.

A new study finds that investors are not only skeptical of upbeat financial forecasts from the management at public companies, but they often believe downbeat forecasts are overly optimistic and less credible than positive news about the company’s outlook.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have published their long-awaited joint proposals for overhauling the accounting standards for lease contracts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking the public for feedback on its plans for incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers.

Russell W. Hinton of Atlanta and Peter Hughes of Orange County, Calif., are the 2010 recipients of the American Institute of CPAs’ Outstanding CPA in Government Award.

A group of Democratic senators has written to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the SEC to require more complete and accurate corporate accounting disclosures, especially of off-balance sheet transactions.