Financial reporting

The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed changes in the standards for presenting items under other comprehensive income.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an eagerly anticipated exposure draft of a proposed accounting standards update for financial instruments, a major sticking point in FASB’s efforts to converge U.S. GAAP with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Barry Melancon has been president and CEO of the American Institute of CPAs since 1995. Under his leadership, the AICPA has spearheaded a number of initiatives to benefit the profession and the general public, including private company reporting standards and 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy. He is a member of the AICPA’s delegation to the International Federation of Accountants, chairman of XBRL-US, vice chairman of the Center for Audit Quality, and a founding board member of the Global Accounting Alliance. He serves on the board of the U. S. Chamber Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness.

Thirty-seven percent of U.S. CFOs and senior controllers believe that a balance sheet should display both the fair value (exit value) and amortized cost of assets, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton, consistent with a forthcoming proposal from the Financial Accounting Standards Board regarding the presentation of financial instruments.

In an effort to draw a wider population of qualified people into the accounting profession, members of the American Institute of CPAs’ governing council unanimously approved revisions to expand its membership categories.

Members of the American Institute of CPAs heard an update from the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Panel, the task force charged with addressing how GAAP accounting standards can best meet the needs of users of private company financial statements, at the AICPA’s Spring Council meeting.

Redefining the landscape is the mantra here at the American Institute of CPA’s Spring Council and president and chief executive Barry Melancon hit that message home during his report to members on Monday.

IMGCAP(1)]Let’s be honest. Between the thousands of quality audits done every day by diligent CPAs and the headline-grabbing debacles like Madoff and Enron, which do you think sticks out more in the public’s mind? We all know the answer to this.

The American Institute of CPA is teaming up with the Society for Human Resource Management to create a national award that recognizes employers who offer financial education programs for their staff.

A professor of accounting at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College is the 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the AICPA.

The American Institute of CPAs recognized Birmingham-based Barfield, Murphy, Shank & Smith with a public service award during its 2010 Spring Council on Sunday.

IFAC TO BEEF UP ACCOUNTING EDUCATION STANDARDS

UBS AND E&Y SETTLE HEALTHSOUTH LAWSUIT

We begin by repeating this Feb. 24, 2010, quote from the American Institute of CPAs' Barry Melancon: "Our increasingly global economy makes it clear that the U.S. should move toward a single set of high-quality, globally accepted accounting standards for public companies."

More than a decade ago, my wife and I lugged ourthen-small offspring for a number of weekends one summer on car-shoppingexcursions.

Trust in financial institutions has been severely eroded by the financial crisis, but a new survey has found that the majority of Americans find statements by spokespeople from accounting firms believable.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the May 24, 2010, issue of Accounting Today by clicking here.

The American Institute of CPAs took the wraps off its redesigned Web site, AICPA.org, with new multimedia and social networking features.

FASB, IASB ISSUE PROGRESS REPORT ON CONVERGENCE

New York - A blue ribbon panel lookingto improve the accounting standards for private companies wants to find out why so many are not strictly complying with GAAP.