Financial reporting

Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges in connection with a gigantic Ponzi scheme that swindled his clients out of up to $65 billion.

Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz was pressed to make changes in mark-to-market accounting standards in as soon as three weeks during a contentious congressional hearing.

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the U.S. looks to be increasingly in doubt.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has tapped a CPA, Charles L. Harrison, to lead the state’s “implementation” of the stimulus funding it receives.

Accounting firm BDO Seidman anticipates that shareholder meetings this year will be dominated by concerns about excessive executive compensation, recession plans and credit concerns.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that accounting standards need to be modified to deal better with valuing illiquid assets.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants wants world leaders who attend the G20 summit next month to endorse International Financial Reporting Standards, and to leave fair value accounting alone.

Multiple generations are handling the economic crisis in very different ways.

So, do you get the feeling that American seniors will be living longer but on less money? Well, according to a new study from the Senior Economic Security Index, a new research project developed by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University and Demos, a national public policy and research organization, some three out of four senior households lack the economic security needed to sustain them through their lives. The study points out that older Americans have experienced huge, negative financial shifts that now make it more difficult to enter retirement with sustainable economic security. In fact, 87 percent of all senior households are financially vulnerable when it comes to their ability to meet essential expenses and to cover projected costs over their lifetimes. It also notes that single households, African-American households, and Latino households are the most likely groups of seniors to be financially vulnerable. Particular areas of vulnerability include: *45 percent of seniors households spend nearly a third of their income on housing while 31 percent either rent or have no home equity to draw on in tough times *40 percent of senior households spend more than 15 percent of their income on healthcare *One in three senior households has no money whatsoever left over after meeting essential expenses *More than half of senior households (some 54 percent) do not have sufficient financial resources to meet median projected expenses based on their current financial net worth, projected Social Security, and pension incomes. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Tatjana Meschede, lead author of Living Longer on Less: The New Economic (In)Security of Seniors, says that “Even in their current precarious state, it is important to note that today’s seniors are better prepared for retirement than subsequent generations will be. They have benefited from pensions, jobs with significant retirement benefits, and a stronger social safety net than subsequent generations will enjoy.” But, left unchanged, the report points out that the current decline in employer-based retirement savings, the weakening of Social Security and Medicare, and rising debt experienced by younger Americans will add up to even greater vulnerability as they retire, “Younger generations who face historically low savings rates, declining assets, and an unsure future for their retirement accounts and Social Security itself, must urge our policy leaders to take action to strengthen the security of today’s seniors and to ensure their own,” says Jennifer Wheary, a co-author of Living Longer on Less. For more information and to download the report, go to iasp.brandeis.edu and demos.org.

The internal audit function has become crucial to helping companies cope with the economic crisis and complex regulatory requirements, according to a new guidebook.

Two members of the House Financial Services Committee have introduced a bill that would establish a new Federal Accounting Oversight Board and probably loosen mark-to-market accounting standards.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers that he was open to finding other ways to close the budget deficit besides limiting tax deductions for charitable contributions and mortgage interest for high-income taxpayers.

The American College has introduced a video-on-demand Web site that will provide information for financial planners on wealth management and related topics.

One third of public companies did not satisfy the minimum requirements of disclosure of their tax reserves last year as required by new rules put in place by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The Obama administration’s stimulus bill and budget proposal are going to require the outlay of not only trillions of dollars, but the hiring of a lot more accountants to keep track of all that money.

Private sector employment decreased by nearly 700,000 in February, according to the latest report from payroll giant ADP.

The economic crisis is choking off cash flow at many companies, but invoicing problems are hurting cash flow too, according to a new study.

American International Group, which is receiving between $152 billion and $163 billion so far in taxpayer bailout funds, has sued the federal government to recover over $306 million for 1997 taxes, penalties and interest that the insurance company claims it was illegally charged.

About 86 percent of CFOs report a desire to maintain their current staff levels in the next three months, but 2 percent predict decreases in accounting and finance personnel in the second quarter, according to a survey by staffing services company Robert Half International.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner explained the Obama administration’s budget and tax plans, and his handling of the financial industry bailout, to wary lawmakers in a congressional hearing.