Financial reporting

President Barack Obama signed the massive $787 billion stimulus bill into law in an effort to boost the economy out of a deep recession.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a pair of agenda projects aimed at improving the application guidance used to determine fair values and disclosure of fair value estimates.

The Illinois CPA Society is suggesting that couples have a heart-to-heart talk on Valentine’s Day about a topic that’s been making the rounds these days: money.

House and Senate leaders made last-minute adjustments to the economic stimulus package as the final bill headed for a vote.

Canadian consumers are in structurally better financial shape than U.S. consumers. So then, why do Canadians plan more dramatic spending cuts and shifts in behavior this year in response to the recession than do U.S. consumers? "Compared with U.S. consumers, Canadian consumers are entering the downturn with more secure household finances, healthier real-estate fundamentals, and more conservative levels of credit and debt,” says Cliff Grevler, a partner at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which has recently completed research and a new survey. “Despite this structural superiority, Canadians are battening down the hatches and bracing for a tough year ahead. Canadian consumers are planning cutbacks in 2009 to a greater degree than their U.S. counterparts. We anticipate that the result will be a 'cycle of thrift' in Canada, and it will have self-fulfilling effects." The BCG research--the first to compare Canadian, U.S., and European consumers in the current downturn--shows that Canadian consumers have entered the recession in a better structural position than U.S. consumers. It is reported that they have higher savings rates: three percent last year compared with about 1.5 percent among U.S. consumers. Moreover, Canadians have lower debt-to-income ratios and bigger equity stakes in their homes. Of course, the residential real-estate market is healthier in Canada than in the United States. In fact, Canada has a lower mortgage-delinquency rate, sub-prime loans aren't nearly as common, and there is less securitization of mortgages, thereby leading to more rigorous lending standards. Canadians are also more conservative with credit cards, notes the survey. Average credit-card debt per household in Canada is $3,100 compared with $8,200 in the United States. More than 70 percent of Canadian households pay off credit card debt each month, but less than half of U.S. households do. Canadians average two credit cards per household, while U.S. consumers average six. And the credit card delinquency rate in Canada is half of what it is in the United States. Despite their superior financial position, Canadians express great economic concern and voice intentions to shift their behavior more dramatically than U.S. consumers say they will, according to BCG. A greater numbers of Canadians--62 percent--plan to reduce spending over the next year, compared with 58 percent of U.S. consumers and 56 percent of European consumers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. Although the Canadians who plan to cut spending anticipate doing so by 15 percent, the comparable U.S. and European consumers plan to do so by only 13 percent and 12 percent, respectively. "Canadians are more intent on stretching their dollars in 2009 than are their U.S. counterparts," says Grevler. Nearly three-quarters--72 percent--of Canadians said that they will pay more attention to and buy more products that are on promotion. Only 65 percent of U.S. consumers expressed that intention. Incidentally, some 69 percent of Canadians said that they will defer major expenses that can wait, while only 63 percent of U.S. consumers expressed that intention. Furthermore, 58 percent of Canadians said that they will significantly cut spending on nonessential items, compared with only 50 percent of U.S. consumers. The categories that both Canadian and U.S. residents are most likely to focus on for cuts are restaurants and fast food (49 percent), vacation travel (40 percent), consumer electronics (28 percent), home furnishings and décor (27 percent), and cars (20 percent). The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. For more information, please visit www.bcg.com

An international group of accountants, regulators, bankers and business luminaries met to discuss the impact of the financial crisis and the implications for financial reporting.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has chosen John J. Brennan, chairman of mutual fund giant Vanguard Group, as its new chairman and a member of its board of trustees.

If the patch for the alternative minimum tax is going to be one of the hurdles holding up reconciliation of the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bill, let’s get rid of it.

The American Institute of CPAs has opened a free online job finder to help accountants find work during the recession.

The House Financial Services Committee grilled a group of bankers who received money from the financial bailout over how they had been using the money.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that negotiators from the House and Senate have reached an agreement on the stimulus package.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun requiring 500 of the largest companies to start filing their financial statements in an interactive data format.

“Look at the guy on your left,” they told pilot recruits during World War II on their first day of training. “Look at the guy on your right. One of you won’t be here in three months.”

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spelled out plans for how the government will spend trillions of dollars to deal with unfreezing credit and taking troubled assets off the books of financial institutions.

The Senate has approved the economic stimulus bill after three Republican senators agreed to vote for the massive package aimed at reviving the economy.

Retirement doesn’t have to be just about bingo and shuffleboard.

Morningstar has issued a statement that it is considering establishing its own credit-ratings systems in competition with rating agencies such as Moody’s and Fitch, although it has no plans in place.

The Senate plans a crucial procedural vote Monday after a group of moderate senators forged a compromise over the weekend to trim approximately $110 billion from the economic stimulus bill.

Millennials still believe the future is bright. According to a survey of 2,000 people conducted by Pepsi as part of the company's Optimism Project, 94 percent of Gen Yers feel optimistic about the future.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro announced plans to make it easier for SEC staff to bring enforcement actions and indicated that the Financial Accounting Standards Board would further modify fair value accounting standards.