Audit & Accounting

It’s vacation season, and we’re buying some relief from the never-ending stream of deadlines by republishing our all-time favorite tongue-in-cheek column that sheds light on how ludicrous many important features of GAAP are.If financial statements really are scorecards for business, reporting real outcomes, as well as sources of information for predicting the future, it’s essential that they usefully describe what actually happens instead of what someone hoped would happen.

Apple's former general counsel, Nancy Heinen, agreed to pay $2.2 million to settle stock options backdating charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Few people actually know what a credit score represents. For example, less than one-third of Americans understand that credit scores indicate risk of not repaying a loan and not knowledge of, or attitude toward, consumer credit. That is what has come out, among other things, from a new survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and Washington Mutual Bank, the guys you call WaMu. Moreover, the survey reflects the fact that most Americans fail to understand that one’s credit score shows only how they use credit and does not include factors such as income and age. Those that have obtained their scores are generally the most knowledgeable, says the survey. But if you have clients who have low credit scores, what can you advise them about raising such scores? Here are some ways they can do it:

Three-quarters of U.S. CEOs expect to see foreign companies investing more in U.S. businesses over the next year, according to a survey by Grant Thornton.

An Ernst & Young partner has teamed up with a movie studio accountant to produce an online comic book based on the TV series and recent movie Get Smart that provides an overview of tax deductions for the film and TV industry.

Education consultancy Professional Education Services has created an affiliate program for CPAs and certified financial planners to give them access to its college-funding software.

The National Football League is asking for an exception to new Form 990 rules that require tax-exempt organizations to disclose the names and salaries of any executives who earn more than $150,000 per year.

The American Institute of CPAs and Texas Tech University's Division of Personal Financial Planning have teamed up to offer a new educational program for gaining the AICPA's Personal Financial Specialist credential.

The American Institute of CPAs has released "Audit Sampling," a newly updated audit guide containing the latest requirements and practices for auditors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it has resolved its litigation with Sun Communities over the company's accounting practices and will impose a $25,000 penalty on the mobile home community developer's former CFO.