Lawmakers who are part of a group of current and former CPAs and accountants in Congress are expressing concern about the possibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission allowing U.S. companies a choice of using either U.S. GAAP or International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to finalize an accounting and financial reporting standard aimed at increasing transparency and consistency of financial reporting about consolidation.

Wholesale adoption in the U.S. of International Financial Reporting Standards seems unlikely to occur in the near future as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board continue to move away from full convergence of their standards, according to a Fitch Ratings report.

The International Federation of Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy have developed a new International Framework for Good Governance in the Public Sector to encourage more effective public sector governance.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Auditing Standards Board has issued two new auditing interpretations in response to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s new pension reporting standards.

A new academic study finds that fair value accounting was unfairly blamed for precipitating the 2008-2009 financial crisis, but acknowledges that some investors reacted positively to news that the rules would be relaxed in response to the crisis.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are taking different approaches to setting standards for rate-regulated utilities, and a FASB board member sees little prospect for an agreement.