Accounting

Accounting News & Professional Insight

Accounting Today delivers news, rankings, thought leadership, and analysis for accounting professionals so they can navigate change in standards, firm strategy, technology adoption, talent, and the overall business environment.

Accounting professionals are facing rapid transformation, including shifting professional standards, demographic change, technology disruption, practice consolidation, and changing expectations for advisory services. Our coverage surfaces these strategic dynamics and provides insights and analysis for firms, leaders, and the accounting profession.

  • XBRL US plans to soon publish an upgraded version of the Extensible Business Reporting Language interactive data tags for U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and is making the latest draft available for public review.

    December 1
  • The American Bankers Association has written to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson calling on regulators to make several immediate reforms to mark-to-market and fair value accounting rules before banks have to file their year-end financial statements.

    December 1
  • Companies in the U.S. and Europe generally favor the move to International Financial Reporting Standards, but European companies are much more skeptical about the process.

    December 1
  • The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has approved a $157.6 million budget for calendar year 2009, a $13 million increase from the $144.6 million it approved for 2008.

    November 26
  • Companies that are the subjects of Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement actions for financial fraud are more than twice as likely to go bankrupt as those that are not, according a study by Deloitte Forensic Center.

    November 25
  • For those who couldn’t find the proposed roadmap released by the SEC when they went to the Commission’s site last week, don’t blame yourself. You need an actual roadmap to find it.

    November 25
  • In the last of a series of roundtable discussions of mark-to-market accounting before issuing a congressionally mandated study, a panel of accounting experts told the Securities and Exchange Commission about the challenges of valuing assets in a rapidly sinking market.

    November 24
Resources
The latest Accounting Today research and discussion:




Accounting: Key Questions & Analysis

What are the key trends and strategies emerging from accounting industry leaders?

Top leaders are focused on structural challenges facing firms, including succession planning, evolving service mix, and long-term sustainability of traditional models.

How are accounting firms positioning themselves for the profession’s next phase?

Firm leaders are redefining and evaluating their strategy for growth. This includes investing in people and systems as well as rethinking how firms deliver value to address changing client needs and competition.

What role does professional identity play as accounting continues to change?

Debate continues over how accounting defines itself. This is due to accounting expanding into advisory, consulting, and technology-enabled services. These changes can raise questions about standards, training, and long-term credibility.

How are accounting firms managing leadership and succession risk?

Demographic shifts are accelerating in accounting. This means more firms are confronting leadership transitions and ownership succession which can create critical strategic risks that influence growth, culture, and valuation.