In its first exercise of a new due process policy, the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Emerging Issues Task Force has issued three exposure drafts of proposed consensuses. The documents deal with accounting for contingently convertible, or CoCo, financial instruments, sabbaticals, and taxes.In the past, the task force has issued exposure drafts only when an issue seemed controversial or significant enough to warrant public comment. Under the new due process, all task force abstracts will be exposed for comment before being submitted to the board for final ratification.

IVAX RETAINS PWC: Ivax Diagnostics Inc., a Miami-based manufacturer and marketer of scientific instruments, medical diagnostic and autoimmune kits, has retained Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as its independent accountant.PwC succeeds Ernst & Young as Ivax's auditor.

After months of lobbying from businesses, it's beginning to appear that there's been some progress made in getting the Securities and Exchange Commission to reconsider parts of a proposal requiring companies to disclose the earnings of executives.

President Bush has nominated the chairman and chief executive of investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, Henry M. Paulson Jr., as Treasury Secretary.

I couldn't believe the number of American Idol votes. The voters couldn't have been just those in their teens and twenties. Perhaps it isn't a coincidence that the votes were being cast as I was flying back from attending the AICPA Spring Council meeting in Salt Lake City.

Public companies working on national defense or national security issues can now get an exemption from the reporting requirements governed by the Securities and Exchange Commission from the director of national intelligence.

On the heels of yet another in-depth report, this one delivered by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the top executive at home mortgage behemoth Fannie Mae said that his is a changed company.