Audit & Accounting

Wayne Carnall, chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance, has been seeing so many hits on the SEC’s website lately that he’s comparing the agency to pop sensation Lady Gaga.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has told the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board that FASB’s proposed rules for financial instruments accounting would make financial statements harder to understand and complicate the convergence process.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have completed the first phase of a joint project to develop an improved conceptual framework for future accounting standards.

EQUIPMENT FINANCE GROUP BALKS AT LEASING PROPOSAL

The most powerful nations in the world share a commitment to finding a common financial language and reporting standards that will encourage cross-border investment and drive healthy competition between international companies.

NEW GAAP TAXONOMY DEBUTS

Tradition has dictated that for us, August is a slow news month.

With a slate of exposure drafts awaiting comment and a June 2011 deadline for major projects on convergence between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board nevertheless has little choice but to navigate that imposing agenda without its long-time chairman and with some empty seats on its board.

In mid-August 2010, the American Institute of CPAs released a video interview with Sir David Tweedie, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (available on the Journal of Accountancy Web Site, www.journalofaccountancy.com). The content of the interview was also summarized by the British Web site AccountancyAge (www.accountancyage.com).

All clients are looking for lower fees and cost-cutting measures from their CPAs. That's a no-brainer. But do nonprofit organizations have higher expectations around what support and resources they receive from their most trusted advisors?