Audit & Accounting

The Private Company Council that the Financial Accounting Foundation created three years ago appears to be fulfilling its mission of providing relief for privately held companies from onerous accounting requirements, but some groups are worried that it will lose its powers and independence.

H&R Block is looking for accountants, bookkeepers and salespeople to join its recently launched Block Small Business service.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland, also known as CPA Ireland, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Association of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Belarus, further extending the Institute’s international network and influence in Europe.

Toshiba Corp. lost $2.8 billion in market value after the industrial and electronics group withdrew its earnings forecast pending an internal probe into improper accounting on infrastructure projects.

The International Federation of Accountants has released a new thought paper offering advice on risk management.

Securities and Exchange Commission chief accountant James Schnurr is rethinking a proposal he made last December that the SEC allow U.S. companies the option of providing some information, such as revenues, using International Financial Reporting Standards as a supplement to U.S. GAAP without requiring reconciliation.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a communication to audit committees known as an Audit Committee Dialogue, promising it will be the first in a series to provide insights from inspections of public company auditors that may be helpful to audit committee members in their oversight of auditors.

A new study questions the wisdom of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s initiative to simplify accounting standards for private companies.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has re-exposed a proposed standard to guide auditors, other professional accountants in public practice, and professional accountants in business to help them decide how best to act in the public interest when they come across an act or suspected act of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To many, “sustainability accounting” sounds like an oxymoron.