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The Securities and Exchange Commission has published its long-delayed roadmap for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading charges stemming from his sale of 600,000 shares of the search engine Mamma.com.

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"There have been nine pieces of tax legislation passed this year," he noted. "The primary responsibility for accountants is to adequately and accurately reflect things that happen to the taxpayer in a way that gives the taxpayer the greatest benefit allowed by the legal system. Tax planning helps the preparer to meet this responsibility."

The American Institute of CPAs is mulling the idea of internationalizing the CPA designation.During its recent Fall Meeting of Council and Members, held here, Leslie Murphy, co-chair of the AICPA/National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Joint Committee on the International Administration of the CPA Examination, and Arleen Thomas, senior vice president of member competency and development at the AICPA, presented a proposal asking Council members to consider offering the U.S. CPA Exam to international markets and issuing a non-audit CPA designation for use outside the U.S.

When members of the American Institute of CPAs Information Technology Executive Committee want to share information with each other, they've got an easy way to do it - through a Web-based SharePoint portal.The portal, which lives on an AICPA server, allows members to go online, click on a URL, log in and have access to any files or informational updates placed there.

PCAOB PROPOSES STANDARDS FOR AUDIT RISKWashington, D.C. - The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to propose seven new auditing standards related to risk assessment.

Many years ago, I was interviewing an executive from PepsiCo who regaled me with tales of his decades-long battle for market share with rival Coca-Cola. He told me that the soft-drink giants became so fixated on winning the "Cola Wars" that when they performed subsequent consumer studies at retail outlets such as supermarkets, to their amazement and marketing horror, they found that shelf space was now dominated not by either Coke or Pepsi, but by legions of bottled water brands.I'm sure we've all heard or read about similar stories of companies being caught unaware as a result of being singularly fixated on a single competitor or trend. How about an entire profession?

If you want a way to better serve your clients, to provide additional services and to lower your practice risk all at the same time, then read on.Recently, I attended a workshop in which Ron Klein, an attorney and vice president of claims for Camico Mutual Insurance Co., talked about jury verdicts against CPA firms. He said that many juries disregard the disclaimer that CPAs place in their engagement letters regarding fraud, and that, by and large, juries think the CPA should know about all fraud involving a client for which the CPA is preparing a reviewed or compiled statement.

Bankers and mortgage brokers may be facing slimmer pay packages, but accountants can expect something of a boost next year, according to a recent report on salaries.The 2009 Salary Guide from staffing company Ajilon Finance anticipates pay hikes for accounting and financial professionals both in public practice and industry. "We are definitely not seeing any decline in salaries" in either public accounting or industry, said Kathy Gans, a senior vice president at Ajilon Finance, which compiled the report from input from its staff across the country. "There's still a high demand at all levels. There's still so much regulation work. We're still seeing demand for testing for SOX, a lot of ERP system conversions, and even though we're not seeing it yet, we're anticipating a lot of demand for XBRL and IFRS."