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AICPA REVISES PEER REVIEWThe American Institute of CPAs has issued revised standards for performing and reporting on peer reviews, along with interpretations of those standards.

We’re not sure if we’re having another epiphany, or merely looking at the world a little bit differently, but we have some thoughts on an area of accounting practice and theory that we’d like to share with you.Specifically, we’re looking deeper at the worthiness of comparability as a goal for financial reporting information. As we described in a recent column questioning the wisdom of merging all standard-setting authority in one body, it has been traditionally assumed that useful information helps users compare competing investment opportunities. Think of this notion of comparability as Company A and Company B balanced on a seesaw, suggesting that the investor’s decision is between buying one company’s stock or the other’s.

IRS TO CRACK DOWN ON POLITICKING BY CHARITIES

In recent months, captives have come to the forefront of the insurance industry.As a result, there has been increased interest in what they are, the benefits that they provide, and if they are a viable option for companies.

AICPA Finds Economic Worries Delay Life DecisionsApproximately four out of 10 American adults are postponing making major life decisions either because they haven’t saved enough money or they’re worried about the U.S. economy, according to a recent poll conducted for the American Institute of CPAs by Harris Interactive. Decisions involving home ownership, higher education, marriage, children, medical procedures and retirement are among those that Americans are fretting over. Eleven percent more adults are postponing such decisions compared to a year ago.

The Supreme Court has issued unanimous rulings in two tax cases, MeadWestvaco Corp. v. Illinois Department of Revenue and U.S. v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co.In the MeadWestvaco case, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the decision of the Illinois Appellate Court, which had allowed Illinois to tax a capital gain realized by Mead, an Ohio-based subsidiary of MeadWestvaco, when Mead sold its LexisNexis business division. Mead paid the tax and later sued in state court.

Out in a cornfield, roughly 50 miles from Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, is a company you just may want to keep your eye on.TIW Technology, or Technology for the Industrial Workplace, is aptly named for its roots in manufacturing, and the story of how it forayed into the accounting software space and created Alere Business Applications reflects the company’s mission to create products in response to customer needs.

IASC FOUNDATION PUBLISHES IFRS XBRL TAXONOMYThe International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation’s XBRL Team has released the near-final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008, translating International Financial Reporting Standards into Extensible Business Reporting Language.

What happened during the early 1900s within the power industry presents an excellent lesson for firms today about the adoption of emerging technologies. It also reveals how existing IT strategies may be inefficient, expensive and difficult to leverage into the future.As a firm leader, you don’t have to know how to build the watch, but you should at least know how to tell time. Timing is critical when considering any trend, and each always has its early adopters, late adopters and resisters. The Gartner Group refers to this as the “hype cycle,” with five distinct steps:

"I’m a great leader! Things get done because I delegate effectively.” These words are powerful statements from productive executives. Have you said them recently?Are they true?