Audit & Accounting

Today’s audit committees expect more from their chief audit executives than ever before, and financial and business acumen are no longer sufficient, according to a new report.

In the decade I've been at the helm of this publication, I'm always amazed - and disappointed - at the sort of double standard that exists when it comes to the treatment of the accounting profession versus other services in the wake of a crisis.

Congress held a hearing Wednesday on the role of the accounting profession in preventing another financial crisis, listening to testimony from accounting regulators, standard-setters and critics.

Check out the digital edition of the April 2011 issue of Accounting Today.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has struck a cooperative agreement with Swiss regulators that will allow the U.S. and Switzerland to establish a cooperative framework for supervisory oversight of auditors that practice in each country.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has revised its accounting standards to provide greater consistency in the treatment of various types of debt restructuring.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has sanctioned five India-based affiliates of PricewaterhouseCoopers that formerly served as independent auditors of Satyam Computer Services Limited for repeatedly conducting deficient audits of the company’s financial statements and enabling a massive accounting fraud to go undetected for several years.

Baseball aficionados know the frustration of their favorite teams promising "wait until next year," at the tail end of yet another season that even the best PR spin could only be described as "rebuilding."

On Dec. 6, 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro spoke to several thousand assembled accountants at the annual SEC/Public Company Accounting Oversight Board/American Institute of CPAs conference in Washington, D.C. By tradition, the chair's annual remarks are usually not very newsworthy because they mainly assure the profession that the chair understands that accountants and accounting issues are important to securities regulation.

The American Institute of CPAs has introduced a new course of study leading to a Certificate of Educational Achievement in International Financial Reporting Standards, demonstrating IFRS competency to employers, firms and clients.