Audit & Accounting

IMGCAP(1)]While Congress and accountants continue to fight the Sarbanes-Oxley 404 requirements for small filers on what seems like an annual basis, those in the private sector continue to deploy SOX-related policies and procedures as best practices. This trend will continue as the cost of compliance becomes more efficient.

A “blue ribbon panel” looking to improve the accounting standards for private companies wants to find out why so many are not strictly complying with GAAP.

The American Institute of CPAs is encouraging more CPA firms and college professors to teach forensic accountants the skills they need to ferret out financial chicanery.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a document advising auditors to beware of unusual transactions that could be signs of fraud.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board plan to reconsider the standards for the types of repurchase transactions that Lehman Brothers used to shift $50 billion temporarily off its balance sheet before issuing its quarterly financial statements.

The International Accounting Standards Board has published the results of an international research project on how to account for extractive activities in the oil, gas, and mineral industries.

Grant Thornton has released the fifth edition of its Audit Committee Handbook, with new chapters on audit planning and oversight, fraud risk and broader international coverage.

The International Federation of Accountants has released two downloadable handbooks containing its 2010 code of ethics for professional accountants and pronouncements on auditing, review and other assurance services.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed an auditing standard on “Communications with Audit Committees,” and a series of related amendments to interim standards.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has released a draft plan setting out a proposed strategy for the next three years on ways for accountants to deal with conflicts of interest, suspected fraud and other issues.