Audit & Accounting

Earlier this year, I was asked to participate in a sort of town-hall-style forum to discuss a number of profession-centric issues. The session was slotted for one hour and, as is my custom, I hoped to make enough cogent points to not only fill the time slot, but also to keep the attendees interested (read: awake) and in their seats, and not just hanging around long enough to earn CPE - but we hardly had enough time to cover the critical events that surfaced in 2009 and will remain there to greet the profession in 2010.

Japan’s Financial Services Authority has decided to permit voluntary domestic use of International Financial Reporting Standards, putting added pressure on the U.S. to follow suit.

The employment outlook in accounting and finance is expected to stabilize in the first quarter, according to a new survey of CFOs, although the hiring environment remains challenging for now.

The American Institute of CPAs joined with over a dozen other accounting organizations around the world to call for a single standard for climate change reporting.

James Leisenring, a member of the International Accounting Standards Board, told attendees at an accounting conference in New York to disregard the board’s recently issued standard for recognizing and measuring financial instruments, acknowledging that political pressures had forced the board to publish the standard.

The CFA Institute expressed its support for Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz’s statements on the need to “decouple” accounting standard-setting from bank regulation.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is facing an uncertain future after several justices on the high court appeared to side with the accounting firm and conservative group that hope to prove the board is unconstitutional.

FASB Chairman Robert Herz and AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee Chairman Jay Hanson separately acknowledged that many assets and financial instruments do not need to be measured at fair value on the balance sheet.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant James L. Kroeker told leaders of the accounting profession that independent auditors will be expected to consider the interests of the “investing public” — not just their audit clients — when performing their duties.

Audit committee members are more likely to support the auditor over management in an accounting disagreement when the compensation of members of the board audit committee includes long-term stock options, according to a new study.