Audit & Accounting

Senators Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Chuck Grassley, R-Ia., have re-introduced legislation to make disciplinary proceedings of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board public in order to expose auditing deficiencies at firms or the companies they audit in a timely way and help curb violations.

The recent IFAC Global SMP Survey from the International Federation of Accountants showed that attracting new clients is a top concern for accountants in small and medium practices, with 58 percent of respondents rating it as a high or very high challenge.

Chief audit executives in the power and utility industry rank cyber security as the highest risk and biggest concern for their industry, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has voted to begin research on improving the disclosures by state and local governments about going concern and debt.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed accounting standards update to improve the information provided in not-for-profit financial statements and notes to financial statements that could have major implications for nonprofit organizations.

Cloud 101

While the number of financial restatements has leveled off in recent years, there was an increase in restatements by large public companies known as accelerated filers for the fourth consecutive year.

The financial information company Sageworks has introduced two new modules for its Analytical Procedures software that will help accounting firms automate audit work for government entities and financial institutions.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has agreed to pay $65 million to settle claims over its audits of the failed investment company MF Global.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board released two accounting standards updates last week, one of which covers the fees paid for cloud computing while the other applies to defined benefit obligations and plan assets.