Accounting standards

The International Accounting Standards Board has decided to re-expose the latest version of its ongoing project aimed at revising the accounting standards for insurance contracts and is seeking feedback.

The Financial Accounting Foundation’s board of trustees appointed former NASBA chairman Billy Atkinson as chairman of the new Private Company Council, and named the other members of the new council, which will be able to recommend and vote on changes to accounting standards for privately held companies.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission has released an exposure draft of its Internal Control over External Financial Reporting: Compendium of Approaches and Examples.

As we acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we are once again in a period of re-examination of the role, relevance and reliability of financial audits in protecting investors and the public interest. This seems to be, in part, a reaction to the financial crisis of the past few years.

Highlights of the previous month in audit and attest

First round of Dodd-Frank-mandated inspections suggests deficiences may be widespread

The American Institute of CPAs has extended the deadline for comments on the significant changes it is proposing to professional standards.

An ethics standard-setter for the accounting profession is suggesting changes in how accountants should respond when they suspect illegal acts are being committed by a client or employer.

On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission leveled charges and an emergency asset freeze on the perpetrators of an alleged $600 million Ponzi scheme that was on the verge of collapse.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on Wednesday adopted Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees, which establishes requirements that enhance the relevance and timeliness of communications between the auditor and audit committee, in addition to amendments to other PCAOB standards.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board has drafted a proposed revision of its standards for the professional development of audit engagement partners.

An independent study of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board commissioned by its parent organization finds opinions divided on what GASB’s responsibilities should include as a standard-setter for state and local government accounting.

Odds have now turned against those hoping that the health care law passed in 2010 will "just go away."

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a staff paper with recommendations on which criteria and circumstances should be used to determine when it is appropriate to adjust U.S. GAAP reporting requirements for private companies.

Critics of fair value accounting have indicted it as being the cause, or at least having exacerbated, the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.

The Financial Accounting Foundation is seeking people who would like to participate in a post-implementation review survey of how well its business combinations standard has worked.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board has released a proposed revision of its professional development standard for educating accountants in values, ethics and attitudes.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an accounting standards update intended to simplify the testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets, such as trademarks, licenses and distribution rights, for impairment.

The International Accounting Standards Board said Thursday that its staff will develop guidance to help “micro-sized entities” apply International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities.

Less than half of senior insurance executives from companies around the world believe the U.S. should abandon U.S. GAAP standards in favor of International Financial Reporting Standards, according to a new survey.