Audit

Asia’s largest commodity trader Noble Group Ltd. took on its critics with an open letter defending its accounting methods and valuations of a coal asset.

Companies that plan to sell or spin off part of their business should be aware of some recent changes in accounting standards for “discontinued operations” that are taking effect this year.

Top 100 firm WithumSmith+Brown’s partner, Edward Mendlowitz, came up with the idea to highlight accountants on trading cards, just like the ones you swapped out and played with as a kid when baseball cards were a thing. They teamed up with The Topps Company, Inc. to create a series of accounting trading cards commemorating accountants from the past.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has upgraded its EDGAR online system for financial filings and will no longer support an older version of the U.S. GAAP financial reporting taxonomy.

Investors and regulators are hoping to see the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board somehow reconcile their differing approaches to accounting for loan impairments and credit losses in their financial instruments project.

I’ve worked to identify vendor risk and help companies prevent fraud as a certified fraud examiner for almost 10 years, and it’s given me a unique perspective on how fraud is perpetrated. The fact is, it’s easier for someone to “turn to the dark side” and decide to commit corporate fraud than you may think. Here’s what they could do.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is proposing new recognition and measurement guidance for governments that benefit from irrevocable split-interest agreements.

The Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at advancing internal auditing and accounting practices globally.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued two proposed accounting standards updates with the goal of simplifying employee share-based payment accounting and the equity method of accounting for investments.

Lixil Group, the Japanese company that owns the American Standard brand of toilets, sinks and other bathroom fixtures, is seeing its profits go down the drain after the company reported accounting problems last week.

James Schnurr, chief accountant in charge of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant, said he disagrees with a former SEC chairman about abandoning convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Costs associated with the finance and accounting function are increasing for many companies as the talent shortage intensifies, according to a new report.

Pope Francis has appointed Libero Milone, the former chairman and CEO of Deloitte & Touche Italy, as the first auditor general of the Vatican, where he is expected to oversee a clean-up of the scandal-scarred Vatican Bank.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against the government technology contractor Computer Sciences Corporation, its former CEO and several finance executives, accusing them of manipulating financial results and concealing significant problems about the company’s largest and most high-profile contract, as well as ignoring basic accounting standards to increase reported profits.

U.S. state and local governments will have to report billions of dollars in health-care liabilities on their balance sheets under an accounting change aimed at improving disclosure of retiree benefits.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has voted unanimously to approve two new standards that it believes will significantly improve the accounting and financial reporting by state and local governments for postemployment benefits other than pensions, primarily retiree health insurance.

The digital edition of the June 2015 issue of Accounting Today is now available.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a paper examining potential changes to standards involving the use of specialists by auditing firms and is looking for public comments.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice asking for comments on the effect of the new revenue recognition standards on taxpayers’ methods of tax accounting.

The accountant who signed off on phony audits of Bernard Madoff’s firm for decades became the fourth person tied to the $17.5 billion fraud to avoid prison after aiding prosecutors.