Audit

The U.S. Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has released a study criticizing the quality of employee benefit plan audits performed by CPAs, finding that serious deficiencies in 39 percent of the audits are putting the benefit plans and 22.5 million participants and beneficiaries at risk.

The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed a set of enhancements to the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a proposed accounting standards update to simplify the accounting for measurement-period adjustments in business combinations.

The Center for Audit Quality has premiered an online video series, “Profession in Focus," featuring interviews with leaders in the profession, starting with Deloitte’s new CEO, Cathy Engelbert.

We can see a bigger picture and look further out into the future than those of you who fight your daily battles down in the trenches.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Deutsche Bank AG with filing misstated financial reports during the height of the financial crisis that failed to take into account a material risk for potential losses estimated to be in the billions of dollars, and Deutsche Bank agreed to pay a $55 million penalty to settle the charges.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has released nine new and updated practice advisories that provide guidance to internal auditors and chief audit executives on sustaining a comprehensive quality assurance and improvement program.

BDO grabbed the most new SEC audit clients among large firms in the first quarter of 2015, while RBSM led in overall gains.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released an accounting standards update that makes targeted improvements in the disclosure requirements for insurance companies that issue short-duration contracts of typically one year or less.

A post-implementation review of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s standard addressing ownership interests within a company’s subsidiary found that the 2007 standard has achieved its purpose and provides useful information to users of financial statements, although there is some room for improvement.

Baruch College in New York brought together the former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, Bob Herz, and the former chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, Sir David Tweedie, last month to discuss the evolution of accounting standards and the convergence process.

New York University Stern School of Business has announced a new one-year, full-time Master of Science in Accounting that will begin accepting qualified college graduates to start in the fall semester 2016. This program will satisfy the 150-credit-hour education requirement needed as a prerequisite for New York State’s CPA certification.

The American Institute of CPAs’ governing council approved a resolution authorizing the development of two new credentials for fair value measurement at the AICPA’s Spring Meeting of Council in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon told AICPA members at the Spring Meeting of Council in Washington, D.C., on Monday about the Institute’s efforts to improve audit quality and the peer review process.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has released its 2014 annual report, which focuses on its recently released strategic plan.

Toshiba Corp. named two lawyers and two certified public accountants to a third-party committee that is expanding an investigation started by an internal probe last month over accounting practices.

The International Federation of Accountants has submitted a response to the European Commission regarding a recent green paper on building a stronger capital markets union.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Wesley R. Bricker as deputy chief accountant overseeing the accounting group in the agency’s Office of the Chief Accountant, replacing Dan Murdock, who is leaving the SEC for a job in the private sector.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a proposed accounting standards update to clarify the guidance on performance obligations and licensing contained in the new revenue recognition standard.

The Private Company Council that the Financial Accounting Foundation created three years ago appears to be fulfilling its mission of providing relief for privately held companies from onerous accounting requirements, but some groups are worried that it will lose its powers and independence.