Audit

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.

H&R Block is looking for accountants, bookkeepers and salespeople to join its recently launched Block Small Business service.

Toshiba Corp. lost $2.8 billion in market value after the industrial and electronics group withdrew its earnings forecast pending an internal probe into improper accounting on infrastructure projects.

The International Federation of Accountants has released a new thought paper offering advice on risk management.

Securities and Exchange Commission chief accountant James Schnurr is rethinking a proposal he made last December that the SEC allow U.S. companies the option of providing some information, such as revenues, using International Financial Reporting Standards as a supplement to U.S. GAAP without requiring reconciliation.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a communication to audit committees known as an Audit Committee Dialogue, promising it will be the first in a series to provide insights from inspections of public company auditors that may be helpful to audit committee members in their oversight of auditors.

A new study questions the wisdom of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s initiative to simplify accounting standards for private companies.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has re-exposed a proposed standard to guide auditors, other professional accountants in public practice, and professional accountants in business to help them decide how best to act in the public interest when they come across an act or suspected act of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To many, “sustainability accounting” sounds like an oxymoron.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which polices public companies’ financial reports, lacks internal controls over its own accounting, a government watchdog said Thursday.

Thomson Reuters has introduced PPC’s Guide to SSARS Preparation Engagements to explain the new financial statement preparation service introduced by the American Institute of CPAs’ Accounting and Review Services Committee.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ latest Trendsetter Barometer—a quarterly survey of top executive officers at privately held U.S. businesses—has something positive in it for everyone, according to Ken Esch, the PwC Private Company Services partner who conducted the survey.

Check out the digital edition of the May 2015 issue of Accounting Today.