Audit

Ian Mackintosh, vice-chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, described some of the failures of the convergence process with the Financial Accounting Standards Board in a speech Wednesday, insisting that wholesale adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards is preferable to convergence.

Young accountants entering the profession and small firms may both be missing a huge opportunity, according to leading consultant Darren Root.

Registration for CCH's User Conference 2014 is filling up fast; industry studies by BDO and the AICPA are out, office closures and relocations...

The International Accounting Standards Board has released a new document describing some of its most recent tentative decisions from the first half of the year on the standards for lease accounting, including what appears to be an about-face on how leases should be categorized, opening up a new gulf between it and the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The American Institute of CPAs has launched an initiative to improve audit quality at private companies

Hans Hoogervorst, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, reportedly told an audience in Singapore last week that full convergence is no longer an achievable project.

XBRL US, a nonprofit organization that helps develop Extensible Business Reporting Language data tags in the U.S., is offering free data quality tools to help companies improve their XBRL financial filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and avoid "Dear CFO" letters.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has proposed a set of enhancements to its International Professional Practices Framework, which encompasses all the authoritative standards and guidance for internal auditors promulgated by the IIA.

A roundup of recent audit & attest news

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against the CEO and former CFO of a Florida-based computer equipment company for misrepresenting to external auditors and the investing public the state of its internal controls over financial reporting.

The online audit confirmation service Confirmation.com has expanded its presence in Europe with the acquisition of ProConfirm Ltd., an electronic audit confirmation service based in London.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Auditing Standards Board has amended its standards for providing so-called “comfort letters” to underwriters and other parties requesting such letters.

Among large firms, KPMG and Marcum LLP tied for the most new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients in the second quarter of 2014.

The International Accounting Standards Board has issued the final element of its own long-awaited financial instruments accounting standard after failing to reach a consensus with the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board on key elements related to credit losses and loan impairments.

Financial restatements declined substantially in the decade after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, according to a new academic study.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a new paper on how companies can get ready for the newly converged revenue recognition accounting standard.

The Institute of Internal Auditors wants more public sector entities to establish independent audit committees.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has entered into a cooperative arrangement with the Danish Business Authority for the oversight of audit firms in both regulators’ jurisdictions.

ACG New York taps CBIZ as accounting firm of the year, a new firm emerges in Jamaica and more…

Lawmakers who are part of a group of current and former CPAs and accountants in Congress are expressing concern about the possibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission allowing U.S. companies a choice of using either U.S. GAAP or International Financial Reporting Standards.