Audit

The United Kingdom’s Competition Commission has published its final report on the audit market, proposing that publicly listed companies to put their audit contracts out for bid at least every 10 years.

The Olympics are the biggest international sporting sport event, with athletes from more than 200 nations participating in what are generally considered the most important competition in the world. But are they worth it to the host city and country in terms of the budget and the eventual enormous expenditures?

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The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are revealing further details about their long-stalled plans for creating a Disclosure Framework to help accountants decide on which notes to include with financial statements.

Auditors filed fewer going concern opinions about companies last year, according to a new analysis of fiscal year-end 2012 filings, but that was largely due to company attrition rather than improved company performance.

The accounting profession and employers should work more actively to get accountants ready for finance leadership roles such as CFOs, according to a new study.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted Thursday to adopt two attestation standards pertaining to audits of brokers and dealers, along with an auditing standard for broker-dealer audits.

Nearly seven out of 10 investors had confidence in the U.S. capital markets, according to a new survey by the Center for Audit Quality, and a record 79 percent had confidence in investing in U.S. publicly traded companies just prior to the government shutdown on October 1.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board said Tuesday that it will provide live video webcasting of its in-person public meetings, beginning on October 30 and 31.

Only 27 percent of board members at public companies are in favor of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s proposed changes to the auditor’s reporting model, according to a new survey by BDO USA.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has scheduled an open meeting for Thursday to consider adopting attestation standards for auditors of brokers and dealers.

The IFRS Foundation Education Initiative said Monday it is publishing free downloadable teaching materials in all the languages of the United Nations, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

The development of professional organizations for accountants is seen as a key tool for global, regional and national development, according to a new report.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to host a series of public roundtable meetings to gauge feedback on its proposed accounting standards for insurance contracts.

CCH has made several improvements to its ProSystem fx Engagement and Knowledge Coach products, designed to make it easier for audit professionals to monitor and report trial balance activity on multiple funds while ensuring compliance.

Firm News: Oct. 3. 2013

PricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the accounting firms hoping to address the needs of companies and individuals who are uncertain about the implications of the new health insurance exchanges and marketplaces that opened this week.

The Private Company Council voted at a meeting on Tuesday to finalize two alternatives within U.S. GAAP, for accounting for interest rate swaps, and for accounting for goodwill in a business combination for private companies. The two alternatives will now go to the Financial Accounting Standards Board for discussion and possible endorsement.

Recent news in auditing and assurance

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board launched an updated website Monday that includes more user-friendly navigation and “plain English” resources covering accounting and financial reporting issues for state and local governments.