Audit

Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been hired by BlackBerry Ltd. to evaluate the struggling Canadian smartphone maker for potential buyers, according to two people with knowledge of the move.

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Accountants don’t think their small-business clients are prepared for the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent survey.

The accounting profession’s expectations for economic growth dropped somewhat this month, according to the September edition of Accounting Today’s monthly Accountants Confidence Index.

A former Commerzbank AG and Societe Generale SA banker admitted in a U.S. court to aiding Olympus Corp.’s $1.7 billion accounting fraud.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions and the IFRS Foundation said Wednesday that they have agreed on a set of protocols under which the two organizations will deepen their cooperation to develop International Financial Reporting Standards and apply it consistently across the globe.

The United Kingdom’s Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into whether PricewaterhouseCoopers’ U.K. firm was independent when it conducted an audit of a company on which one of its former partners later joined the board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, the main advisory group for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, has released the results of a recent survey soliciting views about FASB’s future agenda, revealing pent-up demand for addressing issues such as financial disclosures, hedging and simplification of FASB’s Codification of U.S. GAAP.

Accounting Today has chosen its list of the Best Firms to Work For in 2013.

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Financial Accounting Standards Board chairman Russell Golden marked FASB’s 40th anniversary in his first major speech since taking over the chairmanship in July, outlining the changes he plans for the standard-setting board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to issue an exposure draft with proposals to improve financial reporting about public and private development-stage entities., easing the requirements for revenue recognition and measurement and other areas

During the 2013 proxy season, the majority of Fortune 100 companies disclosed more information about their audit committees and external auditors than is required, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.

Accounting firms need to offer their clients more higher-level advisory services, according to technology consultant Gary Boomer.

The struggle to attract and retain talent, and interest in leveraging the cloud, are among the most important trends that accounting firms need to adapt to, according to Boomer Consulting’s Jim Boomer and Sandra Wiley.

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The Financial Accounting Standards Board announced that registration for a field study on disclosures in notes to financial statements will close Sept. 30, 2013.

With the comment deadline approaching for the latest draft of the lease accounting proposals from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board, more groups are weighing in with criticism.

Highlights from the world of assurance from the previous month

Both public and private companies saw an increase in the auditing fees they paid to outside firms, according to a recent survey by Financial Executives International.