Audit

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to indefinitely defer certain disclosures about investments held by a nonpublic employee benefit plan in its plan sponsor’s own nonpublic equity securities.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales are urging the Financial Accounting Standards Board to reconsider two separate elements of FASB’s financial instruments convergence project with the International Accounting Standards Board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has endorsed three proposals from the Private Company Council that would simplify the accounting for privately held companies.

The American Institute of CPAs has released its much-anticipated Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities, which is aimed at providing an alternative reporting option for small businesses that aren’t required to use GAAP.

Bob Moritz, chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP since July 2009, sat down with Accounting Today on Friday to discuss some of the issues facing the accounting profession and how PwC has been adapting to changes in the economy and accounting, as well as his encounter with Michelle Obama when handing her the envelope for the Academy Awards.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, which provides guidance on internal control, enterprise risk management, and fraud deterrence, has issued a new article to help public companies make the transition to COSO’s recently updated internal control framework.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an accounting standards update setting forth a new approach for determining whether a public or private company is an investment company.

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The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Carbon Disclosure Project to deepen their partnership for advancing corporate disclosure on material sustainability issues.

The IFRS Foundation said Wednesday it has completed the first phase of an effort to assess the state of progress on global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards.

Leslie Seidman, the outgoing chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, spoke about her experiences leading the board and its work on the upcoming revenue recognition standard during a sometimes emotional speech Wednesday that will be the last of her term.

Secure audit confirmation service provider Confirmation.com has enhanced its international capabilities by providing multilingual user interfaces of its online platform.

The International Federation of Accountants held its seventh annual IFAC Small and Medium Practices Forum on Wednesday, gathering 175 delegates from 33 accounting organizations across 30 countries for the conference in Kampala, Uganda.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, also known as COSO, has named Robert B. Hirth Jr., a founding managing director of the consulting firm Protiviti, as the new chairman of the organization for a three-year term, effective Monday.

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Audit and attest news from the previous month

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board identified deficiencies in half the audits it examined during its newly released inspection report on McGradrey LLP.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board responded to a post-implementation review of its accounting standard for business combinations by saying that it would consider the findings of the report, along with an upcoming post-implementation review of its fair value measurement standards, and may make changes once the International Accounting Standards Board concludes its own post-implementation review of the corresponding International Financial Reporting Standards.

Research series, FASB conducting field study, Best Places to Work and more…

The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly preparing to turn its attention to accounting fraud cases after being diverted in recent years to Ponzi schemes and subprime mortgage fraud in the wake of the financial crisis.