Audit

A female presence on a company board reduces the chance of financial restatements by close to 40 percent, according to a new study.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Accounting and Review Services Committee has issued exposure drafts of its proposed Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services as part of its Clarity Project and is asking for public comment on them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order Wednesday providing regulatory relief to accountants, publicly traded companies, investment companies, transfer agents, and others affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Officials with the Securities and Exchange Commission are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial system, even as an increasing number of foreign companies file their financial reports with the SEC using IFRS.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a new inspection report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP from last year in which it identified deficiencies, including three instances of what it terms “audit failures.”

The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board is expected to be one of the standard-setters participating in a multilateral group that will be advising the International Accounting Standards Board, but it will be among at least a dozen standard-setters from around the world participating in the group.

Check out all of our post-election coverage and find out what the results mean for accounting and tax professionals:

While the accounting profession's biggest political action committees lost their main bet on Election Day, they can hope to recoup some of their losses from their side bets in the Senate.

The International Federation of Accountants has released for comment a proposed strategy for projects it plans over the next four years to address the needs of accountants who work within companies or as advisors to businesses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it is preparing relief measures that would extend filing deadlines for individuals and entities who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath.

The Center for Audit Quality has released a guide to help auditing firms cope with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection process.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is giving more time to people to comment on its proposals for clarifying financial statement disclosures as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

Accountants can -- and should -- help their clients prepare for disaster.

CHINA

In response to the disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is extending the deadline for comment on a staff paper that outlines an approach for deciding whether and when to modify U.S. GAAP for private companies.

The American Institute of CPAs has released an exposure draft of its proposed Financial Reporting Framework for Small- and Medium-Sized Entities for comment.

The JOBS Act may usher in a new golden age of accounting fraud

Look around the offices of Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman, and you'll probably notice a number of international souvenirs. Most were brought back by the Bethesda, Md.-based firm's accounting professionals from their travels to places like Nigeria, Indonesia and Zambia to conduct on-site field office audits and internal control reviews for international non-governmental organizations.

Highlights from the previous month in Assurance

It's time to jettison the idea that international standards are coming