Audit

The federal government has secured commitments from 13 banks to increase their lending to small businesses by $20 billion over the next three years.

The Center for Audit Quality, along with the Council of Institutional Investors and CFA Institute, have written to the leaders of the House Financial Services Committee urging them to resist efforts to exempt more public companies from compliance with the internal controls auditing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a new Accounting Standards Update aimed at improving employer disclosures for multiple-employer pension plans.

The International Federation of Accountants has begun an executive search for a CEO to succeed incumbent Ian Ball, whose contract expires in February 2013 and who is not seeking another term.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman said that many of the priority projects slated for convergence with the International Accounting Standards Board probably will not be settled until next year at the earliest.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman argued Tuesday that the board has been increasing its outreach to private company accountants as FASB awaits a report from the trustees of its parent organization on whether oversight of private company accounting standards should be handed to a separate board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has finalized a new standard aimed at simplifying how organizations test goodwill for impairment.

IMGCAP(1)]This year the SSAE 16 assessment standard will replace the SAS 70 audit standard.

A trustee working group at the Financial Accounting Foundation plans to release its proposals in the next few weeks for changing the structure and process of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s oversight of standards for private companies and nonprofits.

More than three-quarters of corporate board members in a new survey said their main concern with the SEC’s new whistleblower rewards is the negative impact of an increase in false allegations.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has reached an agreement with Norway’s Financial Services Authority that will allow the regulators to conduct joint inspections of PCAOB-registered audit firms in Norway.

Accounting Today released its inaugural Accountants Confidence Index today, revealing that the accounting profession has serious concerns about the state of the economy.

An international committee has unveiled a draft framework for combining financial reporting with other aspects of an organization’s performance, including the environmental and social context.

Deloitte has released a report showing progress in how large public companies report their board’s role in risk oversight.

Accounting Today and business outsourcing solutions giant ADP have formed a strategic partnership with the introduction of the Executive Research Council, whose members will be surveyed each month to create the new Accountants Confidence Index.

CFOs are predicting an increase in hiring in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a survey by staffing company Robert Half International.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a new project to its crowded agenda: the impairment of intangible assets with indefinite lives.

The CFA Institute told the Securities and Exchange Commission that its long anticipated decision on whether or not to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system should wait until the SEC completes its work plan for incorporating IFRS.

Specialty tax software provider Red Moon Solutions has introduced a new Software-as-a-Service tool that manages the audit process, data, and documents in addition to tax risk and improving internal controls.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have updated the computer-readable tags for their accounting standards and exposed them for public comment.