Audit

The Texas Society of CPAs executive board has adopted a resolution in support of the implementation of a new GAAP model for private companies.

The Small Business Tax Credit Calculator, developed by Tax Credits LLC, is able to complete lines 1 to 14 of Form 8941 for tax preparers in all 50 states.

The Blue-Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies submitted a report Wednesday recommending that the Financial Accounting Foundation set up a separate board to determine private company accounting standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has taken a step back on previous plans to require companies to report all of their financial instruments at fair value.

The European Commission said it would recognize the equivalence of the audit oversight systems of the United States and nine other countries, laying the foundation for greater international cooperation on the supervision of auditors and auditing firms.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has released the 2011 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, pending final acceptance by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released a set of proposals to address the growing need for robust international standards for services that can be used by entities that are either not required or do not elect to be audited.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has published new professional guidance on how to assess the adequacy of risk management and measure the effectiveness and efficiency of a company’s internal audit function.

The AICPA has posted a sample client letter that accountants and tax practitioners can download, personalize and use to inform their clients about how the legislation extending the Bush-era tax cuts could affect them.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has inked a cooperative agreement with the Professional Oversight Board in the United Kingdom to facilitate cooperation in the oversight of auditors and public accounting firms that practice in the two regulators’ respective jurisdictions.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed James R. Doty as chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and Jay D. Hanson and Lewis H. Ferguson as members.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released PPC’s SMART Practice Aids – Field Work, a new module in PPC’s SMART Audit Suite that will allow audit professionals to plan and execute the entire PPC audit process within the SMART Suite.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board released a new proposed strategy and work program for 2012-2014 on Monday.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued a new accounting statement Thursday aimed at incorporating accounting guidance issued by outside standard-setters that is applicable to state and local governments.

The Small Business Administration has redesigned its website and is providing a new tool to personalize the site’s resources for particular types of businesses.

The past year witnessed plenty of head-spinning developments in the worlds of accounting and taxes, and AccountingToday.com (along with its predecessor site WebCPA) was there to chart the latest developments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a permanent rule requiring municipal advisors to register with the agency.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published an alert warning auditors of the risks involved when auditing loss contingencies from litigation arising from mortgages and other loans, especially in cases where mortgage servicers have been accused of “robosigning” foreclosure notices.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo had one more piece of unfinished business before leaving for the governor’s mansion in Albany: file suit against Ernst & Young for allegedly helping its former client Lehman Brothers engage in accounting fraud.

In a recent speech, a senior European Commission official warned accountants that a drastic tightening of auditing rules in the European Union is under consideration in Brussels, including possible segregation-of-service rules on client auditing and accounting services, and requiring auditors to give "an unencumbered opinion of a situation", as opposed to the current "historical review."