Audit

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."

Canada's transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, while improving transparency and comparability of Canadian companies, will likely not affect credit ratings, according to a new report from Moody's Investor Service.

Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, who was appointed only six months ago to oversee the board that sets international accounting standards, died of a heart attack on Saturday night.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued revisions to its financial reporting entity standards to better account for business-type activities at government-run institutions such as state universities.

KPMG reported a 2.6 percent increase in annual revenue worldwide Thursday to $20.63 billion from $20.11 billion, a 0.1 percent increase in local currency terms.

Accounting bodies from three countries have found an increase in sustainability strategies to address climate change, particularly within large companies.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has established a new Office of Outreach and Small Business Liaison.

Accounting Today is in the midst of compiling its annual lists of the Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders.

Two years after revelations emerged of Bernard Madoff’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme and only days after the suicide of Madoff’s eldest son, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposed a set of rules on Tuesday to begin expanding the PCAOB’s oversight authority to encompass audits of securities brokers and dealers.