Audit

Renewing its vision is the new theme for the American Institute of CPAs as it gets ready to welcome in a new chair and enter its 125th year as an organization.

The Small and Medium Practices Committee of the International Federation of Accountants has issued the second edition of its “Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing in the Audits of Small- and Medium-Sized Entities.”

Few CPAs are trying to learn or implement International Financial Reporting Standards until the Securities and Exchange Commission decides next year on whether to approve incorporating IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system, according to a new survey.

Sunday afternoon proved to be anything but sleepy as the American Institute of CPAs Fall Meeting of Council kicked off the first day with a lively discussion among members of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies.

The American Institute of CPAs has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that accountants need an adequate transition period if the SEC decides next year to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released new proposals for how to audit complex financial instruments such as derivatives whose trading contributed to the financial crisis.

IMGCAP(1)]As we prepare for the replacement of SAS 70 by SSAE 16, articles and vendor whitepapers are flooding the landscape.

As the incoming chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, Hans Hoogervorst has been named to a key position in the global accounting profession at a time of dramatic changes.

Members of the American Institute of CPAs have voted by an 81.39 percent majority to modernize the AICPA's admission requirements to allow more people to join the institute, even if they no longer practice accounting or were never practitioners.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an exposure draft of proposed changes in the standards for financial reporting about troubled debt restructurings.

FASB RETOOLS STANDARDS FOR PENSION PLANS

A majority of members of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies voted in favor of establishing a separate standard-setting board for private company accounting at a meeting Friday, but will wait until December to issue its final recommendations.

The International Accounting Standards Board has amended its standards on financial instrument disclosures to beef up the disclosure requirements for financial asset transfer transactions such as securitizations, and discourage questionable balance-sheet “window dressing.”

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is taking a new approach to getting its inspectors in the door of auditing firms outside the U.S. that claim they can’t be inspected because of legal restrictions from foreign officials.

Accounting Today’s Growth and Profitability Summit is taking place November 17-18, 2010 at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

The Center for Audit Quality is partnering with three other organizations to develop ways to deter and detect financial reporting fraud.

AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon is calling for the Financial Accounting Foundation to set up a separate standards board for private company accounting.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent the Financial Accounting Standards Board a letter criticizing FASB’s proposal to account for nearly all financial instruments at fair value.

Internal auditors who combine likable personality traits with well-presented arguments do better at influencing managers’ accounting judgments and financial reporting estimates than auditors who are rude and provide information in a jumbled way, according to a new study.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the October 11, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.