Audit

Even though the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board technically lost a Supreme Court ruling Monday, the board is likely to emerge stronger now that the element of uncertainty has been removed.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have issued exposure drafts proposing changes in the standards for fair value measurement and disclosure in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has updated its standards for the reporting of certain financial instruments and external investment pools by government entities.

The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee met last week to discuss some of the standards that the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been proposing and postponing.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in a 5-4 decision, finding that the way board members are removed by the SEC is unconstitutional.

The International Federation of Accountants has written an open letter to the G-20 nations in advance of this weekend’s summit in Toronto calling on governments to fix public sector accounting.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has released new guidance to help internal auditors assess the risks related to spreadsheets, databases and information systems in their organizations.

The median fraud loss for U.S. organizations is $105,000, according to a new study, with billing and corruption schemes the most common types of fraud reported.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have jointly published a draft standard to improve and align the financial reporting of revenue from contracts with customers and the related costs.

Public companies paid an average of $4.8 million in total audit fees in fiscal year 2009, according to a survey by Financial Executives International, with the average public company’s audit fees decreasing 2.4 percent from the prior year.

An appeals court has overturned a $521.7 million jury verdict against BDO Seidman in a case brought by Portugal’s Banco Espirito Santo International.

Accounting Today has finalized the agenda for its upcoming Growth & Profitability Summit.

IMGCAP(1)]Currently, about 32 million Americans do not have health insurance.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have introduced legislation to lower taxes for small and large businesses by allowing them to write off more of the cost of purchases, such as equipment and machinery, more quickly than they would otherwise be able to under current law.

The accounting industry ranks No. 1 in terms of net profit margin in a list of private industries compiled by Sageworks, a company that provides financial analysis tools and information for privately held companies.

The longer a company has been in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the higher the percentage of executives who say the benefits outweigh the costs, according to a new study released by global risk ad internal audit consulting firm Protiviti.

PUBLIC SECTOR STANDARDS BOARD PUBLISHES HANDBOOK

Lawsuit insurance

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published new guidance about the recent requirement for accounting firms to file annual reports about their audit clients, fees, staff disciplinary histories and other information.

The U.K.’s Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board has begun an investigation into the conduct of Ernst & Young LLP as auditors to Lehman Brothers International Europe, including Lehman’s use of repurchase agreements.