Audit

IMGCAP(1)]Last month, the AICPA issued a set of standards that CPAs who do assurance engagements at service companies should examine carefully.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board continues to encounter resistance in inspecting foreign accounting firms that audit the books of non-U.S. companies whose stock trades on U.S. exchanges.

Trust in financial institutions has been severely eroded by the financial crisis, but a new survey has found that the majority of Americans find statements by spokespeople from accounting firms believable.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro tried to explode some of the “myths” about the agency’s drawn-out convergence of U.S. GAAP with International Financial Reporting Standards, insisting the SEC is committed to global accounting standards and not simply protecting America’s “parochial” interests.

IMGCAP(1)]From a compliance perspective, the new U.S. health care law raises a number of issues for corporate America.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has published a new practice guide to provide an overview of key executive compensation risks that should be understood before assessing whether the controls and governance over executive compensation and benefits programs are effective.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board has published its 2010 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements.

The International Accounting Standards Board has published a proposed set of changes in the accounting standards for financial liabilities to address what it calls the “counter-intuitive” effects of fair value measurement.

The American Institute of CPAs took the wraps off its redesigned Web site, AICPA.org, with new multimedia and social networking features.

CaseWare IDEA has inked a deal with SymSure Limited to acquire SymSure’s intellectual property and other assets.

Nearly one-third of public companies have no plans to use Extensible Business Reporting Language technology for their financial filings, despite an SEC mandate requiring XBRL use by 2011.

Global business consulting and internal audit firmProtiviti Inc. released a new version of its Governance Portal for InternalAudit, adding a synchronization management engine that allows auditors to workeven when they are disconnected from the network.

President Barack Obama has ordered the establishment of two interagency task forces on federal contracting opportunities for small businesses and for veterans small business development.

A class-action lawsuit by former shareholders of Lehman Brothers has been amended to add the defunct investment bank’s auditing firm, Ernst & Young, as a defendant.

XBRL US and the Financial Accounting Foundation have inked a three-year agreement to conduct joint research on further developing interactive data tags for financial statements.

The Center for Audit Quality, the CFA Institute, and the Council of Institutional Investors have written to leaders of the Senate Banking Committee asking them not to exempt smaller public companies from Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls audit requirements in the financial regulatory reform legislation.

New research has raised doubts about the ability of auditors to ferret out earnings management.

The Institute of Internal Auditors’ Internal Audit Standards Board has proposed several changes to the standards for internal auditors, including what should happen when giving an opinion on an audit, and the role of outsourced service providers.

The American Institute of CPAs is keeping a close watch on financial reform legislation as the Senate is expected to begin debate on the bill within the next week.