Audit

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a document advising auditors to beware of unusual transactions that could be signs of fraud.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board plan to reconsider the standards for the types of repurchase transactions that Lehman Brothers used to shift $50 billion temporarily off its balance sheet before issuing its quarterly financial statements.

The International Accounting Standards Board has published the results of an international research project on how to account for extractive activities in the oil, gas, and mineral industries.

Grant Thornton has released the fifth edition of its Audit Committee Handbook, with new chapters on audit planning and oversight, fraud risk and broader international coverage.

The International Federation of Accountants has released two downloadable handbooks containing its 2010 code of ethics for professional accountants and pronouncements on auditing, review and other assurance services.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed an auditing standard on “Communications with Audit Committees,” and a series of related amendments to interim standards.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has released a draft plan setting out a proposed strategy for the next three years on ways for accountants to deal with conflicts of interest, suspected fraud and other issues.

Clarity Systems has issued a downloadable guidebook to help companies comply with the SEC’s recent requirements for public companies to begin filing their financial statements in Extensible Business Reporting Language format.

Check out the WebCPA group page on Facebook by clicking here.

The House Financial Services Committee plans to probe the regulatory failures that led up to the collapse of Lehman Brothers after a bankruptcy examiner released a damning report last week on the investment bank’s accounting manipulations.

International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Sir David Tweedie told a group of European finance officials that the IASB and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board are on track to converge their standards by June 2011, after which there will be a period of stability in accounting standards.

A group of international accounting organizations plans to sponsor four new auditing research projects.

PCAOB OFFERS Q&AS ON SPECIAL REPORTING, SUCCESSION

PCAOB Q&A ON ENGAGEMENT QUALITY REVIEWS

Washington, D.C.-At least 12 major nations - including several of the U.S.'s top international trading partners - are continuing to slam the door on efforts by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to conduct cross-border inspections of non-U.S. audit firms as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Grant Thornton has resigned as the auditor of Yuhe International, a Chinese poultry company, after questioning loans made to a company affiliated with Yuhe’s chairman and CEO.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have jointly published an exposure draft on the concept of reporting entities, including how they control other entities.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to hold seven forums around the country to discuss auditing in the small business environment.

Check out the digital edition of the March 15 issue of Accounting Today.