Audit

Now that the largest public companies in the U.S. are scheduled to begin filing their financial statements using Extensible Business Reporting Language data-tagging technology this year, financial regulators are weighing additional areas to leverage the technology, said industry representatives at an XBRL International Conference in Paris.

Credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings said in a new report that it does not expect FASB’s recent amendments to off-balance-sheet accounting standards to result in negative rating actions, but it believes there will be challenges for issuers and analysts in transitioning to the new standards.

Nine trade groups representing the financial, insurance, banking, real estate and other industries have united to create a coalition with the goal of influencing accounting standard-setters who are working on revising the rules for financial instruments.

New York’s new accountancy reform law, which goes into effect July 26, 2009, broadens the definition of the scope of practice of public accountancy to include all professional services provided by a CPA.

A new study of accounting-related fraud in Western Europe has found substantial differences in the approach taken to International Financial Reporting Standards by different countries and companies.

A jury in Miami has found BDO International not liable for failing to uncover fraud in audits conducted by its U.S. member firm, BDO Seidman.

IMGCAP(1)]Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., has some thoughts to share about the accounting profession, his firm and the state of the economy, before his retirement, after having served as CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited since 2002.

The Ohio Society of CPAs has launched a free online job-listing service to connect businesses with contract CPAs during the recession.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to provide two different views of its new online FASB Accounting Standards Codification when it launches July 1.

Ernst & Young has agreed to a record-setting $109 million nationwide settlement for failing to uncover the financial problems at health care giant HealthSouth.

IMGCAP(1)] Don’t pretend that your practice’s Web site is a minor obligation to be thrown together and slapped up on the Internet never to be dealt with again. As the populous becomes increasingly Internet savvy, so too does the accounting profession. Proper Web site design does not require a lot of money, but it does require smart construction. Here are some things to keep in mind:

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued new standards aimed at fixing the way banks account for securitizations and off-balance-sheet special-purpose entities.

The International Accounting Standards Board is readying new revisions to its standards for accounting for impaired assets in response to pressure from European regulators who have threatened to upset support for International Financial Reporting Standards.

My academic career predates the "sky is falling" period that beganin the fall of 2008. I find myself wondering how to reconcile theevents in that short span of time to the common body of knowledgepreviously embraced. In particular, I am increasingly curious as to howthose responsible for filing, auditing, exercising oversight andinvesting in today's market setting answer a small set of queries.

Washington D.C. –President Obama is expected to outlinenext week a proposal for a financial regulatory overhaul, a revamp designed toboth bolster investor protection while streamlining the current structure.

Oldwick, N.J. - A new report from global rating agencyA.M. Best said that the mark-to-market guidance recently adopted by theFinancial Accounting Standards Board would not impact the balance sheets ofinsurance companies despite claims to the contrary by the those in the capitalmarkets sector.

I have a friend with an accounting degree and a law degree whocomplained about the length and complexity of the annual reports,including those of General Electric (108 pages), Citigroup (242 pages),Warner Music Group (142 pages), Pfizer (170 pages) and Bank of America(192 pages).

Mark Olson, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, said he is resigning his post at the end of July, but did not elaborate on the reasons.

A new academic study takes issue with claims that U.S. companies would benefit from adopting International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted Wednesday to approve the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the single authoritative, nongovernmental source of information on GAAP, with an official launch date set for July 1.