Audit

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.

Companies paid a bit more in audit fees in fiscal year 2008 compared to the previous year, according to a new survey.

The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the question of whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board as established under Sarbanes-Oxley violates the separation-of-powers doctrine and appointments clause of the Constitution. It’s not likely this is going to be one of those controversies that nominee Sonia Sotomayor will have to worry about discussing at great length during her confirmation hearings, but how about after she gets confirmed? One can only imagine how the transcript of the oral arguments might go.

The International Accounting Standards Board has published draft guidance to try to settle the controversial issue of fair value measurement and calm some of the recent political pressure.

Three former senior finance executives with medical supply company Cardinal Health have agreed to pay $245,000 in civil penalties to settle SEC charges that they engaged in a fraudulent earnings and revenue management scheme.

Proposed contract-based standards for revenue recognition are attracting some support, but also raising questions, according to a new survey.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released FASB Statement No. 165, “Subsequent Events,” setting standards for the disclosure of events that occur after the balance-sheet date, but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued.

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., has introduced a bill that would ensure that small business government contracts go only to small businesses instead of the subsidiaries of large companies.

Members of the international Financial Crisis Advisory Group warned at a meeting in London that political pressure on accounting standard-setters posed a threat to “the very existence of international accounting standards.”

IMGCAP(1)] Think you know what young CPAs want from their firms? Think again. In November 2008, a group of 15 young staff from Chicago area firms got together for the Fourth Annual Rosenberg Associates Staff Forum to get candid about what it’s really like to be young and just starting out in an accounting firm. Here are some of the key realizations from that meeting:

Americans today are being forced to review their retirement planning goals with greater scrutiny. No one knows that more than Robert Fishbein, vice president and corporate counsel with Prudential Financial, Inc. He has now offered tips on how to get through this economic turmoil.