Audit

The Institute of Internal Auditors has donated a collection of nearly 200 books on auditing to the University of Texas Dallas School of Management.

The real value of bank holdings has been generating controversy in the accounting profession as banks find themselves under increasing pressure to be more upfront about the true value of their assets, assuming they can be accurately valued, even with ballpark estimates.

The Center for Audit Quality marked its first anniversary with a report on its progress in improving public confidence in the audit process.

Accounting firms are using Google text ads this tax season and beyond to bring in clients for tax prep and other types of accounting and financial planning services.

Liquidity, access to capital and cash management are among the recession-related risks raising concerns on audit committees this year, according to a survey by KPMG.

RedRover Software debuted RedRover Audit, a tool that uses human behavior research to audit Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

The number of financial restatements fell last year for the first time since 2001, according to a new report.

PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to lay off part of the consulting staff in its advisory services business.

Two audit partners at Deloitte & Touche have agreed to be barred from practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a case involving auto parts maker Delphi.

The Financial Accounting Foundation's board of trustees has voted to approve sweeping changes in the oversight, structure and operations of the Financial Accounting Foundation and its two standards-setting boards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

Deloitte has teamed with the Institute of Internal Auditors on an educational alliance and curriculum for fighting fraud.

A 61 percent majority of chief financial officers at leading U.S. technology companies feel that shareholders should have a say on executive compensation plans, according to a new survey.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed an auditing standard on engagement quality review and a conforming amendment to the board's interim quality control standards that will supersede the board's interim concurring partner review requirement.

I sat in on part of a meeting of the Financial Accounting Foundation and heard that many in Europe are taken aback at the swift pace of convergence in the U.S. with international accounting standards, but they are still waiting for us to set a deadline.

The International Accounting Standards Board said its Fair Value Measurement project team has begun a standard-by-standard review of existing fair value measurements in International Financial Reporting Standards to assess whether each standard's use of a fair value measurement basis was intended to be an exit price.

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The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed FASB Staff Position on the endowments of nonprofit organizations that could have large implications for how they recognize their assets and use donor-restricted funds.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to adopt Auditing Standard No. 6, Evaluating Consistency of Financial Statements, and an accompanying set of amendments to its interim auditing standards.

The results of a new survey were released a few weeks ago at the AICPA Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference. It concluded that retirement savings is a key concern for Americans and that life decisions are in limbo because of finances. According to the survey, having enough money to retire and to pay for major life needs such as healthcare and education are at the top of the list of concerns for Americans. In fact, the AICPA says that in response to an open-ended question, nine out of 10 CPAs surveyed said their individual clients were concerned about retirement and that costs associated with healthcare and education were ranked by respondents as the second (59 percent) and third (47 percent) financial concerns of clients. “Many Baby Boomers are discovering their retirement kitty is not as big as it needs to be to fund a comfortable retirement and that they are going to have to work longer than they had intended,” says James Metzler, AICPA vice president. By the way, respondents included CPAs who hold the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential. The survey also revealed that nearly a third of the respondents (32 percent) reported that clients who are approaching retirement age are postponing leaving the workforce for financial reasons. Also, as many as one-third of CPAs with clients between the ages of 25 and 34 are seeing individuals foregoing buying a home, having children, and even saving for retirement. Moreover, one third of the CPA planners say their clients were carrying more credit card debt than they did five years ago, with excessive discretionary spending pinpointed as the primary culprit. The median level of increased credit card dent is $8,333. “With so many people in debt because of unnecessary spending, Americans of all ages need education and guidance about how to improve their financial well-being,” notes Carl George, chair of the Institute’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission. Actually, three years ago, the AICPA launched the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort, which has a dedicated consumer Website (www.360financialliteracy,.org) containing hundreds of tools and resources to help Americans improve their financial understanding. A related campaign, Feed the Pig (www.FeedthePig.org) is designed to help Americans aged 25-34 save for long-term financial security. It should be noted that the survey was conducted this past December via a questionnaire mailed to members of the AICPA Financial Planning Membership Section. Of the respondents, some 44 percent manage more than $10 million in assets.