Financial reporting

Exxon Mobil Corp. must face a lawsuit by investors who blamed a drop in the company’s shares on the disclosure that regulators were scrutinizing its reserve accounting related to climate change.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board released a long-awaited accounting standards update Wednesday to improve the financial reporting for insurance companies that issue long-duration contracts, such as life insurance, disability income, long-term care and annuities.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is proposing to make a number of narrow improvements in the lease accounting standard as public companies get ready for it to take effect at the end of the year.

The American Institute of CPAs’ Financial Reporting Executive Committee, also known as FinREC, has posted a pair of working drafts on how accountants can deal with two issues related to the Current Expected Credit Loss standard that will be taking effect at the end of next year.

The International Integrated Reporting Council unveiled an Academic Database on Wednesday, featuring more than 200 academic studies on the ramifications of integrated reporting, as well as discussing some of the best practices emerging in the field.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is looking for public companies that are willing to participate in research on potential improvements to the segment aggregation guidance and the reportable segments process.

Corporate executives and their accountants have long contended that the use of adjusted earnings, which ignore costs like acquisition expenses, interest payments or just about anything they find inconvenient, gives investors a better picture of companies’ performance. Under no circumstances is it manipulation, they say. But a new study suggests it just might be.

The Trump administration dropped a two-year-old accounting probe into Exxon Mobil Corp.’s valuation of its reserves and public disclosures about climate change, while inquiries by two Democratic-led states continue.

Walgreens, CVS and AT and T top the list of U.S. companies with the most operating lease liabilities that will need to be added to their balance sheets under the new leasing standard, according to a new report.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV said the former head of finance in Europe has left the boards of two key units as an investigation into the scandal-hit retailer’s inaccurate accounts deepens.