Financial reporting

As part of our Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting report, we asked the candidates how likely they thought it would be that we will see separate accounting standards for private and public companies in the U.S. in the near future, and if they thought it likely, what form they thought it would take.

As part of our Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting report, we asked the candidates: "What is the most important issue currently facing the accounting profession?"

IMGCAP(1)]Our annual list of the thought leaders and change-makers who are shaping the future of the profession.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the September 2011 issue of Accounting Today.

Accounting Today released its inaugural Accountants Confidence Index today, revealing that the accounting profession has serious concerns about the state of the economy.

An international committee has unveiled a draft framework for combining financial reporting with other aspects of an organization’s performance, including the environmental and social context.

Accounting Today and business outsourcing solutions giant ADP have formed a strategic partnership with the introduction of the Executive Research Council, whose members will be surveyed each month to create the new Accountants Confidence Index.

Close to 2,500 letters have been written to the Financial Accounting Foundation supporting the creation of a separate standards board for private company accounting, according to the American Institute of CPAs.

CFOs are predicting an increase in hiring in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a survey by staffing company Robert Half International.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a new project to its crowded agenda: the impairment of intangible assets with indefinite lives.

The CFA Institute told the Securities and Exchange Commission that its long anticipated decision on whether or not to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system should wait until the SEC completes its work plan for incorporating IFRS.

The outlook on the U.S. economy declined further among CFOs, controllers and CPAs in executive and senior management accounting roles in the third quarter, according to a survey by the American Institute of CPAs.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have updated the computer-readable tags for their accounting standards and exposed them for public comment.

ALTERNATIVE NO MORE

The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed revising its standards in order to define investment entities as a separate type of entity that would be exempt from the requirements for consolidated financial statements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reached a settlement with the former CFO of Beazer Homes USA to recover his bonus and stock sale profits from the time when the home-building company was committing accounting fraud.

Kansas accounting firm Summers Spencer & Co. has absorbed Overland Park, Kan.-based accounting firm James F. Gillespie CPA through a merger, reported the Kansas City Business Journal.

Financial services conglomerate Bloomberg and tax publisher BNA have entered into an agreement for Bloomberg to acquire all outstanding shares of BNA in a deal worth roughly $990 million, it was announced Thursday.

A new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that the IRS needs to improve the timeliness and accuracy of its response to taxpayer complaints about math error adjustments.