Film festivals, health care symposium and more…

MF Global Holdings Ltd., which filed for bankruptcy after a failed $6.3 billion bet on bonds of some of Europe’s most indebted nations, sued PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for $1 billion, alleging accounting malpractice helped bring down the brokerage company.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Steven Harris said the major auditing firms should begin providing their own financial statements to the PCAOB.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Jeanette Franzel described a “perfect storm” of issues that auditors are facing with the internal controls of organizations today during a speech at an auditing conference.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has created an American Center for Government Auditing and compiled an inaugural list of the Most Influential Professionals in Government Auditing in recognition of professionals who have positively impacted the practice of auditing in the public sector.

The accounting profession's expectations for economic growth headed downward again, with drops in both their short-term and mid-term forecasts, according to the March edition of Accounting Today’s monthly Accountants Confidence Index.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board voted unanimously Monday not to delay the implementation date of its new pension accounting and financial reporting standards, despite requests from various groups for an indefinite delay.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Jay Hanson said he would like to see the PCAOB change the format of its inspection reports, including reducing the use of terms such as “audit failures.”

Awards, spring webinars and more…

The American Institute of CPAs’ Conflict Minerals Task Force has developed nonauthoritative guidance to help companies deal with the conflict minerals reporting requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued guidance Thursday to make it easier for private companies to report on consolidation of variable interest entities.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board remain at odds over crucial elements of their lease accounting standards after joint meetings this week, but said they are still committed to reducing the distinctions.

The American Institute of CPAs has begun offering a forensic accounting mentorship program. The Certified in Financial Forensics Mentor Program is designed for AICPA members who want to develop their skills and business practices in forensic accounting with the help of more experienced forensic professionals.

A majority of public companies may be able to avoid the need to file their financial reports using Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, technology if a congressional bill gets signed into law.

More than half of compliance officers anticipate their personal liability will increase this year, according to a new survey.

Last November, the Financial Accounting Standards Board endorsed simplifying the accounting standards that private companies use in measuring and reporting goodwill, and FASB is currently looking into the possibility of changing the standards for public companies too.

The House Financial Services Committee has overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation that would remove a requirement for smaller public companies with less than $250 million in annual revenue from filing their financial statements in Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, format for five years.

Accounting Today is looking for speakers for its upcoming annual Growth & Profitability Summit.

NCCPAP sets up a Shiva for Shelley Kronowitz …

The New York State Society of CPAs is asking the Financial Accounting Standards Board to expand a proposal that would standardize the treatment of foreclosed properties when they are backed by a loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development beyond the residential developments that were the focus of the original draft proposal.