Online accounting community iShade said Tuesday it is adding two new directors as it prepares for the New Year.

President Obama has named SEC commissioner Elisse B. Walter as the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, succeeding Mary Schapiro.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update aimed at clarifying the scope of transactions that would be subject to disclosures about offsetting of assets and liabilities on the balance sheet.

Mary L. Schapiro, who has led the Securities and Exchange Commission for four years, said Monday that she plans to step down from her post on Dec. 14, 2012.

Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC gave five staff members the role of partner.

Mike Lynch, who founded the British software company accused by Hewlett-Packard Co. of falsifying finances, said that while he may have used some of the contested accounting and sales methods, they were all legal.

Recent network memberships, awards, new Web sites and more

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman talks with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Daniel Hood about how FASB's relationship with the International Accounting Standards Board is changing.

The BDO network of accounting firms said Tuesday that annual revenue grew 6.11 percent worldwide for its member firms compared to last year.

Hewlett-Packard Co. took an $8.8 billion charge citing “a willful effort to mislead investors and potential buyers” at Autonomy Corp., the software company it agreed to purchase last year for $10.3 billion.

Darin James is the newest partner in RubinBrown LLP's tax consulting group.

The Canadian member firm of KPMG has acquired the Abbotsford, British Columbia-based firm, Cochrane & Associates Chartered Accountants. The deal closed on November 1, 2012.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman discusses the status of the revenue recognition, leasing, financial instruments and insurance standards that FASB is converging with the International Accounting Standards Board.

The International Federation of Accountants has elected Warren Allen of New Zealand as president for a two-year term and former American Institute of CPAs chair Olivia Kirtley as deputy president, succeeding Allen.

Despite negative market sentiment due to concerns over the looming "fiscal cliff," many investors are unprepared for it, according to a recent survey by Nationwide Financial.

U.S. investors expect the country will eventually support International Financial Reporting Standards, but the process will take time and require substantial investment in staff and training, according to new research from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Bank of America Corp.’s commercial customers are already reacting to the “fiscal cliff” looming over the U.S. budget by putting off purchases, chief executive officer Brian T. Moynihan said.

Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP named Lisa Dane as a director in its business intelligence services practice.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Leslie Seidman talks with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Daniel Hood about FASB's accomplishments in converging accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board on the 10-year anniversary of the Norwalk Agreement.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has named the appointments and positions on its 2012-2013 board of directors, which will be chaired by Gaylen R. Hansen, CPA, a partner at the Denver-based firm Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman.