The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has proposed new financial reporting standards for state and local governments to help them account for government combinations such as mergers, acquisitions and transfers of operations, along with disposals such as sales and transfers of government operations.

Firm News - March 16

The Senate failed to pass an amendment that would have extended a set of expiring tax credits for wind energy, biofuels, energy efficient homes and other tax breaks.

LinkedIn has recently launched a special group for accountants that is already attracting a growing group of accountants.

The world's largest accounting and auditing firms, known as the Big Four, have been pumping more money than ever before into U.S. lobbying and political campaigns as they confront new challenges from their regulator and Congress.

Regulators are seriously seven major changes in financial reporting that could be game changers for accountants.

A federal judge has approved the settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint against headphone maker Koss Corporation and its CEO and former CFO Michael Koss.

The March edition of Accounting Today’s Accountants Confidence Index reveals that the profession has lowered its expectations for growth in the next three to six months.

Check out the digital edition of the March 2012 issue of Accounting Today.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to hold a series of meetings to discuss a proposal to require mandatory audit firm rotation.

Firm News -- March 9

Grant Thornton has released a new paper calling for an overhaul in the current thinking of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board on lease accounting standards, instead advocating the use of two different lease accounting models.

International Accounting Standards Board chairman Hans Hoogervorst told attendees at a financial conference in Mexico City that the board plans to give accountants a period of relative stability to give them time to adjust to all the new standards.

The New York State Society of CPAs expressed its support for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s proposals for improving communications between auditors and audit committees, but objected to several of the new requirements.

The financial services industry has always had pretty specific rules about testimonials, recommendations and advisory.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a new project to its agenda to re-examine the definition of a “nonpublic entity,” as part of its efforts to reach out more to private company constituents.

The Institute of Management Accountants and cloud-based financial and ERP product provider NetSuite Inc. have released a 23-page report, offering insights into the greatest challenges faced by today’s finance organizations, along with the steps that companies are taking to overcome them.

Guarini Takes Helm at GH•D

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued its latest inspection report on BDO USA and found several audit failures and deficiencies.

Michael Andrew, the chairman of KPMG International, sees a variety of audit risks arising in the global financial markets.