Business owners who team up with other small businesses to jointly bid on federal contracts see the greatest results, according to a new study.

Obama administration officials awarded $1 billion in therapeutic discovery project tax credits and grants to nearly 3,000 companies around the country to support promising biomedical research projects.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an exposure draft outlining changes in the accounting standards for repurchase agreements such as the Repo 105 transactions that have been blamed for contributing to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Wiss & Company has recently introduced The Wiss Economic Incentive Group to help businesses throughout the tri-state region of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut participate in government incentive programs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has published its first progress report on the work plan related to the move to global accounting standards.

Walter Edward Hanson, the former chairman of Peat Marwick International, a predecessor firm of KPMG, passed away at his home in Newport Beach, Calif., at the age of 84.

Cash flow and not the economy is the top concern for chief financial officers heading into 2011, according to a survey from TD Bank.

The International Accounting Standards Board is making more of an effort to complete its major convergence projects by the middle of next year.

The International Accounting Standards Board has amended its financial instruments standards to prevent companies with financial problems from trying to claim a profit based on an inflated value of the debts they owe.

Corporate executives are getting ready to move to International Financial Reporting Standards, but say they probably won’t do it until the Securities and Exchange Commission mandates it, even if an early adoption option is allowed, according to a new survey.

India is scheduled to begin using International Financial Reporting Standards in less than six months, but the country may be making several key changes in the standards prior to the rollout.

The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board in the United Kingdom has begun an investigation of KPMG’s U.K. firm for its audits of British Aerospace and BAE Systems Group.

IMGCAP(1)]Let’s look at two everyday situations. In one, a bank lends money to someone to buy a house or to start a new business. In the second, a company raises debt financing to finance a new investment.

SEC AIMS AT BALANCE SHEET 'WINDOW-DRESSING'

Many privately held companies wonder where the accounting standard-setters will lead them. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are working toward eliminating differences between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, and many wonder if they should transition to IFRS, stay with GAAP, or if there are other alternatives.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is asking stakeholders for input on how to improve the accounting for insurance contracts in financial reports.

In the previous issue, we republished a column from 2008 to help readers who might be confused or even baffled by the massive paradigm shift contained in the recent lease accounting exposure draft issued jointly by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board. When implemented, the proposal would capitalize all leases, finally closing down a 35-year-old loophole that has proven to be insanely popular with managers for achieving off-balance-sheet financing. The prior column described why this change is for the best.

The U.S. Department of Labor and the American Institute of CPAs have launched an interactive website to help small businesses select a retirement plan suitable for their employees.

With only weeks to go before next month’s game-changing midterm Congressional elections, the accounting profession is in position to make record-breaking contributions to the campaigns of key House and Senate candidates.