The International Accounting Standards Board has amended its standards on financial instrument disclosures to beef up the disclosure requirements for financial asset transfer transactions such as securitizations, and discourage questionable balance-sheet “window dressing.”

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is taking a new approach to getting its inspectors in the door of auditing firms outside the U.S. that claim they can’t be inspected because of legal restrictions from foreign officials.

One week after the signing of the Small Business Jobs Act, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved nearly $970 million in loans to small businesses.

Accounting Today’s Growth and Profitability Summit is taking place November 17-18, 2010 at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas.

AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon is calling for the Financial Accounting Foundation to set up a separate standards board for private company accounting.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the October 11, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent the Financial Accounting Standards Board a letter criticizing FASB’s proposal to account for nearly all financial instruments at fair value.

IMGCAP(1)]Check out the digital edition of the October 11, 2010 issue of Accounting Today.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a report summarizing the types of problems its inspectors encountered at auditing firms in the wake of the economic crisis.

Wayne Carnall, chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance, has been seeing so many hits on the SEC’s website lately that he’s comparing the agency to pop sensation Lady Gaga.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has told the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board that FASB’s proposed rules for financial instruments accounting would make financial statements harder to understand and complicate the convergence process.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have completed the first phase of a joint project to develop an improved conceptual framework for future accounting standards.

President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act into law on Monday, providing $12 billion in tax breaks and a $30 billion lending fund for small businesses.

EQUIPMENT FINANCE GROUP BALKS AT LEASING PROPOSAL

The most powerful nations in the world share a commitment to finding a common financial language and reporting standards that will encourage cross-border investment and drive healthy competition between international companies.

NEW GAAP TAXONOMY DEBUTS

Tradition has dictated that for us, August is a slow news month.

With a slate of exposure drafts awaiting comment and a June 2011 deadline for major projects on convergence between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board nevertheless has little choice but to navigate that imposing agenda without its long-time chairman and with some empty seats on its board.

In mid-August 2010, the American Institute of CPAs released a video interview with Sir David Tweedie, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (available on the Journal of Accountancy Web Site, www.journalofaccountancy.com). The content of the interview was also summarized by the British Web site AccountancyAge (www.accountancyage.com).

All clients are looking for lower fees and cost-cutting measures from their CPAs. That's a no-brainer. But do nonprofit organizations have higher expectations around what support and resources they receive from their most trusted advisors?