Regulatory actions and programs

COMPANIES WANT SEC TO APPROVE IFRS ROADMAP

LONDON-The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants recommends in a new report that environmental regulators should work with international accounting standard-setters to develop a universal climate change reporting standard for organizations of all sizes.

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The Securities and Exchange Commission has released a draft of a five-year strategic plan that calls for a single set of high-quality global accounting standards.

IASB NOT WAITING FOR U.S.

We don't know about the rest of you in the profession's rank and file, but we're feeling steamrollered over "convergence," a code word meaning hastily dumping the independent Financial Accounting Standards Board and embracing the vulnerable International Accounting Standards Board.

The conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards, coupled with the movement towards fair value accounting and Congress' need for revenue, could result in the repeal of the last-in/first-out, or LIFO, method of inventory accounting.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has beefed up the disclosure requirements for some types of fair value measurements.

The American Institute of CPAs has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission challenging the applicability of the so-called “Red Flags Rule” to CPAs.

A measure approved last week by the House Financial Services Committee to change Sarbanes-Oxley audit rules would lead to a higher incidence of fraud and an increase in the amount of fraud losses, said the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

The American Institute of CPAs and Financial Executives International have written to Congress to express their objections to proposed legislation that would displace the SEC from its role of overseeing the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The International Accounting Standards Board has proposed new standards for measuring the impairment of financial instruments and assets using amortized cost, taking a different tack than the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The House Financial Services Committee voted to exempt small and midsized public companies from Sarbanes-Oxley audit requirements.

The Center for Audit Quality and other influential organizations are asking leaders of the House Financial Services Committee to safeguard the role of the SEC in overseeing the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

The International Accounting Standards Board has issued a revised version of its standard for related-party transactions, simplifying the disclosure requirements and clarifying the definition of a related party.

Financial planning trade groups have written a letter to congressional leaders protesting an amendment that would extend the regulatory authority of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to cover investment advisers who are associated with broker-dealers under FINRA authority.

The International Federation of Accountants has released a new online chart showing the growing adoption of International Standards on Auditing.

The Federal Trade Commission has once again extended the deadline for enforcing the so-called “Red Flags Rule” that requires financial institutions and creditors to develop identity theft prevention programs.