Regulatory actions and programs

The Financial Accounting Standards Board took up the controversial question of disclosure requirements for loss contingencies at its latest meeting and decided that companies need to make more disclosures.

The IRS said that time is running out for many small businesses that wish to take advantage of the tax breaks in the stimulus bill.

The Small Business Administration and the Commerce Department plan to offer more federal contracts to small businesses, but a small business advocacy group is skeptical.

The SEC has approved rules requiring public accounting firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to report events such as legal proceedings and changes in a firm’s contact information within 30 days to the PCAOB, as well as file annual reports on disciplinary matters and other issues.

The Government Accounting Standards Board has drafted proposed standards for local government bankruptcies, and is giving interested parties until August 28 to comment.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board may expand the use of mark-to-market accounting to the loans held by banks.

The American Bankers Association has released a letter and white paper raising concerns over the process taken by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board in their financial instruments projects.

IMGCAP(1)]The Financial Accounting Standards Board took plenty of heat in April for loosening mark-to-market guidelines, a move that critics assailed as a gift to the financial industry and a nod to political pressures.

The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee took a close look at the International Accounting Standards Board’s new “IFRS for SMEs” standards at its meeting last week.

The House Small Business Committee heard testimony from small business owners about their ability to obtain SBA-backed financing.

The American Bankers Association is objecting to the newest proposed accounting standards for financial instruments, claiming that they would dramatically expand the use of the much-maligned mark-to-market accounting.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and XBRL US have completed their work in revising the XBRL U.S. GAAP Taxonomy to reflect the FASB Accounting Standards Codification that was released on July 1.

IMGCAP(1)] The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy called for independent funding of global accounting standard-setters.

Firm regulator mulls wider exposure of audit deficiencies

International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie said that other countries are running out of patience waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to decide on whether to approve a roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards and that the U.S. would need to commit by 2011.

More than two out of five business executives said in a recent poll that an accounting standard on business combinations is causing them to reassess their strategy for M&A deals.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has created an Investor Advisory Group to solicit input from investors on how to carry out the board’s responsibilities in overseeing public auditing firms.

Switching to International Financial Reporting Standards could prove to be a costly move for many companies’ IT departments, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.

IMGCAP(1)]It is widely believed that the U.S. financial system needs asystemic risk regulator to help prevent future financial crises. Thedebate is centered not on whether we should have such a regulator, butwhich agency should be anointed and what powers it should have.

The U.S. Small Business Administration needs to take additional steps to reform its disaster loan program and improve the application process, recommends a new report.