Regulatory actions and programs

Below is a reproduction of the main portion of the opening page of a Web site that I visit quite often.

The Treasury Department has expanded its financial bailout program to $700 billion in an effort to relieve banks and other financial institutions of their troubled mortgage assets.

The American Bar Association is urging the Financial Accounting Standards Board to delay implementing a proposed standard for loss contingencies arising from business combinations, warning of harmful, unintended consequences.

A long-awaited overhaul of accounting for business combinations and consolidations was recently completed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.FASB issued a revised version of FAS 141, Business Combinations (FAS 141(R)) and the new FAS 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements, which is an amendment of ARB No. 51.

Small business owners and managers across the U.S. are raising their prices and increasing shipping and handling fees in response to inflationary pressures, according to a new survey.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board along with regulators, audit firms and investor oversight groups are hailing a decision by an appeals court that upheld the constitutionality of the audit firm overseer.Ending a two-year legal battle, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the manner in which the organization's board members are appointed and overseen under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is constitutional. The decision was split 2-1 among the judges.

The Private Company Financial Reporting Committee held a meeting to discuss whether International Financial Reporting Standards should apply to private companies in the U.S., along with other matters.

Before the SEC published its roadmap for the switch to International Financial Reporting Standards, we asked a large group of industry leaders if they thought the accounting profession was ready for the shift - and if not, what it needs to do to get ready.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed setting a roadmap for transitioning from U.S. GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards by 2014.The SEC plans to issue a concept release setting several milestones for the transition, with the option for some large companies to make the transition earlier if they are leaders in their industries.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board once again finds itself on the horns of a dilemma.At issue are proposed amendments to Financial Accounting Standard 5, on disclosure of loss contingencies. If adopted as presented in an exposure draft issued earlier this year, the amended standard would require companies to disclose the extent of their exposure to loss in lawsuits and environmental matters, including not only the amount of litigation claims, but also of predicted court costs and possible punitive damages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an addendum to an earlier letter it has sent to the CFOs of some public companies asking them to provide additional information about their fair value measurements, including credit risks and broker quotes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement clarifying the accounting treatment for money market mutual funds amid the growing turmoil in the financial markets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged American Italian Pasta Co. and its former senior executives with participating in a fraudulent accounting scheme to artificially increase the company's stock price, and the company agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle the charges.

Tax preparers in Oregon may set a standard for future regulation of tax preparers nationwide, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued three exposure drafts of proposed financial standards and amendments relating to accounting for transfers of financial assets.

As one investment bank after another falls prey to the expanding crisis in the credit and mortgage markets, accounting regulators are trying to get a handle on the mess.

The American Institute of CPAs has issued a proposed update to its audit guide for the gambling industry that takes into account some recent issues faced by casinos.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a staff position aimed at improving disclosures about credit derivatives.

A federal appeals court upheld a $182.9 million jury award that PricewaterhouseCoopers will have to pay to policyholders of a defunct insurance company audited by its predecessor Coopers & Lybrand.

The International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board have updated their 2006 memorandum of understanding and set a goal of completing their major joint projects on convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles by 2011.