Regulatory actions and programs

Recent calls to get rid of public company audits are way off-base

Senators Robert Menendez, D-N.J. and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have introduced bipartisan legislation to help entrepreneurs start and grow a small business and comply with complex tax rules.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced sanctions against a New York-based audit firm, its founder, two other partners, and an audit manager for their roles in the failed audits of three China-based companies publicly traded in the U.S.

The Internal Revenue Service expanded nationwide on Wednesday the rollout of its streamlined Fast Track Settlement program, which aims to help small businesses under audit settle their differences with the IRS over their tax debts more quickly.

Cindy Fornelli, executive director of the Center for Audit Quality, discusses the PCAOB's proposed changes in audit and attest standards for broker-dealer auditors, and the U.K.'s Competition Commission proposals for mandatory retendering of audit firms, in an interview with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Daniel Hood.

FASB's proposed lease accounting rules really do try to get more useful information about assets and liabilities into financial statements. However, we don't think it's strong enough, because it doesn't cleanly address the No. 1 priority issue that asks whether off-balance-sheet financing has any legitimacy in financial reporting.

Accountants counsel clients on Obamacare exchanges

There's never been such a wealth of tax and accounting information available -- you just need to figure out how to access it

A roundup of assurance-related news

FASB's proposed lease accounting rules really do try to get more useful information about assets and liabilities into financial statements. However, we don't think it's strong enough, because it doesn't cleanly address the No. 1 priority issue that asks whether off-balance-sheet financing has any legitimacy in financial reporting.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are revealing further details about their long-stalled plans for creating a Disclosure Framework to help accountants decide on which notes to include with financial statements.

Congress, not the Internal Revenue Service, is to blame for the recently announced postponement of the beginning of next year’s tax season, according to the National Association of CPA Practitioners -- and it called on the legislative branch to take quick action to prevent further delays.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted unanimously to propose rules under the JOBS Act allowing companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding.

Deloitte & Touche LLP has agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges with the Public Conpany Accounting Oversight Board for violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and PCAOB rules by allowing a former partner to perform or continue to perform activities as an “associated person” that were prohibited while he was subject to a PCAOB suspension order.

People by nature are curious, emotional and often gullible. That mix can be toxic when trying to keep a tight rein on information security. IT risk and security expert David Barton explains the steps you can take at your firm to help your people stay more secure.

The Canadian Securities Administrators, an umbrella organization of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators, has proposed changes to its auditor oversight rules with the goal of giving securities regulators more insight into situations where Canada’s audit firm regulator has imposed sanctions on an audit firm.

Congress should consolidate and simplify the types of tax-favored retirement plans now available to small business owners to minimize the cost and administrative burden imposed by the plans, the American Institute of CPAs told Congress.

The United Kingdom’s Competition Commission has published its final report on the audit market, proposing that publicly listed companies to put their audit contracts out for bid at least every 10 years.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday that has appointed Daniel Murdock, a former Deloitte & Touche director, as a deputy chief accountant in the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Mark Kronforst as chief accountant of its Division of Corporation Finance.