Regulatory actions and programs

Auditors filed fewer going concern opinions about companies last year, according to a new analysis of fiscal year-end 2012 filings, but that was largely due to company attrition rather than improved company performance.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted Thursday to adopt two attestation standards pertaining to audits of brokers and dealers, along with an auditing standard for broker-dealer audits.

Nearly seven out of 10 investors had confidence in the U.S. capital markets, according to a new survey by the Center for Audit Quality, and a record 79 percent had confidence in investing in U.S. publicly traded companies just prior to the government shutdown on October 1.

Only 27 percent of board members at public companies are in favor of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s proposed changes to the auditor’s reporting model, according to a new survey by BDO USA.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the accounting firms hoping to address the needs of companies and individuals who are uncertain about the implications of the new health insurance exchanges and marketplaces that opened this week.

‘Obamacare’s’ opening day drew millions of consumers to the law’s core insurance exchanges, offering supporters and investors confidence that if the websites can stay up and running, customers will follow.

The Private Company Council voted at a meeting on Tuesday to finalize two alternatives within U.S. GAAP, for accounting for interest rate swaps, and for accounting for goodwill in a business combination for private companies. The two alternatives will now go to the Financial Accounting Standards Board for discussion and possible endorsement.

Recent news in auditing and assurance

For companies considering a transition to IFRS, careful planning is critical

Tracing the few moments of liberation in the standard-setter's history

Answers, and details, on the first big deadline of the ACA

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board launched an updated website Monday that includes more user-friendly navigation and “plain English” resources covering accounting and financial reporting issues for state and local governments.

Earlier this month the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules regarding the registration of municipal advisors under the Dodd-Frank Act that included an exemption for accountants who provide a range of audit and attest services.

The Private Company Council has released the agenda of its next public meetings, which are scheduled for September 30 and October 1.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has created a corporate pilot program to guide companies on how to use the board’s standards to report material sustainability issues in their SEC filings.

Debunking the myth of the $100-per-day fine for not providing ACA-related information to employees

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that foreign private issuers who prepare their financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards do not have to submit interactive data files until the SEC decides on a suitable XBRL taxonomy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged JPMorgan Chase & Co. Thursday with misstating financial results and lacking effective internal controls to detect and prevent its traders from fraudulently overvaluing investments to conceal hundreds of millions of dollars in trading losses.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions and the IFRS Foundation said Wednesday that they have agreed on a set of protocols under which the two organizations will deepen their cooperation to develop International Financial Reporting Standards and apply it consistently across the globe.

The United Kingdom’s Financial Reporting Council has launched an investigation into whether PricewaterhouseCoopers’ U.K. firm was independent when it conducted an audit of a company on which one of its former partners later joined the board.