Regulatory actions and programs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has unanimously approved the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s 2013 budget and the related annual accounting support fee that it charges to issuers and broker-dealers.

The U.S. regulator that oversees corporate audits could face automatic spending cuts designed to reduce the federal budget deficit even though it receives no taxpayer funding.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Jeanette Franzel said the ability to inspect auditing firms in China remained one of the PCAOB’s greatest challenges, but the PCAOB is making progress on negotiating a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a consultation report offering recommendations regarding the protection of client assets, to help regulators improve the supervision of intermediaries holding client assets in the aftermath of scandals at MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has signed a cooperative agreement with Finland’s audit regulator, allowing officials from the U.S. and Finland to conduct joint inspections of auditing firms and share information about them.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has reached a deal with France’s audit regulator allowing for joint inspections of auditing firms and the exchange of confidential information.

We're going to capsulize five hot issues to alert you to what's going on. We'll also preview what's going to appear while we're away.

Highlights from the world of audit and attest in the previous month

The proposed Accounting Standards Update, Transfers and Servicing (Topic 860)-Effective Control for Transfers with Forward Agreements to Repurchase Assets and Accounting for Repurchase Financings, would clarify the guidance for distinguishing repo agreements, and other transfers with forward agreements to repurchase transferred assets, as either sales or secured borrowings, and improve disclosures about them.

A Q&A with the new chairman of the new Private Company Council on its process and purpose

President Obama nominated former prosecutor Mary Jo White as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The majority of small businesses want a long-term solution to the debt ceiling so the U.S. can pay its bills and the issue does not repeatedly come up for votes in Congress, according to a new survey.

Mary Jo White, the former U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, is under consideration to become the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved over $561 million in disaster assistance loans for residents and businesses in New York affected by Hurricane Sandy and over $238 million for residents and businesses in New Jersey, and said it is eager to do more.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to introduce a simplified way for small business owners and home-based employees to claim the home office tax deduction.

Deloitte has set up its own firm in China to replace the joint venture it formerly operated there.

Private company stakeholders have never been in a better position to have their concerns addressed in the standard-setting process, according to Billy Atkinson, the chair of the new Private Company Council: “We have the wind in our sails.”

Audit committees are confronting another challenging year, with continued economic uncertainty, globalization, digitization, and increased government regulation and enforcement reshaping the business and risk environment, according to a report from KPMG.

The need to cut the federal budget deficit should be the government’s top economic priority, according to a survey of CPAs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration highlighted some of the main tax incentives for small businesses that were extended as part of last week’s fiscal cliff legislation.