Regulatory actions and programs

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued an updated guide to help people better understand the financial statements of state and local governments.

XBRL US launched on Wednesday its second annual XBRL Challenge, a contest to discover the top open source analytical tools that can mine XBRL-formatted corporate financial data from the SEC’s EDGAR database.

The International Accounting Standards Board is headed toward a more multilateral approach in the formation of International Financial Reporting Standards, as the U.S. appears increasingly unlikely to throw its support behind IFRS this year.

Effective internal controls reasonably prevent material misstatements in financial reporting and fraud, but poor internal controls have hurt businesses, investors and the public accounting profession.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Chicago-based Huron Consulting and two of its former executives Thursday with accounting violations, and the firm agreed to settle the charges by paying a $1 million penalty.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has entered into a cooperative agreement with the Spanish auditing firm regulator to allow joint inspections to begin this year for firms in Spain and the U.S.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s final staff report on International Financial Reporting Standards seemed to bend over backwards to avoid making a recommendation to the SEC commissioners on how they should vote, but with all the many drawbacks listed in the report, it’s questionable how the SEC could ever vote at this point to support IFRS.

The revolving door between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the financial industry is not as big a problem as it is seems to outside observers, according to a new study.

An IRS project to assess the services of tax return preparers by visiting them around the country has been correctly implemented, but its effectiveness remains to be determined, according to a new report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Paul A. Beswick as acting chief accountant in the Office of the Chief Accountant, succeeding James Kroeker, who left the SEC last Friday.

The Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission published its final staff report on the Work Plan for global accounting standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to require national securities exchanges and the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority to establish a market-wide consolidated audit trail to enhance the ability of regulators to monitor and analyze trading activity.

A bill to provide tax credits to small businesses that hire new workers has been blocked by Senate Republicans after Democrats refused to allow GOP-sponsored amendments on extending the Bush individual income tax cuts.

Legislation to provide tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers has made progress in the Senate, with lawmakers voting 80 to 14 to advance the bill past a procedural hurdle Tuesday, but Senate Democrats blocked an attempt Wednesday by Republicans to add an amendment that would extend the Bush tax cuts for another year.

The Obama administration announced a series of actions Wednesday to aid small businesses and create jobs.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has strengthened corporate governance and improved audit quality in the past decade, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.

Capital markets executives at leading investment banks have conflicting views on the recently enacted JOBS Act, according to a new study by accounting and consulting firm BDO USA LLP.

After looking into the role of the auditors in the recent accounting scandals at camera-maker Olympus Corp., Japan's Financial Services Agency ordered KPMG Azsa LLC and Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC to improve their systems -- though it noted that it had not found "any intentional acts or grave negligence."

Highlights in auditing and assurance from the last month

Other companies' and countries' experiences offer useful lessons in preparing your clients for adopting IFRS