Regulatory actions and programs

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has reached an agreement with Norway’s Financial Services Authority that will allow the regulators to conduct joint inspections of PCAOB-registered audit firms in Norway.

President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Thursday evening to present a jobs bill containing an expansion of the payroll tax cut, tax breaks for new hires and salary raises, and other tax reform measures.

A bipartisan trio of senators has introduced legislation that would foster the growth of S corporations owned by Employee Stock Ownership Plans, or S-ESOPs.

The CFA Institute told the Securities and Exchange Commission that its long anticipated decision on whether or not to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system should wait until the SEC completes its work plan for incorporating IFRS.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have updated the computer-readable tags for their accounting standards and exposed them for public comment.

IMGCAP(1)]As accountants and tax attorneys, we often find ourselves in conversation with our peers about the constitutionality of state taxation.

IMGCAP(1)]The SEC's proposed changes to broker-dealer financial reporting regulations could have a major impact on auditing firms that service broker-dealers.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a CPA mobility bill into law in New York State.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been asked to respond to allegations that it destroyed documents relating to thousands of investigations.

Non-GAAP earnings numbers are better at predicting a company’s future earnings potential, but they are more subject to opportunistic manipulation and insider trading, a new study finds.

The American Institute of CPAs has recommended that the Securities and Exchange Commission permit public companies in the U.S. to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards on an optional basis.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted Tuesday to issue a concept release that proposes requiring public companies to change their auditing firms after a certain number of years.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to hold an open meeting next Tuesday to discuss its proposed regulations calling for greater auditor independence and mandatory rotation of audit firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s new whistleblower program took effect Friday, and the SEC has created a new Web page where people can report a violation of the federal securities laws and apply for a financial award.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has released an updated manual for companies filing financial reports in the SEC’s Edgar online system.

Officials from the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board have met with Chinese officials to try to resolve the impasse over inspections of accounting firms in China that audit Chinese companies whose stocks trade on U.S. exchanges.

IMGCAP(1)]Remember the fall of Enron? What about Tyco International, Adelphia and WorldCom?

A new report from Ernst & Young finds that many companies can improve their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has disciplined a pair of Ernst & Young auditors after they allegedly provided misleading documents and information to PCAOB inspectors and altered and backdated working papers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has written to Groupon asking the company behind the popular group discount site to clarify the accounting measures it used in its filing for an initial public offering.