Regulatory actions and programs

The American Institute of CPAs has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that accountants need an adequate transition period if the SEC decides next year to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released new proposals for how to audit complex financial instruments such as derivatives whose trading contributed to the financial crisis.

As the incoming chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, Hans Hoogervorst has been named to a key position in the global accounting profession at a time of dramatic changes.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new rule, based on requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that would help those managing their own family's financial portfolios determine whether their “family offices” can continue to be excluded from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Dutch financial markets regulator Hans Hoogervorst will succeed Sir David Tweedie as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board next June when Tweedie retires from the most powerful and influential position in the accounting profession.

A majority of members of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies voted in favor of establishing a separate standard-setting board for private company accounting at a meeting Friday, but will wait until December to issue its final recommendations.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is taking a new approach to getting its inspectors in the door of auditing firms outside the U.S. that claim they can’t be inspected because of legal restrictions from foreign officials.

One week after the signing of the Small Business Jobs Act, the U.S. Small Business Administration has approved nearly $970 million in loans to small businesses.

AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon is calling for the Financial Accounting Foundation to set up a separate standards board for private company accounting.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a report summarizing the types of problems its inspectors encountered at auditing firms in the wake of the economic crisis.

Wayne Carnall, chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporate Finance, has been seeing so many hits on the SEC’s website lately that he’s comparing the agency to pop sensation Lady Gaga.

President Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act into law on Monday, providing $12 billion in tax breaks and a $30 billion lending fund for small businesses.

In mid-August 2010, the American Institute of CPAs released a video interview with Sir David Tweedie, chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (available on the Journal of Accountancy Web Site, www.journalofaccountancy.com). The content of the interview was also summarized by the British Web site AccountancyAge (www.accountancyage.com).

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously on Friday to propose requiring public companies to disclose more information to investors about their short-term borrowing arrangements.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is asking for input on how to improve the accounting for insurance contracts in financial reports through a new discussion paper.

Norwalk, Conn. - The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a new set of standards aimed at improving the transparency of financial reporting by companies that hold financing receivables, which include loans, lease receivables, and other long-term receivables.

Washington, D.C. - The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board plans to impose more sanctions on accounting firms and managers that don't adequately supervise their staff.

In addition to asking candidates for our Top 100 MostInfluential People in Accounting their opinions on IFRS and convergence, weasked:

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has written to Congress with a draft bill that would amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to allow it to make its disciplinary hearings of accounting firms and auditors public.

Leslie Seidman has been a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board since July 2003 and is set to become acting chairman of the board on Oct. 1.