Regulatory actions and programs

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued an alert cautioning audit firms about using work performed by others outside the United States.

PricewaterhouseCoopers said the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board should slow down the pace of their standard-setting work, even though the two boards have recently extended the timeline for exposing new standards to the public.

Even though the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board technically lost a Supreme Court ruling Monday, the board is likely to emerge stronger now that the element of uncertainty has been removed.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have issued exposure drafts proposing changes in the standards for fair value measurement and disclosure in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has updated its standards for the reporting of certain financial instruments and external investment pools by government entities.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in a 5-4 decision, finding that the way board members are removed by the SEC is unconstitutional.

The American Institute of CPAs has developed a new guide to help CPAs comply with new engagement letter requirements.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have jointly published a draft standard to improve and align the financial reporting of revenue from contracts with customers and the related costs.

Public companies paid an average of $4.8 million in total audit fees in fiscal year 2009, according to a survey by Financial Executives International, with the average public company’s audit fees decreasing 2.4 percent from the prior year.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued a document outlining its preliminary views on how to improve pension accounting and financial reporting by government employers.

IMGCAP(1)]Currently, about 32 million Americans do not have health insurance.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have introduced legislation to lower taxes for small and large businesses by allowing them to write off more of the cost of purchases, such as equipment and machinery, more quickly than they would otherwise be able to under current law.

CPA and advisory firm BKD has launched HealthCareReformInsights.com, a multimedia Web site devoted to health care reform.

The longer a company has been in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, the higher the percentage of executives who say the benefits outweigh the costs, according to a new study released by global risk ad internal audit consulting firm Protiviti.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published new guidance about the recent requirement for accounting firms to file annual reports about their audit clients, fees, staff disciplinary histories and other information.

The House passed legislation to incentivize community banks to increase their small-business lending.

.A new set of standards will allow accountants to explain exactly why their independence may have been impaired when performing compilation services for clients.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has surveyed a group of investors and analysts to gauge their attitudes toward the different approaches taken by the accounting standards boards to account for financial instruments, including loans.

NetSuite Inc. has launched a product to help businesses automate the complex process of complying with new rules from the Financial Accounting Standards Board for revenue recognition of multi-element sales.

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