Were you in tune with accounting news in 2012? Take this quiz to find out

High-profile developments with regard to IFRS, private company financial reporting, regulation, and corporate governance made for a newsy 2012 in the accounting profession.

Take the following quiz to see how well you kept track of the latest developments, and read the answers for a look ahead at some of the important issues expected to surface in 2013.

If you get 9–12 answers correct, you are an accounting news expert; 5–8 correct answers is an indication that you are fairly well informed. If you get 0–4 correct answers, let’s just say you might want to make a New Year’s resolution to keep closer tabs on accounting news in 2013.

1. What is the name of the new body the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) created to debate and vote on possible GAAP exceptions and modifications for private companies?

a. Committee for Private Company Adjustments (CPCA).
b. Private Company Council (PCC).
c. Private Company Financial Reporting Council (PCFRC).
d. Private Company Exceptions Committee (PCEC).

2. What did an SEC staff report recommend in July with regard to U.S. public companies preparing financial statements in accordance with IFRS?

a. The report said U.S. public companies will be required to file in IFRS.
b. The report said U.S. public companies will have the option to file in IFRS.
c. The reported permanently rejected IFRS for U.S. public companies.
d. The report made no recommendation.

3. What organization is developing a special-purpose financial reporting framework for small and medium-size entities (SMEs)?

a. AICPA.
b. FAF.
c. FASB.
d. SEC.

4. What was the net effect of the November elections on the number of CPAs in Congress?

a. The number will increase.
b. The number will decrease.
c. The number will stay the same.

5. A new conflict minerals regulation implemented by the SEC was a result of which federal law?

a. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
b. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
c. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act.
d. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

6. The SEC in December approved a PCAOB standard regulating communication between public company auditors and whom?

a. Audit committees.
b. Management.
c. Investors.
d. PCAOB investigators.

7. A converged standard on which topic is scheduled to be released by FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board in the first half of 2013?

a. Leases.
b. Revenue recognition.
c. Financial instruments.
d. Insurance.

8. Who among the following leaders in 2012 announced that they were stepping down?

a. SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker.
b. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro.
c. GASB Chairman Robert Attmore.
d. FAF Board of Trustees Chairman John Brennan.
e. All of the above.
f. None of the above.

9. What is the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) doing to the popular internal control framework it first issued in 1992?

a. Voiding it.
b. Donating it to a museum.
c. Presenting it to legislators for incorporation into U.S. law.
d. Updating it.

10. What is the name of the new body established to encourage diversity in the accounting profession?

a. Committee for Accounting Diversity.
b. National Accounting Diversity Committee.
c. National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion.
d. National Diversity Committee.

11. Which state in September became the 49th to pass CPA mobility legislation?

a. Nevada.
b. Hawaii.
c. Florida.
d. California.

12. Which designation was launched in January 2012 as part of an effort to elevate the practice of management accounting?

a. Chartered Public Management Accountant (CPMA)
b. Chartered Worldwide Management Accountant (CWMA)
c. Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)
d. Chartered International Management Accountant (CIMA)

For answers, click here.

—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.