The U.S. accounting profession increasingly believes that international accounting standards will be implemented in the U.S. and is beginning to prepare for a change in standards, according to a recent survey conducted by the AICPA. As the Securities and Exchange Commission moves toward adoption of international accounting standards in place
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AICPA Issues Exposure Draft of Proposed SSARS
The AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee issued an exposure draft of a proposed Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS), Applicability of Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. The exposure draft proposes to amend AR section 100. Under the proposal, SSARSs would not apply when
Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program Raises Accounting Issues
With $250 billion dollars in play, questions have arisen regarding the accounting treatment for the Treasury Department’s injection of capital into banks through its Capital Purchase Program (CPP), which is part of the Treasury’s effort to ease the financial crisis. The capital injections through the Troubled Assets Relief Program
Component Materiality for Group Audits: Probabilistic Model
To determine maximum aggregate component materiality levels, we first use the cumulative binomial distribution to derive the maximum number of components that can be allowed to simultaneously contain undetected misstatements that are material at the component level. The maximum allowable number of misstated components takes into account the number of
AICPA Issues Liquidity Restrictions Practice Aid
The AICPA has issued a new nonauthoritative Technical Practice Aid addressing potential accounting and auditing implications of a fund or its trustee imposing restrictions on a nongovernmental entity’s ability to withdraw its balance in a money market fund or other short-term investment vehicle. TPA 1100.15, Liquidity Restrictions, covers balance sheet
SEC Sees Staff Departures Following Election
Since the Nov. 4 presidential election, the SEC has announced that four key staff members plan to step down. Last week, SEC Chief Accountant Conrad W. Hewitt was the latest to announce he is leaving. The first departure was announced two days after the election with the resignation of John
AICPA Issues Two Final Standards on Internal Control
The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board issued two final standards on internal control. Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) no. 15, An Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Its Financial Statements, converges the standards practitioners use for reporting on a
Pessimism Grows as Credit Crisis Persists
Rising unemployment and the persistent credit crisis soured the outlook of CEOs, CFOs and other CPAs working in business and industry, according to a quarterly survey by the AICPA and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Pessimism was at an all-time high in the survey, which began Nov.
Obama Team Eyeing NY Fed Reserve’s Geithner for Treasury Post
New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy J. Geithner will be nominated to become the next Treasury secretary, according to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cited a source close to the transition process. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation began calling Geithner confidants this week, starting a vetting process of
SEC Chairman Speaks to Future of International Standards
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox delivered the following speech Tuesday at the FEI 2008 Current Financial Reporting Issues Conference in New York. The text was provided by the SEC. Watch the speech here. This year’s Conference on Current Financial Reporting Issues is taking place at a critical time. The
Banks Still Looking for Bottom
The outlook was somber in Washington on Wednesday at the annual AICPA National Conference on Banks & Savings Institutions, where more than 1,000 CPAs gathered to discuss accounting issues in the ailing banking industry. “The S&L crisis was a Sunday school picnic compared to what we’re going through today,” said
PCAOB Proposes Seven Auditing Standards Related to Risk Assessment
The PCAOB voted to propose a slate of seven auditing standards related to risk assessment and response. The standards would supersede the board’s interim auditing standards related to audit risk and materiality, audit planning and supervision, consideration of internal control in an audit of financial statements, audit evidence, and performing
IFAC President: Financial Crisis Demonstrates Need for Common Standards
At a meeting of the International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC) Board and Council last week in Rome, IFAC President Robert Bunting, a past AICPA chairman, said the global financial crisis has shown the close ties international markets share. He also emphasized the need for a common set of accounting and
AICPA Honors Albert B. Ellentuck With Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award
Albert B. Ellentuck is the recipient of the 2008 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of taxation. The award, given by the Tax Division of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, was presented at the AICPA’s Fall Tax Division
G-20 Addresses Accounting Issues at Financial Summit
Leaders of 20 of the world’s richest nations agreed on common principles to guide financial market reform at the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in Washington on Saturday. An attached plan charged G-20 financial ministers with accomplishing “immediate” high priority tasks designed to strengthen financial market transparency
SEC Road Map for Transition to IFRS Available
UPDATE: SEC Extends Comment Period on IFRS Road Map The SEC on Friday released a long-awaited road map for the transition by U.S. public companies to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Commission set a longer-than-expected 90-day comment period for the proposal, which puts forth milestones
Guidance for Dealing With Electronic Confirmations
The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board has revised Auditing Interpretation no. 1, Use of Electronic Confirmations, of SAS no. 67, The Confirmation Process (AU section 330). The interpretation has been revised to provide guidance on the use of electronic confirmations and their reliability in the confirmation process. Auditors are likely to
GASB Explains Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting Project
GASB released a fact sheet to explain its project to develop service efforts and accomplishments (SEA) reporting by governments. According to the GASB release, Basic Facts about Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting, the public reporting of key service performance indicators provides decision-useful information about the government’s actual accomplishments in pursuit
AMT Relief in Bailout Bill
Besides “patching” the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amount for 2008 (to $69,950 for joint filers and $46,200 for singles), the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (PL 110-343) increased the portion of the long-term unused minimum tax credit (MTC) that can be claimed in a year. Under prior law,
XBRL: Who Are the Early Adopters?
View the PowerPoint presentation narrated by JofA Senior Editor Matthew Lamoreaux. XBRL is evolving everywhere, but unevenly, driven by various stakeholders such as governments, stock exchanges, banks and other industry sectors. While the SEC has been finalizing its proposed rule requiring public companies and mutual funds to file their financial reports
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From The Tax Adviser
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Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
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Current Developments in Taxation of Individuals: Part 1
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