The $700 billion rescue package for the U.S. financial system approved by lawmakers in October calls on the SEC to study fair value accounting’s impact on recent bank failures and the quality of financial information available to investors. The study will be conducted in consultation with the Treasury secretary and
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Accounting & reporting
FASB Seeks to Clarify Rules for Assessing Future Viability
FASB issued exposure drafts of proposed statements on going concern and subsequent events. The proposals converge U.S. GAAP and IFRS and incorporate accounting guidance related to determining the viability of entities. The proposed statement on Going Concern would require management to consider all available information about the future when assessing
IPSASB Proposes Changes to Borrowing Costs Standard
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), an independent standard-setting board within the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), is seeking comments on its proposed changes to IPSAS 5, Borrowing Costs, set forth in Exposure Draft 35, Borrowing Costs (Revised 200X). Most notably, ED 35 proposes amendments to reflect that
FASB Adds “Business Combinations” to Accounting Standards Codification
FASB added the topic “business combinations” to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. The addition integrates various standards, including FASB Statement no. 141(R), Business Combinations; FASB Statement no. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes; FASB Interpretation no. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes—an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109; and various
IASB, FASB Update MOU
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and FASB published an update to their 2006 memorandum of understanding (MOU). The update reports the progress they have made since 2006 and sets the goal of completing their major joint projects by 2011. “This update outlines a plan and projected timeline for completing
SEC Unveils Successor to EDGAR Database
The SEC unveiled the successor to the agency’s 1980s-era EDGAR database, which will give investors far faster and easier access to key financial information about public companies and mutual funds, according to an SEC news release. The new system is called IDEA, short for Interactive Data Electronic Applications. Based on
SEC, ASIC, Australian Government Enter Recognition Arrangement
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, the Australian Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman entered into a mutual recognition arrangement among the SEC, the Australian government and ASIC. Through the arrangement, the SEC and the Australian authorities agreed to consider providing exemptions to
Profession Reacts to IFRS Plan
For U.S. GAAP, the end of an era could be in the making. In August, the SEC unveiled a proposed road map that begins to widen the acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards. The plan could lead to a requirement for U.S. public companies to begin using IFRS by 2014.
XBRL Around the World
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY While the United States and Asia focus on XBRL for use in capital markets, Europe has developed an eye-opening array of governmentwide and cross-border applications that can share consistently structured XBRL data for both public and private companies. In Asia, as in the U.S., XBRL is being used
Highlights
FASB issued a revised exposure draft of a Proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, Earnings per Share—an amendment of FASB Statement No. 128. The proposed statement is intended to improve financial reporting by clarifying and simplifying the method of calculating earnings per share. As part of international convergence efforts, the
Financial Reporting
The CIFiR report provides practical proposals to improve financial reporting in five main areas: (1) increasing the usefulness of information in SEC filings; (2) enhancing the accounting standards-setting process; (3) improving the substantive design of new standards; (4) delineating authoritative interpretive guidance; and (5) clarifying guidance on financial restatements and
A Showcase of Tax Research
In this third installment of “In Practice,” we distill research published in tax and accounting journals that should be of interest to busy tax practitioners. The pervasiveness of tax considerations in the affairs of everyone from students to CEOs makes the field a particularly fertile one for studying financial behavior.
Derivatives and Hedging: Accounting vs. Taxation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hedge documentation is important in both financial reporting and income taxation.For financial accounting purposes, on the date of the hedge, an entity must identify the hedged item, the instrument used, the type of risk hedged, the means of assessing hedge effectiveness, and the risk management objective and strategy.
International
The trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation published a discussion document containing proposals that would establish a formal link between the IASC Foundation and a monitoring group composed of representatives of public authorities and international organizations that are accountable to public authorities. The proposals would also expand
Financial Reporting
The guidance applies to the calculation of earnings per share under FASB Statement no. 128, Earnings per Share, for share-based payment awards with rights to dividends or dividend equivalents. Unvested share-based payment awards that contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities, according
The Standard-Bearer
B en Neuhausen took the helm of the Accounting Standards Executive Committee in 2005 and led the all-volunteer AICPA committee through a tumultuous time during which its responsibilities shifted. On his watch as chairman, AcSEC transitioned from a standard-setting body to a source of practical, nonauthoritative guidance for CPAs and
Subjects of Substance
Your issue of May 2008 may well stand among the best journalism in our profession, with not only the codification of GAAP (“Framing the Future,” page 40) but a thorough discussion of the late crisis in the subprime mortgage market and the role of accounting there (“The Role of Fair
Successfully Navigating OPEB
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GASB released two important standards intended to disclose the nature and extent of nonpension post-employment benefit liabilities largely related to health care. Governments are not required to fund the liability, but will face disclosure requirements and operational hurdles if funding is not made. GASB Statement no. 45 ,
Financial Reporting
FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published consultative documents that seek public comment on two of the eight phases of their joint project to develop an improved conceptual framework that provides a foundation for developing future accounting standards. The first document is an exposure draft of the framework’s
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