The SEC signed protocols to share information on the application of IFRS with financial regulators in four European countries. The arrangements with regulators in Belgium, Bulgaria, Norway and Portugal are in line with the plan previously agreed to between the SEC and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). These
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Accounting & reporting
Hightlights
The SEC proposed new rules that would require securities issuers to provide an XBRL version of their financial statements. Under the proposal, all U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers listed with the SEC would be required to provide financial information using XBRL within three years. The
Smith, Stevenson Named to PCFRC
James K. Smith, CFO of Phonon Corp. in Connecticut, and James Stevenson, CFO of ABS Capital Partners in Maryland, were named to the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee. Smith has expertise as a preparer of financial statements and Stevenson as a reviewer. Sponsored by FASB, with additional administrative
Currency Translation Adjustments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Accounting for currency translation risks can be very complex. This article addresses only the basics and provides some tools to help the reader understand the issues and find resources. Globalization has changed the old accounting rule that debits equal credits. Net income became just one part of comprehensive
Hanson Named New AcSEC Chairman
The AICPA has named Jay Hanson, national director of accounting at McGladrey & Pullen LLP, chairman–elect of the Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC). He will succeed AcSEC Chairman Ben Neuhausen, of BDO Seidman LLP, at the committee’s November meeting. As chairman, Hanson will head one of the AICPA’s
International
FASB and the China Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) issued a Memorandum of Understanding articulating their commitment to strengthen cooperation and communication between the standard–setting organizations. The MOU calls for FASB and the CASC to, among other things, work to build the technical foundation for sharing views on convergence of
Financial Reporting
FASB issued an invitation to comment on Reducing Complexity in Reporting Financial Instruments. FASB is seeking input from constituents on whether there is a need for it to take on a project intended to simplify and improve standards for measuring financial instruments. The document describes how current measurement requirements
Fair Value Roundtable
O n a quiet Friday in New York—less than a month after that chaotic Friday when Bear Stearns’ stock went into a free fall—a panel of financial reporting experts met with about 200 corporate directors and other stakeholders to discuss the role of accounting in the market turmoil that began
A New Day for Business Combinations
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FASB outlined a major overhaul of GAAP related to mergers and acquisitions when it issued Statement no. 141 (revised), Business Combinations , in December 2007. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after Dec. 15, 2008. A fundamental concept at the core of Statement no. 141(R)
International
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in a discussion paper on IAS 19, Employee Benefits , set out its preliminary views on how the accounting for some post-employment benefits, including pensions, could be improved. The discussion paper, developed in consultation with the IASB’s Employee Benefits Working Group, addresses the
How Will IFRS Affect Tax Practitioners?
M any companies are in the early stages of considering what impact the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from U.S. GAAP will have on financial reporting. However, are they also thinking about the impact it will have on tax reporting? While practitioners may have focused on the
Obtaining Quality Employee Benefit Plan Audit Services – The Request for Proposal
Employee benefit plan sponsors and administrators can save time selecting an audit firm and evaluating the quality of its services by writing a thorough Request for Proposal (RFP). Consider these tips offered by the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center: P Provide a brief description of the engagement. Describe
Interest Capitalization: One Small Step Toward Convergence
Convergence generally involves standard setters working together to achieve a standard that is superior to either of their existing standards. As a practical matter, in the short term, most changes have resulted in either the IASB or FASB modifying their standard to more closely conform to the standard of the
Securitized Profits
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Securitizations in the mortgage industry are collateralized with home or commercial mortgage loans and are packaged into mortgage-backed securities (MBS) that are sold to institutional investors seeking to realize higher returns on investment-grade debt instruments compared with other securities of similar credit quality. Mortgage banks generate revenue through
International
n The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a discussion paper on the distinction between equity financial instruments and other financial instruments (non-equity instruments). The discussion paper is the first stage of the IASB’s project to improve and simplify the requirements in International Accounting Standard no. 32 (IAS 32), Financial
Government
n FASAB has issued Technical Release 8, Clarification of Standard Relating to Inter-Entity Costs, and Technical Release 9, Implementation Guide for Statement of FASAB 29: Heritage Assets and Stewardship Land. TR8 provides guidance to federal entities on three aspects of full costing specified in SFFAS 4: (1) guidance on costs that
Post-Transaction Adjustments
More and more, global companies are discovering that year-end adjustments to intercompany transfer pricing can improve the accuracy of their transfer pricing tax reporting and, potentially, help prevent overpaying taxes by millions of dollars. However, increasing scrutiny by tax authorities in the United States and other key countries makes it
Framing the Future
In 2009, FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification will affect the day-to-day work of nearly every CPA who practices, teaches or researches accounting in accordance with U.S. GAAP. By July 2009, FASB is expected to make the codification the single source of authoritative GAAP, overriding all existing literature. In other words, the
The Role of Fair Value Accounting in the Subprime Mortgage Meltdown
As the credit markets froze and stocks gyrated, investors and pundits naturally looked for someone, or some thing , to blame. Fair value accounting quickly emerged as an oft-cited problem. But is fair value really a cause of the crisis, or is it just a scapegoat? And might it have
Financial Reporting
n FASB issued proposed FASB Staff Position FAS 117-a, Endowments of Not-for-Profit Organizations: Net Asset Classification of Funds Subject to an Enacted Version of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, and Enhanced Disclosures. “The issues addressed by this FSP have widespread importance to the not-forprofit sector, especially organizations
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