FASB is seeking comment on whether additional and more specific valuation guidance is needed in financial reporting as well as the appropriate processes and organizations for developing guidance if such is found desirable. The invitation to comment is available at www.fasb.org/draft/ITC_Val_Guide_for_Financial_Reporting.pdf . Comments may be e-mailed to director@fasb.org until April
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Accounting & reporting
Frontline Reaction to FASB 123(R)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The issuance of FASB Statement no. 123(R) forced companies to make several important decisions about their use of stock options as a compensation tool, to select the right valuation model and minimize the impact on financial reporting and public disclosure. A survey showed companies
International
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released as final its first four International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), which were redrafted as part of a comprehensive program to enhance the clarity of its standards. The IAASB, an independent board of the International Federation of Accountants, also approved amendments to
Internal Control Guidance: Not Just a Small Matter
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In its most recent guidance for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley section 404 requirements for smaller entities, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has provided principles and examples of effective internal control. Titled Internal Control Over Financial Reporting—Guidance for Smaller Public Companies,
Financial Reporting
The commission’s amendment will align the reporting of equity awards in the Summary Compensation Table and the Director Compensation Table to the amounts that are disclosed in the financial statements under Statement no. 123(R), which requires recognition of the costs of equity awards over the period in which an employee
Back to School
Back to School W ith the youngest of her two daughters in college, Jan Colbert, CPA, is on a new campus herself. She’s been recruited to Eastern Kentucky University by a former colleague who’s a dean. Colbert loves the technology at Eastern Kentucky—including computers and big screens in every classroom
Awards for Public Service
The AICPA received an award from the IRS in recognition of the Institute’s efforts to encourage CPAs to volunteer to help victims of hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita fill out their tax forms. Richard Morgante, commissioner of the Wage & Investment Division, presented the award at November’s National CPA/IRS Tax
Highlights
The PCAOB proposed a standard, An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Financial Statements, to replace PCAOB Audit Standard no. 2 (AS2). The proposal is designed to focus audits on the matters most significant to internal control, eliminate unnecessary
The Paycheck Doesn’t Lie
NUMEROLOGY
Brackens is New Vice-President
The AICPA named James Brackens Jr., CPA, vice-president of firm quality and practice monitoring, reporting to Sue Coffey, senior vice-president of member quality and state regulation. Brackens will provide support and strategic direction for the AICPA’s peer review programs and for the Employee Benefit Plan and Governmental Audit Quality Centers.
Five Financial Concerns of Your Affluent Clients
Five Financial Concerns of Your Affluent Clients Members of U.S. households with more than $250,000 in investable assets ranked the following as the issues most likely to affect their savings and investments: 1. Health care costs. 2. Increases in energy prices. 3. Protecting current wealth. 4. Minimizing taxes. 5. State
Beware the Blog
However, while 76% of companies have adopted policies for e-mail usage and content and 31% have IM policies in place, only 9% control workers’ use of business blogs and just 7% govern the content employees may post on their personal blogs, according to a 2006 survey by the AMA and
A Student Threepeat
A Student Threepeat J eanette Maier-Lytle and her team of talented young CPAs-to-be from the University of Southern Indiana set a new record in achievement by winning the state CPA society’s Case Study Competition for the third year in a row. The threepeat performance—by this year’s team of seniors May
O’Dell to Chair Private Company Financial Reporting Committee
Judith H. O’Dell, CPA, was named chair of the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee in December. The committee is expected to meet for the first time this spring. O’Dell, who was a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees both FASB and GASB, serves as a principal and CFO
A Peck of Jalapenos
LeFevre, who hails from Henderson, Nev., has been competing in contests sponsored by the National Federation of Competitive Eating since 2002. This latest event—which he completed in eight minutes—set a new record. He’s proud as a peacock, though still plainly puckered. —Cheryl Rosen BOOKMARKS
Stay on Track
Track Managers spend an average of seven hours a week sorting out personality conflicts among staff members, said a survey of 150 senior executives in the human resources, finance and marketing departments of the nation’s 1,000 largest companies. Here are some common office troublemakers and how to manage them: Source:
Bringin’ Home the Bacon
BOOKMARKS Stay on
Staying Power
Source: Robert Half Finance & Accounting, www.roberthalffinance.com . SURVEY SAVVY
Bookmarks
Contemporary Issues in Financial Reporting: A User-Oriented Approach By Paul Rosenfield, CPA 562 pages; hardcover Routledge; New York, N.Y.; 2006 Business Fairy Tales: Grim Realities of Fictitious Financial Reporting By Cecil W. Jackson, CPA 282 pages; hardcover Thomson; Mason, Ohio; 2006 Contemporary Issues in Financial Reporting: A User-Oriented Approach by
Hoffman Receives Special Recognition Award
Charles Hoffman, CPA, received the AICPA’s 2006 Special Recognition Award at the Institute’s National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments in Washington, D.C. The award, presented by AICPA Vice-Chair Randy Fletchall, recognizes Hoffman’s contributions to the development of XBRL, a mark-up language that facilitates the preparation, analysis and communication
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The key to success with CAS is selecting the best clients. Tools like ideal client profiles (ICPs), buyer personas, and even artificial intelligence can help identify the businesses that best fit each CAS practice.
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