Financial Accounting Foundation President and CEO Terri Polley told a Senate committee on Tuesday that a provision in the so-called Schumer-Toomey bill, “raises serious issues about the continued independence of the standard-setting process.” The proposal is designed to decrease the administrative burden on small and medium companies and spark job
Advertisement
TOPICS
Accounting & reporting
Risk with donor pledges
In the white paper Measurement of Fair Value for Certain Transactions of Not-For-Profit Entities, the AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) provides guidance to not-for-profits on considering risk when determining the fair value of a donor’s unconditional promise to give. Considerations may include: To account for risk, not-for-profits can use
Financial reporting
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) published an issue analysis to provide clarity for health care providers on accounting for incentive payments received under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act (Title XIII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, P.L. 111-5). Medicare
FinREC seeks clarity in principal vs. agent proposal
The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) sent a comment letter to FASB stating concerns about operational challenges that could be triggered by Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU), Consolidation (Topic 810)—Principal Versus Agent Analysis. FASB issued the Proposed ASU on Nov. 3. The proposal would amend the evaluation of kick-out
IFRS decision a “few” months away, based on SEC staff report timeline
An SEC decision on the use of IFRS by U.S. public companies is still a “few” months away, SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker indicated Monday. At an IFRS Advisory Council meeting in London, Kroeker declined to get more precise because he wants the SEC staff focused on completing a report
Round table explores investment company proposals
Questions arose about the scope and substance of accounting standards proposals on investment companies Friday during a round-table meeting sponsored by FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The meeting, which was held in Toronto, was the first of four public meetings to discuss the FASB and IASB proposals.
SEC changes performance fee thresholds, net worth calculation
Investors no longer will include the value of their home in the net worth calculation that can determine whether registered investment advisers can charge them performance fees, the SEC announced Wednesday. SEC rules allow registered investment advisers to charge performance fees if the client’s assets managed by the adviser or
Three financial reporting standards to get FAF reviews
The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) will conduct post-implementation reviews on standards regulating financial reporting for business combinations, operating segments and investment disclosures. Standards selected for review, as announced in a FAF news release, are: FASB Statement No. 141R, Business Combinations, which requires an acquiring organization to recognize the assets acquired,
Oversight groups report on steps to enhance IASB governance, financing
In a move that will be closely scrutinized in the United States, the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and trustees announced Thursday joint plans for improving the governance and financing of the IASB’s parent organization and setting its strategy. The monitoring board, a group of public authorities, will begin making the
Regulation tops concerns for small and medium-size accounting firms and their clients
The burden of standards and regulations is the most significant issue facing small and medium-size accounting practices (SMPs) worldwide, an International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) survey suggests. Forty-one percent of the 2,441 SMP respondents in the IFAC SMP Quick Poll for the fourth quarter of 2011 said keeping up with
Financial Reporting
The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the parent organization of the U.S. standard setter FASB, outlined its preferred path for incorporating IFRS into U.S. GAAP. In a letter to the SEC in November, available at tinyurl.com/7crlk54, FAF Chairman John Brennan described a number of recommended changes to the approach called
Three common currency-adjustment pitfalls
Although the rules on accounting for foreign-currency translations have not changed in many years, mistakes in this area persist. Such mistakes can result in misstatements in financial reporting, hurting the bottom line, creating false understandings of business results, and exposing companies to possible regulatory scrutiny. A key factor raising the
FASB, IASB to work on classification and measurement for financial instruments
FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working together to reduce differences in their respective classification and measurement models for financial instruments. The boards announced Friday that they will explore these models jointly, then decide whether to propose amendments to IFRS and U.S. GAAP. These discussions will take
FASB proposal aims to simplify impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets
FASB on Wednesday issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update it said would reduce costs and simplify the guidance for testing indefinite-lived intangible assets other than goodwill for impairment. The amendments in the proposed update, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment, would allow an organization to
IASB’s Hoogervorst predicts SEC will adopt IFRS
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Chairman Hans Hoogervorst predicted in a speech in Moscow on Monday that the SEC will adopt IFRS for U.S. issuers. Hoogervorst doesn’t have any privileged insight regarding the SEC’s internal decision-making, according to the speech posted on the IFRS Foundation’s website. But he said that
Guidance available on Early Retirement Reinsurance Program payments
The AICPA issued Technical Practice Aids (TPAs) 6931.13–.17 to provide nonauthoritative guidance on health and welfare plan accounting and reporting for reimbursements received under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s (PPACA) Early Retirement Reinsurance Program (ERRP). The TPAs describe the ERRP and cover matters such as how to report
U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy available for 2012
The 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which is awaiting final acceptance by the SEC, has been made available, FASB announced today. The taxonomy contains updates for accounting standards and includes other changes to the 2011 taxonomy being used by SEC issuers. The taxonomy is a list of computer-readable tags
FASB won’t require management to make going-concern assessments
FASB will not require management to assess whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. After its board meeting Thursday, FASB announced that a majority of board members determined that such a requirement would be difficult to apply. Board members decided that users
Comment period on private company reporting draws to a close
A comment period on private company financial statements that already has produced more than 6,500 letters has left the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) trustees with a lot to consider, FAF President and CEO Terri Polley said Thursday. Speaking at a North Carolina Association of CPAs meeting that was simulcast on
FAF releases “post-implementation review” of FIN 48
The Financial Accounting Foundation’s first formal “post-implementation review” of a FASB standard is complete with this morning’s report that FASB Interpretation no. (FIN) 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, generally achieves its purpose. According to a FAF announcement, the review concluded that FIN 48 increases relevance and comparability in
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Promises of ‘fast and easy’ threaten SOC credibility
CPAs warn that an ongoing push for high-volume SOC services may come at the cost of quality and objectivity.
From The Tax Adviser
January 31, 2026
Trust distributions in kind and the Sec. 643(e)(3) election
January 31, 2026
Effects of the OBBBA on higher education
December 31, 2025
