The AICPA’s accounting standards staff issued Technical Practice Aid (TPA) 6931.11, Fair Value Measurement Disclosures for Master Trusts. The aid, available at tinyurl.com/d94du2, provides guidance on fair value measurement disclosure requirements for an employee benefit plan when the plan holds investments in a master trust. The Financial Crisis
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TOPICS / ACCOUNTING & REPORTING
FASB financial accounting & reporting
Obama Announces Broad Regulatory Reform Proposals
President Obama on Wednesday presented a plan for regulatory reforms that would consolidate banking regulators, create new government agencies and give new powers to the Federal Reserve. One proposal of particular interest to the accounting profession includes three recommendations addressed to accounting standard setters. The plan echoes the Group of
FASB Issues Standards on Securitizations, SPEs
FASB on Friday published standards that change the way entities account for securitizations and special-purpose entities. Both standards will require new disclosures. FASB Statement no. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets, and Statement no. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), will affect financial institution balance sheets beginning in
Financial Reporting
FASB revised FASB Statement no. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations, to address application issues raised by preparers, auditors, and people in the legal profession on initial recognition and measurement, subsequent measurement and accounting, and disclosure of assets and liabilities arising from contingencies in a business combination. The application concerns
Highlights
Significant changes next month will affect the way CPAs perform accounting research and reference accounting literature in day-to-day work. On July 1, FASB is expected to issue the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) as authoritative. The ASC will become the single source of authoritative U.S. accounting and reporting standards
New Disclosure Required for Subsequent Events
FASB on Thursday issued new rules that should alert financial statement users about the timing and events at issue in the statements. FASB Statement no. 165, Subsequent Events, takes effect soon. It applies to interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2009. The standard requires the disclosure of the
CPAs Becoming More Familiar With IFRS, Many Want More Time
CPAs hold mixed views on the SEC’s proposed timeline for the adoption of IFRS by U.S. public companies, according to an AICPA survey. Asked whether they think the timeline, which would require IFRS adoption for public companies starting in 2014, should be changed, 47% of CPA respondents said it should
FASB Expected to Issue Accounting Standards Codification as Authoritative on July 1
Significant changes in July will affect the way CPAs perform accounting research and reference accounting literature in day-to-day work. On July 1, FASB is expected to issue the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) as authoritative. The ASC will become the single source of authoritative U.S. accounting and reporting standards for nongovernmental entities,
Government
To address a lack of consistency in fund balance reporting, GASB’s new Statement no. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, establishes a hierarchy of fund balance classifications based primarily on the extent to which a government is bound to observe spending constraints imposed upon how resources reported
FASB Updates Fair Value Guidance
Editor’s note: This is a sidebar to “Valuations for Financial Reporting in Today’s Market,” May 09. At its April 2 meeting, FASB voted to release three new pieces of guidance to address concerns over the application of fair value accounting standards in current market conditions. As a result, FASB
Highlights
The PCAOB and SEC issued guidance on the registration of auditors of nonpublic broker-dealers. Until recently, auditors of nonpublic broker- dealers were not required to register with the PCAOB as a result of a series of SEC exemptions dating back to 2003. The latest SEC order, issued in December 2006,
SEC Amends Accounting Guidance on Other-Than-Temporary Impairment
The SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance on Tuesday announced the release of Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) no. 111 that amends Topic 5.M. in the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin Series titled Other Than Temporary Impairment of Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities. The release
FASB Releases Final Versions of New Mark-to-Market Guidance
FASB on Thursday released final versions of authoritative guidance on the application and disclosure of fair value measurements and impairments of securities. FASB Staff Position (FSP) FAS 157-4, Determining Fair Value When the Volume and Level of Activity for the Asset or Liability Have Significantly Decreased and Identifying Transactions That
FASB to Take Up Fair Value Proposals
FASB board members meet today to consider proposed fair value guidance. On the agenda for the meeting are two proposed FASB Staff Positions (FSPs): FAS 157-e, Determining Whether a Market Is Not Active and a Transaction Is Not Distressed, and FAS 115-a, FAS 124-a, and EITF 99-20-b, Recognition and Presentation
FASB Approves New Mark-to-Market Guidance
Exactly three weeks after FASB Chairman Robert Herz’s March 12 testimony before a rancorous House Financial Services subcommittee, the independent standard-setting board voted Thursday to release three new pieces of guidance to address concerns over the application of fair value accounting standards in current market conditions. All three new pronouncements
IFRS Converges to U.S. GAAP on Segment Reporting
As part of the convergence effort between IFRS and U.S. GAAP, the International Accounting Standards Board published IFRS 8, Operating Segments, which became effective Jan 1. IFRS 8 supersedes IAS 14, Segment Reporting, and closely resembles the “through the eyes of management” approach of FASB Statement no. 131, Disclosures about
Highlights
The SEC extended by two months the comment period for its proposed road map for the adoption of IFRS for U.S. issuers. The comment period for the proposed road map, which was published Nov. 14, was originally scheduled to close Feb. 19. In a rule proposal, the SEC said
IFRS: A Preparer’s Point of View
If you think IFRS is difficult for CPAs to comprehend, talk to non-CPAs. Historically, accounting professionals have insulated their colleagues from understanding the effort involved in implementing newly issued accounting standards. As a result, you cannot expect them to understand the challenge associated with adopting an entirely new framework. To
Financial Reporting
FASB issued a proposal intended to improve financial reporting by resolving some potential ambiguity about the breadth of the embedded credit derivative scope exception in Statement no. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. The proposal would amend certain accounting and reporting requirements of paragraph 14B of Statement
FASB Advances GAAP Codification Plan
FASB took another step forward in its plan to codify U.S. GAAP with the release Friday of an exposure draft on changes to the GAAP hierarchy. FASB is taking comments on the proposal until May 8. In the draft, the standard setter reiterates the planned July 1 effective date for
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Drafting an AI policy that actually works
As AI use accelerates, many firms are discovering their policies haven’t kept pace. This article breaks down what CPAs and finance leaders should consider when drafting an AI policy that’s practical, flexible, and fit for real world use.
