In December 2007, FASB adopted two new business combination standards: Statement no. 141(R), Business Combinations, and Statement no. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements. Both culminated years of work directed at improving reporting for consolidated entities. An article in the June 2008 issue of the JofA (“A New Day
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TOPICS / ACCOUNTING & REPORTING
FASB financial accounting & reporting
Highlights
The rescue package, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, allows the Treasury Department to buy up problem assets in an effort to improve the balance sheets of financial institutions and keep credit flowing. The final version of the plan passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on Oct.
Financial Reporting
The AICPA’s Accounting Standards Executive Committee issued an exposure draft of a proposed Audit and Accounting Guide, Gaming. The proposed guide addresses new accounting issues that have emerged over the years. It also includes guidance dedicated specifically to governmental gaming entities. Comments are due Dec. 9. The ED is available
SEC Releases “Mark-to-Market” Accounting Study Details
The SEC released preliminary details on its study on “mark-to-market” accounting, as authorized in October by section 133 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA). The study is to be completed by Jan. 2 in consultation with the Treasury secretary and the Board of Governors of the Federal
FASB, IASB Publish Financial Statement Presentation Paper for Comment
FASB and the IASB published for public comment a discussion paper on financial statement presentation. The paper contains an analysis of issues in financial statement presentation and presents the boards’ initial thinking on addressing those issues. International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. GAAP provide only limited presentation guidance. In addition, presentation
SEC to Study Fair Value Accounting’s Impact on Bank Failures
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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)
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
Features
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