Top Vote-Getters Include Fed Honchos, Private Sector Leaders, and Association Chief  Who’s the most important person in Accounting?  Is it Leslie Seidman (Chairman of the FASB), Hans Hoogervorst (Chairman of the IASB), or Douglas Shulman (Commissioner, IRS)?   Or instead, might it be James Doty (PCAOB Chair), Mary Shapiro (SEC), or even an as-yet-unnamed person—our next president?  Or someone else entirely? ...

Infosys, the Indian IT Services Giant, Has Assigned a Value to Its Entire Workforce Since 2008. Here’s Why European and American Companies Don’t Yet Formally Value Employees—and Why They Should! Recognizing the value of employees in company accounts makes a compelling business case and reflects the realities of 21st century business, argues Leon Kaye in the Guardian. ...

Recommendation Framework Paper Available; Comment Period Ends October 31st.       Late last month the FASB released its initial staff recommendations on whether and when it will be appropriate to adjust financial reporting requirements for private companies, the Journal of Accountancy reports.  The recommendations are contained in a paper, Private Company Decision-Making Framework: A Framework for Evaluatin ...

Emily Chasan is on the spot with the latest news:   U.S. and international accounting rule makers finally may be ready next month to resolve a debate over corporate lease accounting, that would bring $2 trillion worth of lease obligations onto corporate balance sheets. Members of the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board said Thursday they were ready to v ...

New private company council includes FASB, but in reduced role, The Journal of Accountancy explains.  "This announcement is excellent news for small businesses that have been concerned about the future of US GAAP particularly in relation to an international move toward IFRS," adds Editor Gail Perry at AccountingWeb.  Emily Chasan at the Wall Street Journal reports: The Financial Accounting Foundation’s Boar ...

The International Accounting Standards Board plans to establish a formal network to give standard-setting bodies a voice when their countries switch to International Financial Reporting Standards. There is conflict, however, over how the network will operate and whether it would dilute IFRS as a single set of reporting standards. Advocates of such a network say the U.S. will not commit to IFRS without it.   ...

If you're interested in keeping up on regulatory news in a day-to-day fashion, Financial Executives International (FEI) publishes a great news page on its own site and offers content for the FEI Financial Reporting Blog at AccountingWeb.  Both sites offer multiple monthly highlights from SEC, PCAOB, FASB, IASB, and other regulatory news, including reporting under Sarbanes-Oxley Sect 404. The FEI Financial R ...

Five Things to Watch For In Year-End Portfolio Company Fair Value Measurements Private equity fund managers—and their limited partners—cannot take fair value measurement for granted. In 2011, a number of new procedures and policies spawned by SFAS 157 (not Topic 820) have hardened into established routines. This checklist helps fund managers and consultants measure the fair value of portfolio company invest ...

FASB Proposes Changes in Investment Accounting Michael Cohen reports at Accounting Today: The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released two proposed accounting standards updates to clarify the criteria for investment company accounting and develop guidance for investment property accounting. The proposed update for investment company accounting stems from the efforts of FASB and the International Ac ...

FASB Approves Standard to Simplify Testing Goodwill for Impairment  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) approved a revised accounting standard intended to simplify how an entity tests goodwill for impairment. Per the FASB: “The Board’s decision today comes as a direct result of what we heard from private companies, which had expressed concerns about the cost and complexity of performing the good ...

Hey There, Bob Posen! Steven Zelin, aka "The Singing CPA," and Edith Orenstein, Accounting WEB blogger for Financial Executives International (FEI), have teamed up to create a music video celebrating the third anniversary of the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC)Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting chaired by Robert C. (Bob) Pozen, senior financial lecturer at Harvard University. ...