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? Find out how respondents voted in an Accounting Today survey.
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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.
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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 Evaluating Financial Accounting and Reporting Guidance for Private Companies. FASB on Tuesday invited stakeholders to comment on the recommendations. In May, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), FASB’s parent organization, created the Private Company Council (PCC). The new council will identify, deliberate, and vote on proposed changes, which will…
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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 vote on a method for how new lease accounting rules will impact corporate earnings in June, which means a new draft of the rules could be finished by the end of this year. The lease…
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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 Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to establish a new Private Company Council that will create exceptions and modifications to U.S. accounting rules as they apply to private companies. The board, which oversees the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, said…
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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. In an article called “Long Push for Accounting Standards” sub-titled “The United States is Seen to Be Dragging its Feet in Choosing to Come on Board,” Star Publications (Malaysia)/Reuters reports: SHAREHOLDERS and regulators have long wanted the…
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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 Reporting Blog is written by Edith Orenstein, Director of Technical Policy Analysis at FEI. Here are some headlines from happenings the past few weeks, with links to fuller articles: FASB Defines Nonpublic Entity (Private Company) During its past two board meetings, the FASB has reached tentative…
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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 investments.
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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 Accounting Standards Board to develop consistent criteria for determining whether an entity is an investment company. Under U.S. GAAP, investment companies carry all of their investments at fair value, even if they hold a controlling interest in another company. The primary changes proposed by FASB relate to…
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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 goodwill impairment test,” states FASB member Daryl Buck. “The amendments approved by the Board address those concerns and will simplify the process for public and nonpublic entities alike.” The amendments will allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors…
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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. AccountingWeb reports: Complexity in financial reporting continues to vex members of the accounting profession as we address issues including convergence from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,…