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AICPA

Regulators Debate Solutions to Poor Audit Quality

Tammy Whitehouse January 10, 2012

An alarming increase in the rate of audit failures at Big 4 firms has caused the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to consider controversial ideas, such as mandatory rotation of audit firms. But others, including the SEC, are urging the PCAOB to slow down. They want a better understanding of why audits fail before taking any extreme measures to improve them. More details inside.

SEC Calls for Companies to Disclose Europe Debt Exposure

Tammy Whitehouse December 13, 2011

Staff members of the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed the top items they are paying close attention to during filing reviews, including exposure to the European debt crisis, pension accounting, and goodwill impairment. The SEC is looking carefully at how troubles abroad might affect companies and how they are explaining it to investors, said staff members at a recent conference. Details inside.

AICPA Offers Advice on Valuation, Accounting for IPR&D

Tammy Whitehouse November 29, 2011

A body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is developing some professional guidance on how to value and account for any in-process research and development that is acquired in a business combination.

AICPA Guide Explains New Service Organization Audits

Tammy Whitehouse July 06, 2011

The AICPA has published new guidance for auditors who are reporting on controls at service organizations that provide critical data to public company financial statements.

AICPA Finds Accountants Still Waiting for SEC on IFRS

Tammy Whitehouse October 21, 2010

U.S. accountants are stuck in a holding pattern on International Financial Reporting Standards, getting a little more familiar with what they are but not willing to invest resources into IFRS readiness without more guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission.That was the finding of the latest tracking survey by the...

Panel Prepares Proposal for Private Company GAAP

Tammy Whitehouse October 13, 2010

The notion of different accounting rules for private vs. public companies is starting to gain some traction as a “blue ribbon” panel studying the issue is developing a recommendation for exceptions for private companies.The Financial Accounting Foundation, which oversees the development of accounting rules by the Financial Accounting Standards Board,...

Auditors Anticipate NY Ruling on Malpractice Exposure

Tammy Whitehouse September 13, 2010

The auditing profession is watching closely a hearing in New York Court of Appeals this week, expecting significant implications for auditor malpractice claims.A group of investors in the reinsurance firm American International Group are suing the company’s audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, for failing to detect a long-running bid-rigging and accounting fraud...

Groups Ask Congress to Leave Accounting Rules Alone

Tammy Whitehouse May 11, 2010

Users of financial statements and the accounting profession are lobbying Capitol Hill once again to keep its political nose out of accounting rulebooks.Seven professional groups sent an appeal to leaders of the U.S. Senate and its Banking Committee to state their objections to an amendment to the Restoring American Financial...

Restatements, Weaknesses Drop Again in 2009

Tammy Whitehouse February 02, 2010

Restatements and material weaknesses took a sharp dive in 2009, but it’s not entirely clear whether that means companies are making fewer mistakes or just catching and reporting fewer mistakes.In 2009, only 75 companies with markets capitalizations of at least $250 million restated their financial statements, according to data from...

Panel to Forge Path for Private Company GAAP

Tammy Whitehouse December 30, 2009

Accounting leaders are forming a panel to explore whether there’s a case to be made for having separate accounting standards for public companies compared with private entities.The Financial Accounting Foundation, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy have formed a “blue...

FASB Chair Calls for New Approach for Bank Regulators

Tammy Whitehouse December 08, 2009

A frustrated accounting standard setter told an audience full of accountants that someone needs to pry the gorilla of banking regulators off his back.Robert Herz, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, made perhaps his most detailed and impassioned plea yet that the regulation of financial institutions needs to be...

Battle Lines Drawn Over Who Governs Accounting Rules

Tammy Whitehouse November 16, 2009

A battle is brewing on Capitol Hill over who should control accounting standards that are followed by public companies.The House Financial Services Committee continues to mark up its proposed Financial Stability Improvement Act, and now a controversial bipartisan amendment has been added to the package to assign a new overseer...

SEC Ties Up Loose Ends for Oil and Gas Accounting

Tammy Whitehouse November 06, 2009

The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has done some nip-and-tuck work to the accounting guidance around oil and gas activities, publishing authoritative guidance in Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 113.SAB 113 revises or rescinds portions of earlier interpretive guidance and shores up consistency between staff guidance and SEC rules...

AICPA Proposes Clarification on Sharing Client Information

Tammy Whitehouse September 10, 2009

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is preparing to clamp down on accountants’ distribution of client information that’s not already publicly available, even if shared on a no-name basis for such noble causes as research and benchmarking. At the same time, however, the AICPA doesn’t want to stand in...

AICPA Floats View on FAS 157 and Alternative Investments

Tammy Whitehouse January 22, 2009

Entities with interests in alternative investments, like hedge funds or private equity, may be finding it tough to pin a value on those investments for financial reporting purposes, so the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is trying to help.AICPA’s Accounting Standards Executive Committee is working on a paper regarding...

PCAOB’s Gradison Calls for Convergence of Audit Rules

Tammy Whitehouse December 19, 2008

A member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is calling on his fellow board members to get serious about converging public company auditing standards with international standards and those for private organizations in the United States.PCAOB member Bill Gradison is in Denver today to address the Colorado Society of...

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Survey of the Week

Deloitte is conducting their annual Look Before You Leap: Managing Risks in Global Investments survey to better understand the approaches companies are taking to address compliance and integrity-related risks in emerging markets.