Tammy Whitehouse

Accounting regulators are planning to give auditors some new advice in two forms: a generalized report on its 2004 inspection findings—providing blanket advice on auditing for fraud and internal control reporting—and a question-and-answer piece on auditing accounting related to stock option expensing. Carmichael “We’ve been analyzing the results from our inspections of firms to determine […]

Companies that don’t have the historical data necessary to properly calculate the tax impact associated with stock option expensing now have a shortcut option, courtesy of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. FASB issued a proposed staff position recently that describes the shortcut approach. It is open for a brief public comment period before FASB finalizes […]

The Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will meet on Wednesday to hash out whether the Board should consider new rules more clearly defining auditor communications and “reasonable” as it applies to the level of assurance auditors should achieve in audits. According to briefing papers published by the PCAOB staff to […]

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued its much-anticipated guidance indicating companies may follow long-standing practice in setting the grant date for employee stock option awards. And while the guidance is giving companies cause for relief, it’s making accountants feel as if they’re walking on a tightrope. The guidance, issued as a proposed staff position, […]

Companies are slowly—very slowly—considering “binomial” models for valuing stock options, instead of using the more simple Black-Scholes model. That’s according to a recent study by Aon Consulting, which found that—as of August 31, 2005—122 public companies had disclosed they were using a binomial model, up from 36 companies that used a binomial model at the […]

Companies are slowly—very slowly—considering “binomial” models for valuing stock options, instead of using the more simple Black-Scholes model. That’s according to a recent study by Aon Consulting, which found that—as of August 31, 2005—122 public companies had disclosed they were using a binomial model, up from 36 companies that used a binomial model at the […]

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has promised guidance on a topic that has had stock plan administrators in a virtual panic for over a month. Under language in FASB’s expensing standard related to the valuation of stock options, the date that the options are approved by a company’s board of directors would not necessarily be […]