Corporate executives gave regulators an earful of complaint last week that hopes of a risk-based, top-down approach to audits of internal control still have yet to take root, despite extra guidance and two years of experience. Speaking at a much-anticipated roundtable discussion among auditors, regulators and corporations to review progress in the second year of […]
Accounting & Auditing
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Compliance Roundtable Paints AS2 As Target
Auditing Standard No. 2, the thicket of regulation tying public companies’ audits of internal controls into Gordian knots, is increasingly emerging as the likely target for any potential reform of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its painfully expensive Section 404. At last week’s crucial roundtable meeting of regulators, auditors and corporate executives, critics of Sarbanes-Oxley pounded […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Guidance On PCAOB Fees; Help Wanted; More
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has updated its series of frequently asked questions about how the agency raises money for operations, following the approval of its $130.9 million budget by the Securities and Exchange Commission for the current year. The PCAOB’s budget process is a rare bird among federal regulators. Most regulatory bodies submit […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Talking Fraud With A Reformed Fraudster
This week, Compliance Week chats with Sam Antar—former CFO of Crazy Eddie’s, the disgraced stereo equipment business that foisted a $70 million fraud on investors in the 1980s. Antar helped mastermind the scheme, and then was a star witness in the trial that sent his cousin Eddie Antar to prison. Today, Sam Antar is an […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Major Review Of SOX Compliance This Week
A who’s who of corporate governance will convene in Washington, D.C., this week for a much-anticipated summit meeting on the state of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, as regulators try to gauge how compliance has evolved in the last two years and what further steps they might need to take to make the process more efficient. Billed as […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
PCAOB: Audit Inspections Will Be Tougher; More
Audit regulators are kicking off their 2006 inspection season with a reminder that they want a more reasoned, efficient audit process this year, and one that integrates the audit of financial statements with the audit of internal controls. The Public Company Audit Oversight Board says it will begin its newest round of inspections this month, […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Twenty Questions For Directors To Ask Internal Auditors
The internal audit department’s unique position within a company provides management and audit committee members with valuable assistance, by giving objective assurance on governance, risk management and control processes. Audit committees, of course, are responsible for providing oversight to the internal audit efforts within the organization—so how audit committees work with their internal audit staff […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
FASB To Revisit Lease Accounting
Accounting rulemakers seem to be gearing up for a major new attack on lease accounting, seeking to clarify the complicated—and increasingly controversial—rules that bedevil the balance sheets of companies across Corporate America. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have dispatched their staffs to form a working group and to start […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Cash Flow Guidance, Auditor Rules, More
The Securities and Exchange Commission has provided still more guidance for companies that want to correct erroneous cash flow classifications without restating, once again quietly telegraphing its wishes via the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The AICPA’s Center for Public Company Audit Firms published a new alert late last month updating the SEC’s staff […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Earnings Guidance Down, But Far From Out
Earnings guidance is proving to be the old soldier of investor relations: It won’t die, but it certainly is fading away. A new survey from the National Institute of Investor Relations shows the recent trend of moving away from quarterly guidance towards annual forecasts continues unabated, with nearly half of all companies offering guidance now […]
