BNA Accounting Blog

October  8,  2009 5:36:21 PM
Does Accounting System Need a `Hard Shake'?
During the Oct. 5-6 meeting of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council, Ralph Ferrara, managing partner of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, asked the question: "Does the system need a hard shake?" We "continue to take this rusting superstructure and add to it," Ferrara said, expressing frustration t...

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October  23,  2009 12:37:41 PM
Time to 'Roll Up Sleeves' on Details of IFRS Plan
Less than a month after being installed as chief accountant for the Securities and Exchange Commission, James Kroeker sat down with BNA senior accounting correspondent Steve Burkholder for an on-the-record interview, the transcript of which was published in the Oct. 2 issue of Accounting Policy & Pr...

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November  3,  2009 5:31:30 PM
IASB, FASB link arms on financial instruments
By most reports, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board made good progress during their joint meeting Oct. 26 - 28 in Norwalk, Conn. So much so, that the two boards agreed to meet jointly more often in 2010."We seem to be more effective and efficien...

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November  18,  2009 3:52:33 PM
PCAOB Reforms Included in Investor Protection Act
The exemption from SOX auditor attestation requirements for small businesses got most of the attention when the House Financial Services Committee approved the Investor Protection Act (H.R. 3817) Nov. 4.  But the House bill also includes amendments to the authority of the Public Company Accounting O...

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December  4,  2009 1:28:52 PM
Decoupling Accounting Standards from Bank Regulations
Officials from the Financial Accounting Standards Board --- and others that support the independence of the FASB -- have been emphasizing a "decoupling" argument for about a year now, and they have been hitting the theme with new emphasis over the last month, and expect to sing the refrain at greate...

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December  8,  2009 3:53:14 PM
IASB Parent Launches Search for New Chairman
The term of International Accounting Standards Board Chairman David Tweedie is set to expire in June 2011, which also happens to be the timeframe for the IASB and FASB to complete the massive amount of work they've undertaken to converge significant accounting guidance under the 2008 version of thei...

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January  15,  2010 4:05:12 PM
A Very Busy New Year for Standard Setters
Already this year, the FASB and IASB held a joint meeting by videoconference Jan. 5. Next week, they are set to meet Monday through Wednesday in London (Jan. 18 - 20), following up on their pledge to consider standards jointly as the more efficient approach to holding separate meetings.Let's start b...

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January  25,  2010 12:16:53 PM
Doubts on Convergence Objectives
Accounting professionals interviewed by BNA raised serious questions about whether the FASB and IASB ought to be knocking themselves out trying to converge major standards on financial instruments, revenue recognition, and leasing by their self-imposed June 30, 2011, deadline. For example, Robert Uh...

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February  10,  2010 1:40:36 PM
Shifting Stance on Fair Value?
Is there a shift in attitudes toward fair value financial reporting? Financial institutions continue to argue against fair value. But other perspectives are also being advanced. Researcher Sanders Shaffer from the Boston Fed's Quantitative Analysis Unit reported recently on his analysis of a sampl...

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