A new derivatives accounting rule may be changed to reflect investor concerns. Reuters reports that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has voted 6-1 to release a draft of Financial Accounting Standard 155 (FAS 155) with changes that exclude some mortgage-backed securities from compliance. If approved, the changes would allow the banks, insurance companies and other market players investing in about $3.5 trillion of these mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from being required to note interest-rate-driven gains and losses on their income statements, according to Reuters.

With just two weeks until the Nov. 7 congressional elections, President Bush called Social Security reform one of the “big items” he wants to tackle next year, sparking debate among politicians on both sides.Bush said that he believes “that a worker, at his or her option, ought to be allowed to put some of their own money . . . in a private savings account, an account that they call their own,” according to the Washington Post.Democrats jumped on the comment as a chance to remind voters that his reform ideas never made it to the legislative stage because they were so unpopular.

COSO 1992 Control Framework and Management Reporting on Internal Control: Survey and Analysis of Implementation Practices, a landmark research study by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), reveals two key cost drivers for public companies complying with Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) Section 404. “IMA’s study is the first comprehensive study of its kind that goes beyond estimating the cost of compliance.

Signs that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is entering a new phase of its development came recently when the Board submitted a draft of changes to the Auditing Standard 2 (AS2) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that are said to modify confusing definitions and eliminate the need for separate internal control and financial statements audits.

Once upon a time, an entrepreneur approached the most important and influential venture capitalists in the country in hopes of securing financing for his latest attempt to enter a new market. Having already successfully completed several trade missions and penetrated a variety of markets, he expected his proposal to be well-received. It was not.

The government will not have any accounting basis for enforcement actions against companies for “spring-loading” or “bullet-dodging” stock option grants, according to Scott Taub, deputy chief accountant for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ). Taub spoke at a Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) advisory council meeting in New York on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

Despite the cloud of suspected steroid use that continues to hover over baseball, the sport seems to be financially healthy — at all levels.Representatives of Little League Baseball and Softball in Williamsport, Penn., the National Collegiate Athletic Association in Indianapolis and Major League Baseball in New York City, all report recent growth in revenue or profit.Advertisement

Firms are still spending significant time and resources completing their reconciliation process despite technological advances that make it unnecessary. Increasingly tight regulatory guidelines, more stringent reporting requirements and complex operations over wide geographic regions, are only a few of the hurdles companies must overcome to achieve a faster, more efficient financial close process.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 158, Employers Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans last week, making it easier for users of financial information to understand and assess an employer’s financial position and its ability to fulfill benefit plan obligations.