Financial Reporting

Tax

Grant Thornton LLP Fiscal 2006 Revenues Rise to $886 Million

Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International, one of the six global accounting organizations, today reported that revenues climbed 22 percent, to $886 million in the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2006.

Oct 23 2006

320

Practice Management

PCAOB Issues Fair Value Auditing Guidance

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) on Tuesday issued staff questions and answers providing direction for auditing a company’s estimation of the fair value of stock options granted to employees pursuant to Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised), Share-Based Payment (FAS 123R).This series of questions and answers is limited to addressing auditing the fair value measurements associated with determining compensation cost.

Oct 17 2006

478

A&A

Landmark Study Reveals SOX Compliance Issues

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.

Oct 15 2006

534

Tax

Avoid Using “Accounting Gimmicks”

Warren Buffett, the second richest man in America after Bill Gates, told his senior managers at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in a memo published by FT.com, to resist the temptation to use “accounting gimmicks” to manipulate earnings, Bloomberg.com says. “Every time you hear the phrase ‘Everybody else is doing it’, it should raise a huge red flag,” Buffet wrote.

Oct 13 2006

522

A&A

New FASB Exposure Drafts Address Not-for-Profit Accounting, Usability Issues

On Monday, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued two Exposure Drafts intended to improve the accounting and disclosures for mergers and acquisition (M&A) activities among not-for-profit organizations. The deadline for submitting comments on the new Exposure Drafts is January 29, 2007.“The not-for-profit sector makes up a sizable portion of reporting entities and GDP in the U.S.

Oct 11 2006

469

Practice

Technology Speeds Financial Close Process without Sacrificing Accuracy

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.

Oct 4 2006

892

A&A

FASB Improves Employer Pension & Postretirement Plan Accounting

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.

Oct 3 2006

857

Tax

HealthSouth Agrees to $445 Million Settlement

HealthSouth Corp. announced on Wednesday that it will pay $445 million to settle several lawsuits that were filed against the company and some of its former directors after an accounting scandal.HealthSouth will pay $215 million in common stock and warrants, and its insurance carriers will pay $230 million in cash, the company said.

Oct 2 2006

550

States Must Report Health Care Liabilities for Retired Employees

State and local governments, long generous to employees with promises of health care in retirement, often in exchange for pay increases, are struggling to estimate these costs for financial statement purposes, according to new rules issued by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

Sep 29 2006

265

A&A

Letter Summarizes SEC Views on Stock Options

The Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday issued a public letter to the accounting industry summarizing the staff’s views regarding the accounting for stock options in the historical financial statements of public companies.Advertisement

Sep 19 2006

360

Community News

OFHEO Head Wants Congress to Act on New Rules for Fannie and Freddie

James Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the federal watchdog for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants, said in prepared remarks to the American Enterprise Institute that if Congress does not act now on a bill to create stronger regulations for the companies, “the enterprises and their shareholders will continue to confront uncertainty,” MarketWatch reports.

Sep 19 2006

322

A&A

FASB enhances guidance for measuring fair value

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, providing enhanced guidance for using fair value to measure assets and liabilities. More than 40 current accounting standards within generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require or permit entities to measure assets and liabilities at fair value.

Sep 17 2006

449

A&A

Going Into Effect September 15

Two pronouncements, FAS 155: Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments and FAS 156: Accounting for Servicing of Financial Assets by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) become effective September 15, 2006.

Sep 13 2006

221

Candidates for Missouri State Auditor Trade Charges of Incompetence

Democrat Susan Montee and Republican Sandra Thomas, opposing candidates for Missouri state auditor, accused each other in a series of charges and countercharges this week of failing to exercise their responsibilities as auditors of their home counties.Advertisement

Aug 27 2006

227

Class Action Securities Lawsuits: Winners and Losers

A wave of stock option backdating litigation against public companies who issued the options and the executives who benefited by exercising them, recently began hitting the American judicial system.

Aug 24 2006

242

A&A

BWise Supports COSO Guidelines for Smaller Public Companies

BWise, a leading provider of compliance and enterprise risk management software, on Monday announced support for new guidelines from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), entitled Internal Control over Financial Reporting – Guidance for Small Public Companies.Advertisement

Aug 23 2006

333

Tax

Capitalization of Tangible Assets Regulations Proposed

Last Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations clarifying the treatment of expenditure incurred in selling, acquiring, producing or improving tangible assets.

Aug 21 2006

305

Accounting, Economic Experts Call Expensing Stock Options Improper Accounting

A University of California (UC), Berkley management journal became the focus in reopening the debate on stock option expensing when it published a position paper calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to repeal the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) new standard requiring the expensing of employee stock options.Advertisement

Aug 18 2006

544

Fannie Mae Update: Years to Recovery

Fannie Mae announced earlier this month in its second quarter filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it was on schedule to file restated results for the years 2001 through 2004 by the end of this year, but it acknowledged that two more accounting errors have been discovered, one of which will lead to an unspecified gain on a previously estimated $2.4 billion loss on mortgage commitments.

Aug 17 2006

187

Defining the 7 Elements of Governmental Financial Statements

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has proposed its fourth Concepts Statement Elements of Financial Statement, defining the seven elements of governmental financial statements.