(Note to readers — I have deleted the reference to Worldcom in a previous version of this post. A dialogue with one reader caused me to re-consider my statement that account roll forwards could have saved an audit process that…
The AICPA, in its spat with NASBA over its recently released Financial Reporting Framework for SMEs (my very own critique is here), has loudly and often declaimed that the purveyors of GAAP are supportive of their new non-GAAP option. That is,…
It recently occurred to me that the ongoing Disclosure Framework project and the comatose Financial Statement Presentation project have three things in common: Neither current disclosure nor presentation standards promote high quality financial reporting (perhaps one of the few things…
I have generally considered the developments regarding accounting standards for private companies over the past couple of years to be distractions from my focus on public company financial reporting. But it has come to the point where I have to…
An excerpt from a WSJ blog: "Outgoing FASB Chairman Leslie Seidman has had plenty of time to tackle long-standing questions about whether accounting principles are more desirable than specific accounting rules, writes Emily Chasan. The debate over whether detailed rules…
The FASB's exposure draft on loan losses is a huge disappointment: Investors will not be helped by this approach; The numbers produced by the ED will be whatever the bank CEO wants; The wording of the ED is so permissive…
The results of a recent E&Y survey investigating financial manipulation must stun even the most cynical observers of accounting practice,: Of the board members and senior management surveyed from companies in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), 42% stated that…
A couple of posts ago, I waded in on the infamous Reinhard & Rogoff spreadsheet error, in an attempt to extract lessons of a cautionary nature for accountants of public companies. Since then, two interesting developments have occurred. First, I…
Rob Nance of iShade, the online accounting network, recently interviewed me for his own blog. With Rob's permission, I'm repeating (with some minor edits to my responses) his post, below. * * * * * Ever read The Accounting Onion?…
I have been a habitual spreadsheet user for 30 years, and a Keynesian for, like, forever. That particular pairing of predilections is probably why I experienced a brief and thrilling shiver of Schadenfreude as I read one of the many…