Lots of "rethinking" has been going on of late. There's a new SEC staff paper rethinking how to take IFRS adoption/convergence off life support; and the FASB and IASB are rethinking how much they can give away to special interests regarding…
When you start with a bogus asset like goodwill (itself a misnomer), it's hard to find quality in the rules that govern its measurement. The root of the problem is that business combination accounting relies on a fantasy: that an…
A reader of my post on the CFA Institute's critique of the IASB's hedge accounting exposure draft suggested that I write to the two members of the IASB, Patrick Finnegan and Patricia McConnell, who had a close association with the…
Way back in November 2008 when Christopher Cox was calling the tune, the SEC issued its proposed "Roadmap" for achieving a "single set of globally accepted accounting standards." That was the point at which the IFRS-adoption-is-inevitable" pot banging reached deafening…
If you want to appreciate the political circus masquerading as "due process" in accounting standards setting, I recommend that you read two recent documents. The first one is the CFA Institute's stinging 39-page comment letter* on the IASB's hedge accounting…
I hand-waxed my 1990 Honda Accord last weekend in celebration of its 21st birthday. Since it still runs like a top, I can take some satisfaction in having 'improved' my car. On the other hand, and it should go without…
I am trying hard to be optimistic, but there are more than a few indications that a Senate investigation of the accounting profession's role in the economy – which began last week with a two-hour hearing by the Subcommittee on…
In previous blog posts long ago (like here and here), I expressed the hope that XBRL will fundamentally transform financial reporting and financial statement analysis. For example, it's one thing to argue that mandating roll forwards of all balance sheet…
The Senate Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment has announced that it will meet this Wednesday to conduct a hearing entitled "The Role of the Accounting Profession in Preventing Another Financial Crisis." "The witnesses on Panel I will be: Mr.…
I recently read the transcripts of two recent speeches on the question of the future of IFRS in the US. They are as different as two speeches could be on this topic. As one might expect, the adopt-IFRS-or-the-sky-will-fall speech emanated…