I concluded my previous post by stating that financial reporting could be a lot less complex if the exclusive focus were on providing information of value to investors. There are many examples of the costs of failing to adhere to…
Pre-eminent: "surpassing all others" (Compact Oxford English Dictionary); "having paramount rank, dignity, or importance" (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary). I have interrupted composing a post that will solve all of the problems of securitization accounting to bring you this: my latest discovery…
The issue I'm going to focus on is one that has been on everyone's mind for the last few months, although in a somewhat different context: the price of oil. The SEC has issued proposed rulemaking release No. 33-8935, Modernization…
On July 9, 2008, in Washington, DC, the SEC hosted a roundtable "to facilitate an open discussion of the benefits and potential challenges associated with existing fair value accounting and auditing standards." The roundtable was webcast and lasted about four…
I had a pleasant back and forth correspondence with one my readers a few weeks ago. Carlomagno, as he called himself (I don't know his true identity), is a proponent of IFRS; and like me, he is of the opinion…
I am finally ready to contribute my two cents to the debate as to whether SFAS 157 is at least partly responsible for the subprime mortgage mess. I have pointed out in other contexts (here and here) the serious shortcoming…
(I apologize to anyone who has read an earlier version of this post. Due to a problem with my blogging software, it was not sent out to subscribers. Therefore, I am re-posting it.) First, the Mea Culpa Over the year…
Jim Peterson, who blogs on the auditing profession, has written an excellent summary and analysis of the failure of the U.S. Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Audit Profession to recommend a solution to the Big Fours' exposure to liabilities threatening their solvency.…
In my previous post, I described how an SEC honcho, while speaking to the choir at an event sponsored by FEI, espoused his version of faith-based accounting; though he could not provide a single, solid reason to explain why the U.S.…
John White, Director of the SECs Division of Corporation Finance, gave a speech at Financial Executives International Global Financial Reporting Convergence Conference last week (June 5, 2008). In no uncertain terms (and with apologies in advance for the bad pun),…