The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the body that governs the FASB, has issued a press release announcing the results of its one meeting to consider the feedback on their proposals to change the way the FASB operates. To reiterate from…
In a recent post, I argued that goodwill arising from a business combination was just a random number; therefore, any attempt to measure impairment amounted to nothing more than a costly charade. By coincidence, I recently had an inquiry from…
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday (Feb. 19, 2008) that General Electric Co. (GE) "...is expected to make changes to its accounting policies and procedures in an effort to end a long-running Securities and Exchange Commission probe.... The formal investigation…
In an earlier post, I described how SFAS 141R resulted in some incremental improvements to the accounting for business combinations. However, warts remain, and the purposes of this post is describe the ugliest and most painful of them all: the…
The Financial Accounting Foundation is the body that oversees the FASB and the GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board). A few months ago, this august group published a seven-page document with eleven specific recommendations: "Request for Comments on Proposed Changes to…
It may be an understatement to say that the general public is rarely engrossed by a story about the trials and tribulations of an accountant at work. Time will tell whether "Extraordinary Circumstances" by Cynthia Cooper will be that rare…
ARB, APB, SFAS, SOP, EITF, FSP, AIN, FIN, CON, SAB, AAER, FRP, ASR, S-X. These are all authoritative sources of GAAP, and I probably left some out. So, four years ago, the FASB began work on its project to simplify…
In the previous post I listed and described the major SEC rulemaking initiatives that have come out since Christopher Cox took charge. It looks like an impressive list, but most of the improvements to financial reporting regulation have been la…
Christopher Cox, the current SEC chairman, is sure to head out the door soon after a new prez is inaugurated. So, just as last night's State of the Union address stimulated debate about the incumbent's record and what his legacy…
The backdrop for today's post is the present dive in stock prices at the same time the Federal Reserve is trying to stimulate the economy by decreasing interest rates. What I'm fixin' to describe is how it will -- and…