IFRS Adoption is Dead! (I Think)
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…
Hedge Accounting: Convergence Crunch Time
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…
ASU 2011-2: The Accounting for Troubled Debt Restructurings Still Leaks Oil
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…
The Stars and Goats of the Senate Hearing on Accounting
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…
Can a Lack of XBRL Tags Stop the IFRS Express?
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…
Less from Auditors Would be More
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.…
“Convergence Flaws” v. Convergence Spin
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…
India’s IFRS Carve-Outs and the Pipedream of Global Accounting Standards
It seems that I was not the first to report that IFRS adoption in India could be on the rocks. Compliance Week editor Matt Kelly posted a link to their short blurb headlined "India Could Abandon Mandatory IFRS" from February…