Reason #2 to Dump on the IASB/FASB Leasing Proposal
In my previous post, I let 'er rip at the IASB/FASB "preliminary views" on measuring lease contract assets and liabilities. A close second on my list of investor-unfriendliness contained in their joint lease accounting Discussion Paper is the proposal that lease options…
Lease Accounting: Replacement Cost is the Only Hope for a Principles-Based Solution
A couple of weeks ago, the FASB and IASB jointly published a discussion paper (DP) entitled Leases: Preliminary Views. I take no pleasure in saying that SFAS 13 is the oldest worst accounting standard currently living and breathing; and the…
Replacement Cost Rebound
In the public FASB meeting on Tuesday, one of the topics was revenue recognition under circumstances where the consideration received is other than cash. The Board discussed how to value the consideration received, and I am told that a majority…
Beyond the “Inactive Markets” Problem: The Crisis in Accounting
"It's painful now to read a lecture that Mr. [Lawrence] Summers [who is currently President Obama's principle economic adviser as chair of the NEC] gave in early 2000, as the economic crisis of the 1990s was winding down. Discussing the…
Is the IFRS Dance Over? Maybe… but Maybe Not
My grand plan was to write about political influences on GAAP and IFRS, which I did last week; and then to move on to the FASB's mark-to-market proposals. But having received a torrent of emails – well only four –…
IFRS v. U.S. GAAP: Which is More Corrupted by Politics?
The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (Society) seems to have become the first group of professional accountants to break with the AICPA's big push to get the SEC to throw out U.S. GAAP and adopt IFRS. The…
Mark-to-Market Accounting: Scapegoat for the Failure to Properly Regulate Banks
The congressional hearings on "market-to-market accounting" are scheduled to begin in a few hours. I shudder at the prospect of financially-illiterate congressmen becoming putty in the hands of savvy lobbyists bearing gifts. My concern was piqued by Steve Forbes' latest…
EITF 96-15: Godzilla and Frankenstein’s Love Child
As I was researching a question for a client a couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a love child of two of my pet peeve accounting standards: FAS 115 (marketable securities) – especially the part permitting available-for-sale (AFS) classification; FAS…