FSP FAS 140-3: Plugging a Hole in GAAP — Or Another Off-Balance Sheet Financing Gimmick?
I subscribe to a listserv for professors of accounting (http://pacioli.loyola.edu/aecm/) to discuss emerging technologies, pedagogy, and pretty much anything else. One of the recent topics of discussion on the listserv had to do with the impact of accounting complexity on…
FASB Governance: Damn the Feedback, Full Speed Ahead to IFRS!
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…
FAS 52: Another Goodwill Charade, and IFRS Convergence To Boot
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…
Are GE’s Recent Restatements Part of Jack Welch’s Legacy?
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…
What Good Comes from Goodwill Accounting?
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 World of Accounting Would Be a Better Place Without 4 – 3 FASB Votes
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…
“Extraordinary Circumstances”: Take it to the Beach
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…
Will the Alphabet Soup of GAAP Soon Become Consomme?
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…