FSP APB 14-a: How Long Should it Take to Close a Loophole the Size of Arthur Andersen?
APB 14 was promulgated in 1969 when we were still pretty much in the dark ages with respect to the valuation of derivative financial instruments. The Opinion addressed two issues, one of them being the accounting for convertible debt. Since…
FAS 52: Forex Gains and Losses from Holding Dollars?
I noticed that 'FAS 52' has been the most popular search term leading web wayfarers to seek inner peace from the Accounting Onion (click here for my earlier FAS 52 post). I play requests, so here's a riff on another…
Revised IAS 1: A Balance Sheet By Any Other Name …
The International Accounting Standards Board on September 6 issued a revised version of IAS 1, which for the most part tweaks the presentation of financial statements to get them looking a little more like those produced by U.S. GAAP. IAS…
Credit Rating Agencies and Auditors Have Something in Common: Independence Problems
Sarah Johnson of CFO.com has written a nice summary of congressional concerns about the independence and role of credit rating agencies arising out of Enron and now, the subprime loan debacle. Accounting and finance researchers have documented in numerous studies…
FAS 158: Funded Status is Padded with Company Shares
FAS 158 makes it look like the 'funded status' of defined benefit post-employment benefit plans are now transparent. Actually, they are not. To see why, consider the following three transactions: Company A purchased 500 shares of its own stock on…
SEC Posts Research Guide to Website
Understanding the SEC’s system of publishing rules and related literature is complicated; and finding the information you need from the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, is no picinic either. Help has arrived in the form of an SEC posting to its website…
Here is More to Know about the SEC’s Views on Executive Compensation Disclosures
In my earlier post on executive compensation disclosures, I reported that the SEC may have surprised, and frustrated, many by issuing comment letters to some 300 companies on their executive compensation disclosures. Although the SEC never said they wouldn't send…
Disclosure of Accounting as a Risk Factor is Questioned by the SEC
Regulation S-K Item 503(c) requires disclosure of the most significant factors that make an offering speculative or risky. Recently, and seemingly in response to the new requirement that these disclosures be made on an annual basis in the Form 10-K…