My inspirations for this post are the maiden speech of the SEC’s new chief accountant James Schnurr, and the joy of paying only $2.02/gallon at the pump. As for Mr. Schnurr, I plan to dissect his remarks more fully in…
Last week, the PCAOB convened its Standing Advisory Group to discuss the topic of auditing accounting estimates and fair values. I was invited to be on a panel providing investors' perspectives.* This post mainly consists of an unofficial transcript (with…
The International forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) has published its second annual survey of audit inspections of the Big Four plus BDO and Grant Thornton firms around the world: “The leading areas of deficiency in inspected auditors of ……
The PCAOB* has proposed a new standard to make the auditor’s report more informative. If finalized in its present form, it would provide more and/or better information concerning the following: Critical audit matters (as determined by the auditor). Auditor independence and…
Shortly after my most recent post on the AICPA's new FRF for SMEs, NASBA issued a press release that was clearly intended to keep the public spat between the two national organizations from escalating: "The AICPA and NASBA are committed…
The AICPA, in its spat with NASBA over its recently released Financial Reporting Framework for SMEs (my very own critique is here), has loudly and often declaimed that the purveyors of GAAP are supportive of their new non-GAAP option. That is,…
I have generally considered the developments regarding accounting standards for private companies over the past couple of years to be distractions from my focus on public company financial reporting. But it has come to the point where I have to…
The results of a recent E&Y survey investigating financial manipulation must stun even the most cynical observers of accounting practice,: Of the board members and senior management surveyed from companies in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), 42% stated that…
Companies overpay to acquire other companies all the time; but Hewlett Packard Co. just might be the new record holder for getting fleeced. I don't have the exact amount, but let's say that the goodwill HP initially recorded from the…
I read numerous news sources this week echoing the SEC's announcement that it finally has a case it thinks it can win against auditors stemming from the 2008 financial crisis. One journalist, Jon Weil of Bloomberg, takes it a step…