The Koss Corp. fraud case has been in the news since the end of December, so why am I just getting around to writing about it now? Because, that's the way I roll, man. I don't know if anyone has…
Far too often (like here), I have been compelled to point out that "presented fairly" is much more sizzle than steak. I, myself, am sizzled over the fact that convergence with IFRS seems to be pushing financial reporting further from "fair,"…
I have already reported stumbling upon a fascinating interview of Clarence Sampson, SEC Chief Accountant for more than a decade starting in the mid-1970s. Of his many tales of peculiar interactions with special interests, this one struck me right in…
Continuing my previous post, here's reasons 6 – 10 with my responses. 6. There are also hedge accounting considerations. Paragraph 79 of IAS 39 does not allow interest rate risk hedge accounting for HTM securities. Paragraph 21(d) of FAS 133…
"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…
Jim Peterson, who blogs on the auditing profession, has written an excellent summary and analysis of the failure of the U.S. Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Audit Profession to recommend a solution to the Big Fours' exposure to liabilities threatening their solvency.…
Coming on the heels of accusations that the SEC is trending toward less vigorous enforcement against financial reporting violations, the SEC published here and here its settlements with the two Arthur Andersen partners that planned and supervised the 2001 audit…
I thought I had beaten flat the CAQ's survey of audit committee members in my last post. Lo and behold, here is one more nasty tidbit brought to my attention that merits sunlight. Among the organizations that with whom CAQ…
Much ado has been made lately of the insubstantial contribution business school professors have made to practice through research. Accounting research of the last forty years, being no exception, was blasted in a commentary in the Chronicle for Higher Education…
"Breaking the Rules and Admitting It" is the title of Floyd Norris's column describing the accounting by Société Générale for the losses incurred by their rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel; the title is provocative enough, but it's still not adequate to…