If you want to appreciate the political circus masquerading as "due process" in accounting standards setting, I recommend that you read two recent documents. The first one is the CFA Institute's stinging 39-page comment letter* on the IASB's hedge accounting…
I hand-waxed my 1990 Honda Accord last weekend in celebration of its 21st birthday. Since it still runs like a top, I can take some satisfaction in having 'improved' my car. On the other hand, and it should go without…
I am trying hard to be optimistic, but there are more than a few indications that a Senate investigation of the accounting profession's role in the economy – which began last week with a two-hour hearing by the Subcommittee on…
On Monday evening I received an email from Denny Beresford, former FASB chair (once again via the AECM listserv). Although I feel compelled to state that Denny's letter does not change my own views on the key issues, it provides much…
The feedback from my last post, The Myth of FASB Due Process…, was mixed. On the bright side, Edith Orenstein, whose comments inspired my previous post, was flattered to be "venerated," even though we disagreed. And, accounting ethicist author, Michael…
When the FASB announced last month that it was retreating from its proposal to require fair value measurement of all loans, someone identified by various media outlets as an FASB spokesperson (one Neal McGarity, whose name is not listed among…
If you want to understand the causes of the financial crisis from 25 pages instead of the 600 pages burped up by the FCIC, then read this: Understanding the Subprime Financial Crisis, by Duke Law professor Steven L. Schwarcz. I…
Darn few, if anyone who wrote about the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's 600-page report has anything good to say about it. Jonathan Weil at Bloomberg may have described its shortcomings as well as anyone, and he also provides a vivid example of how the…
Last November, the FASB issued Proposed Accounting Standards Update 1900-100, Transfers and Servicing (Topic 860): Reconsideration of Effective Control for Repurchase Agreements: "During the global economic crisis, capital market participants questioned the necessity and usefulness of the collateral maintenance guidance…
The revenue recognition project has become a mess. Even the AICPA was forced to say as much to the FASB, while at the same time knowing that it would likely kill any prospects of IFRS adoption. But, the AICPA's definition…