Unlike BP, which eventually came to admit the actual rate at which oil has been spurting into the Louisiana Gulf, the FASB and IASB continually resist any acknowledgement that the gulf between the two financial reporting regimes will remain vast, even under…
On the science/entertainment TV show, Mythbusters, a zany cast of characters attempt to smash various colorful or popular myths to smithereens (often literally) using the scientific method (sort of). Can duct tape really be used to float a boat? Which…
A recurring theme of my blogging is that financial accounting standards could (and should) be much simpler, and also much better if they were simpler. I have also placed some of the blame for the recent lack of progress, especially…
On April 19th, FASB Chair Robert Herz submitted a letter to the House Financial Services Committee, explaining the accounting standards that applied to Lehman's repo transactions. In desperate hope that the Committee will also ask whether and how those repo…
The April issue of CA Magazine, which is published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, has a lengthy feature article provocatively entitled "IFRS: Dead in the USA?". It author is Lawrence Quinn, a freelance writer based in Atlanta. Thus,…
The EU is simply too committed to pertuating the giddy notion that financial statements can serve investors -- and be smoothed at the same time. That's why I predicted that they would soon respond negatively and vociferously to the SEC's…
No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller is Harry Markopolos's own story of a futile eight-year quest to expose the $65 billion Madoff fraud. As an SEC alum myself, I was not looking forward to reading a blow-by-blow description…
I recently recorded a podcast for Compliance Week with editor Matt Kelly, who interviewed me on the SEC's most recent statement on IFRS—a clear detour from the original Roadmap by any reasonable estimation. Matt gave me some sample questions in…
I am, and have always been, a very reluctant user of pen and paper. Even on the rare occasion where I am sufficiently moved to take handwritten notes, they frequently end up to be little more than random doodling. Soon…
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…