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…
It seems that I was not the first to report that IFRS adoption in India could be on the rocks. Compliance Week editor Matt Kelly posted a link to their short blurb headlined "India Could Abandon Mandatory IFRS" from February…
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…
It is said that big surprises come in small packages. Last week's "small package" was a brief article in the AICPA's online edition of its Journal of Accountancy, reporting that its own Financial Reporting Executive Committee (formerly the Accounting Standards…
Some folks can see fine art in a soup can label, or poetry in a user's manual. I don't mean to brag when I state that I have a similar talent. I seem to have a knack for stumbling upon interesting accounting…
To begin this second installment on the boards' (IASB and FASB) Conceptual Framework project, here is a brief summary of my first post. A 'bridge to nowhere' – The boards (FASB and IASB) are planning to construct a new conceptual…
It is my pleasure and privilege to provide you with an original essay from someone else besides yours truly. Michael Pakaluk received his A.B. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard University, and has taught at Clark, Brown and CUA, among…
M. Michel BarnierEuropean Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Re: Green Paper, "Audit Policy: Lessons from the Crisis" Dear M. Barnier: My fellow blogger, Francine McKenna, has recently observed that the negative consequences of "Big Four" dominance of auditing services to…
Kudos to The Economist for summarizing in slightly more than one-third of a page the critical issues that will determine the future of financial reporting. Leading off: "Despite the departures of Sir David [Tweedie, IASB] and Mr Herz [Robert, FASB],…
The IASB and FASB jointly announced the completion of the first stage of their joint conceptual framework project this week. The eight-phase project was begun almost exactly seven years ago, and the first stage has just now been 'finalized.' For…