E-mails and other documents were presented as evidence at a hearing examining the causes of the financial crisis on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2010. This hearing is part of an 18-month investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Senator Carl Levin. Subcommittee assertions are that the rating agencies were well aware… Read more »
Posts Tagged: Financial Accounting Standards
If You Are Planning to Work for Grant Thornton in Hawaii, Think Again.
Accounting firm Grant Thornton is leaving the Hawaiian market this summer after more than 50 years, and selling its practice to two of the firm’s audit partners from the Honolulu office. Several  established Big Four firms have preceded Grant Thornton in this exodus, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, who left in 2006 after 55 years. Questions: 1. What… Read more »
FASB Sued for Intellectual Property Infringement
Joel Jameson, the founder of Silicon Economics, Inc. is suing the FASB. He filed for a patent for his invention called “EarningsPower Accounting,†and claims that the FASB has infringed upon the patent. Jameson claims that his invention is a patented method developed by the company to improve the accuracy, validity, and usefulness of financial… Read more »
Sarbanes-Oxley Benefits without Cost
Many have debated the cost of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) versus its benefits, given the recent accounting scandals that continue to “pile on”. However, according to Harvard Business School professor, Francois Brochet, the little discussed 2002 provision known as Section 403 is actually making a difference for investors and small companies (and with little cost, unlike some… Read more »
What’s the Diagnosis – Accounting Fatigue Syndrome (AFS)?
At a recent conference in Orlando, financial executives discussed one of the top reasons for employee fatigue – a continuous stream of regulatory and accounting standard-setting guidance that has been issued in recent years and the promise of more to come over the foreseeable future. Questions: 1. Although the article provides little detail, what accounting… Read more »
The Effects of Converting to IFRS
The Effects of Converting to IFRS The primary question raised in this article is: “What effects would switching to IFRS have for companies, if forced to switch by the SEC?†Based on a panel of four executives from four major companies, most agreed that there will be almost no material effects in areas that investors… Read more »
New Accounting Rules for Off-Balance Sheet Assets
New accounting rules governing off-balance-sheet transactions went into effect for most companies in January 2010. The rules force companies to put assets, like mortgage servicing rights, back on their balance sheets. Questions: 1. What financial accounting standards (FASs) are forcing companies to put such assets back on their balance sheets? 2. What are some of… Read more »
Times are Tough for Everyone: Including the PCAOB!
Just a week before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments about constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and why it should be dissolved, the members of the Board asked for a 16% in the overseer’s 2010 budget. This amounts to an additional $25.7 million to hire 60 more employees, for international inspections,… Read more »
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