CPA Success
CPA Success
http://www.macpa.org/blog/category/13/legislative--regulatory/files/ways_and_means_contacts.doc?i=76&watch=rss
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2016
blog@macpa.org (CPA Success)
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 05:54:21 GMT
Mon, 07 Mar 2016 05:54:21 GMT
BryceWebGroup.Blast
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It's official: SEC mandates XBRL filings
<p><a href="http://cpasuccess.typepad.com/.a/6a00d834520c5769e20105368575b8970c-pi"
style="FLOAT: right"><img alt="Xbrl" border="0" class="at-xid6a00d834520c5769e20105368575b8970c "
src="http://www.macpa.org/blog/resources/assets/1476253164.jpg" title="Xbrl" /></a> We&#39;ve
known for a while that <a href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/03/the-abcs-ofxbr.html">XBRL</a> is coming. Now we know when.</p> <p><a
href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122956720800317057.html?mod=googlenews_wsj#articleTabs
%3Darticle" target="_blank">The SEC is officially requiring</a> 500 of the largest public companies
to file their financial statements via XBRL, a data-tagging language that helps companies
electronically communicate their business and financial data. The mandate begins with 10-Qs filed
after June 2009.</p> <p>The rest of the public-company world will be rolled into the mandate in
phases over the next two years.</p> <p>Some companies have already made the switch to XBRL, and
<a href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/09/xbrl-and-non-pr.html">a few non-profits are even
finding benefits</a> in using the language to file their financials.</p> <p>Supporters say XBRL will
improve data quality, provide users with the most recent and relevant information, and increase the
transparency of financial information. <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/SEC-Actiona-Revolution-Equal/story.aspx?guid=%7B9565ACE0-A2C8-40C3-90E9-B3E9B6D86146%7D"
target="_blank">XBRL U.S. board member Sunir Kapoor said</a> the mandate &quot;ushers in the
Age of Transparency&quot; and &quot;will lead to more transparent and efficient financial
markets.&quot;</p> <p>That claim takes on greater importance when viewed in the context of the
economic crisis. Would more transparency have prevented the meltdown? Probably not. But it sure
wouldn&#39;t have hurt. That alone should justify the move to XBRL. An increasingly <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/06/the-top-3-trend.html">global economy</a> and the fact
that XBRL is in use throughout the world underscore the SEC&#39;s decision.</p> <p>Has
<em>your</em> company made the move to XBRL? Let us know, then check out these related
resources.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/07/virtual-worksho.html">Virtual
workshop examines reality of XBRL</a> <li><a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/07/competing-to-fi.html">Competing to find XBRL
solutions</a> <li><a href="http://www.xbrl.org/">XBRL International</a> <li><a
href="http://www.xbrl.us/">XBRL U.S.</a> <li><a
href="http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/xbrl.shtml">SEC resources</a> <li><a
href="http://www.iasb.org/xbrl/index.html">IASB resources</a> <li><a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/03/the-abcs-of-xbr.html">The ABCs of XBRL: Here&#39;s
what it can do</a> <li><a href="http://www.xbrl.org/CaseStudies/">XBRL case studies</a> <li><a
href="http://www.xbrl.org/Demos/">Demonstrations of XBRL in action</a> <li>More demos: <a
href="http://www.microsoft.com/msft/IC/default.aspx">Microsoft</a> | <a href="http://www.edgaronline.com/products/imetrix.aspx">Edgar Online</a> | <a
href="http://www.rivetsoftware.com/content/index.cfm?fuseaction=showContent&amp;contentID=195
&amp;navID=166">Rivet Software Crossfire</a> | <a
href="http://www.iphix.net/resources/nunavut.htm">Google OneBox</a> <li><a
href="http://www.xbrl.org/Taxonomies/">XBRL taxonomies</a> <li><a
href="http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/feb2008/six_steps.htm">Six Steps to XBRL</a> (from the
<em>Journal of Accountancy</em>) <li><a
href="http://www.aicpa.org/PUBS/JOFA/jun2007/stantial.htm">ROI on XBRL</a> (from the
<em>Journal of Accountancy</em>) <li><a
href="http://www.xbrl.org/us/us/FFIEC%20White%20Paper%2002Feb2006.pdf">Improved Business
Process through XBRL</a> <li><a href="http://www.xbrl.org/XBRLandBusiness/">Benefits and uses
for business</a> </li> </li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></li></ul><!-Imported Assets -->
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2436/its-official-sec-mandates-xbrl-filings
bill@macpa.org(Bill Sheridan)
Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:45:00 GMT
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2436/its-official-sec-mandates-xbrl-filings
The U.S. is bleeding to death. Here's the tourniquet.
<p><img title="Walker" alt="Walker" src="http://www.macpa.org/blog/resources/assets/759212395.jpg" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /><a
href="http://www.pgpf.org/about/leadership/dmw/">David Walker</a> is on a mission.</p> <p>He
<em>has</em> been for a couple of years now, in fact. As comptroller general of the United States
and head of the <a href="http://www.gao.gov">Government Accountability Office</a>, he was the
highest-ranking CPA in the land from 1998 to 2008. He’s now president and CEO of the <a
href="http://www.pgpf.org/">Peter G. Peterson Foundation</a>, an organization that’s dedicated to
&quot;increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of several key challenges that threaten
America's future.&quot;</p> <p>As such, Walker is telling anyone who will listen that the United
States is on a path to financial ruin, and if changes aren’t made quickly, it will bankrupt the country.
He calls the decisions that have been made by lawmakers in recent years fiscally irresponsible at best
and morally reprehensible at worst, given the fact that our children and grandchildren are going to
inherit this mess.</p> <p>The word has been getting out. He was the focus of <a
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS2fI2p9iVs">a segment on “60 Minutes”</a> in 2007, and
this year he was featured in a film called <a href="http://www.iousathemovie.com/">“I.O.U.S.A,”</a>
a documentary that outlines the causes and possible consequences of the nation’s financial failings.
That documentary, by the way, is on the <a
href="http://www.pgpf.org/newsroom/press/oscarshortlist/">short list</a> for an Oscar
nomination.</p> <p>Now, in the wake of <a href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/11/financialcrisi.html">a credit crunch</a>, a housing meltdown, multi-billion-dollar federal bailouts, a <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/12/moneys-invisibl.html">recession</a> and the impending
inauguration of <a href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/11/change-happens.html">a new
president</a>, it seems as good a time as any to reassess Walker’s take on our country’s financial
future, and that reassessment … isn’t good.</p> <ul><li><a
href="http://macpamedia.org/media/audio/CPASpotlight/Walker.mp3">Listen to what Walker has to
say in this &quot;CPA Spotlight&quot; podcast.</a></li> <li>Subscribe to our free podcasts <a
href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/cpaspotlight">here</a>, or open your copy of <a
href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/">iTunes</a> and search for &quot;CPA
Spotlight.&quot;</li></ul> <p>In the interview, Walker says individuals can lead our country's fiscal
resurrection through a combination of personal responsibility and legislative advocacy. What are
<em>you</em> doing to help turn our nation's financial woes around?</p><!-- Imported Assets -->
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2442/the-us-is-bleed
bill@macpa.org(Bill Sheridan)
Wed, 10 Dec 2008 05:05:54 GMT
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2442/the-us-is-bleed
SEC says fair value still meaningful, needs work
<p><img title="Tools" alt="Tools" src="http://www.macpa.org/blog/resources/assets/-568103647.jpg"
border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" />Finally, in an insane world, we find
a little sanity.</p> <p>Despite calls for its removal and <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/10/mark-to-market.html">efforts to make it the scapegoat</a>
for the current financial crisis, <a href="http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/12754507">fair-value
reporting likely isn't going anywhere</a>, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox indicated in a Dec. 8 <a
href="http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch120808cc.htm">speech</a> at an <a
href="http://www.aicpa.org/">American Institute of CPAs</a> gathering. Improvements are needed,
to be sure, but doing away with fair-value reporting altogether would &quot;risk the integrity of the
entire economy,&quot; Cox said.</p> <p>&quot;(M)ost investors, and many others, agree that fair
value is a meaningful and transparent measure of an investment for financial reporting
purposes,&quot; Cox said, though adding that &quot;we must endeavor to continue to develop robust
best practice guidance for auditors and preparers —- particularly for fair value measurements of
securities traded in inactive or illiquid markets. Education efforts and the development of application
guidance must provide a path for auditors and preparers to reach a common ground on these difficult
issues.&quot;<br /><br />The short answer: Improvements must be made, but fair-value reporting
remains an important part of the financial reporting process. And at a time when too many people are
panicking, that seems like a reasoned approach. <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/10/scrutiny-of-fai.html">Fair-value reporting didn't cause this
crisis</a>. It merely served as evidence that problems existed. Calls for its demise amount to nothing
more than shooting the messenger.</p> <ul><li><a
href="http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch120808cc.htm">Read Cox's speech in its
entirety.</a></li></ul> <p>The auditing profession, meanwhile, apparently could use some
improvements of its own.</p> <p>The <a href="http://www.pcaobus.org/">Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board</a> has released <a
href="http://www.pcaobus.org/Inspections/Other/2008/12-05_Release_2008-008.pdf">a report that
examines PCAOB inspections</a> of the eight largest audit firms over the past four years. The
results?</p> <p>&quot;Inspectors continue to find deficiencies in important audit areas, both
established and emerging,&quot; the report states. &quot;These areas include critical and high-risk
parts of audits, such as revenue, fair value, management's estimates, and the determination of
materiality and audit scope.&quot;</p> <p>The PCAOB pointed out that the report examined &quot;a
relatively small portion of the total audits of issuers performed by these firms, and the selection of
audits for review was not, and was not intended to be, a representative sample of the audits that the
firms performed.&quot; </p> <p>Still, the PCAOB challenged auditors to bring a healthy dose of
skepticism to the table when they &quot;test or challenge management's forecasts, views or
representations.&quot;</p> <p>Read the PCAOB's report <a
href="http://www.pcaobus.org/Inspections/Other/2008/12-05_Release_2008-008.pdf">in its
entirety</a>, then tell us: In your opinion, what's the most problematic part of the financial reporting
process?</p><!-- Imported Assets -->
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2443/sec-says-fair-v
bill@macpa.org(Bill Sheridan)
Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:56:42 GMT
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2443/sec-says-fair-v
And so it begins: SEC cracks down on rating agencies
<p><img title="Updown" alt="Updown" src="http://www.macpa.org/blog/resources/assets/1724986810.jpg" border="0" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" />Here come the
regulators.</p> <p>Insiders have been predicting a wave of new rules in the wake of the financial
crisis for a while now, and proof that they're right is finally surfacing.</p> <p>It comes in the form of
<a href="http://www.macpa.org/Content/24648.aspx">the SEC's new rules governing credit rating
agencies</a> -- the folks who, back in the day, told us all those subprime mortgages were safe
investment vehicles.</p> <p>Turns out they were wrong, of course, and though that little <em>faux
pas</em> didn't cause the crisis, it didn't do anything to prevent it, either.</p> <p>The <a
href="http://www.sec.gov">SEC</a> wants to make sure the analysts don't fall asleep at the wheel
again. According to <a href="http://www.cfo.com">CFO.com's</a> Sarah Johnson, the new rules
focus on &quot;reducing the (credit rating agencies') conflicts of interest and making them more
accountable&quot; for their analyses. </p> <p>&quot;The new rules may also open up the
concentrated market to more competition,&quot; <a
href="http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/12720895">Johnson writes</a>. &quot;In addition, the SEC is
requiring firms that are paid by issuers to post online a random sample of their ratings' history, based
on asset class.&quot;</p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/nrsrofactsheet120308.htm">Read the SEC's fact sheet about the new rules.</a></li></ul> <p>The rules seem like a
logical first step. They take aim at a practice that, according to Louisiana State University banking
professor Joseph Mason, has acted as a sort of journalism-- an opinion page that operates under, and is
afforded, protection by the First Amendment's free speech provisions.</p> <p>&quot;(Rating
agencies) are publishers. They are reporters,&quot; Mason said in <a
href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2008/11/hear_worlds_shortest_editorial.html">an illuminating
interview for a recent NPR &quot;Planet Money&quot; podcast</a>. &quot;They may publish an
opinion about a firm and not be held responsible for that opinion with any degree of accuracy or
reasonability. Rating agencies have had that protection for some time. ... It's been called 'the world's
shortest editorial,' and an editorial is nothing you can be held to for investor losses or any responsibility
for being correct or having looked at recent data or done any work to properly evaluate the
firm.&quot;</p> <p>Under the SEC's new rules, some of that might be about to change. The question
is, how much else is going to change, too? The SEC also is <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/10/mark-to-market.html">examining the role fair-value
accounting may have played</a> in the crisis, and other regulators and lawmakers are sure to chime in
before all is said and done. How much of that regulatory action is going to have a positive impact, and
how much of it is going to consist of nothing more than knee-jerk reactions for sake of scoring political
points?</p> <p>If history is any indication, there'll be too much of the latter and not nearly enough of
the former.</p> <p>Whatever happens, a couple of things are certain: (a) <a
href="http://www.cpasuccess.com/2008/11/financial-crisi.html">There'll be plenty for CPAs to
do</a>, and (b) it'll definitely be interesting.</p><!-- Imported Assets -->
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2448/and-so-it-begin
bill@macpa.org(Bill Sheridan)
Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:41:36 GMT
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2448/and-so-it-begin
IFRS is coming; last day for GAAP is 2010
<p><a
href="http://cpasuccess.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/30/ifrs_book.
jpg"><img title="Ifrs_book" height="122" alt="Ifrs_book"
src="http://www.macpa.org/blog/resources/assets/-1862176228.jpg" width="300" border="0"
style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px" /></a><a
href="http://www.cfo.com/index.cfm/l_emailauthor/12676637/c_2984347/2985001"> Tim
Reason</a> of <em>CFO</em> magazine <a
href="http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/12676637">recently reported</a> that President-elect Obama
has appointed Paul Volcker to head up his special Economic Recovery Advisory Board. It seems
former Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker has some heavy accounting
experience and a strong tendency toward <a href="http://www.iasb.org/Home.htm">international
financial reporting standards</a>. </p> <p>Then there is the prediction of Professor David Albrecht
that <em>&quot;</em>the last year GAAP may be used in the U.S. by SEC reporting companies is for
fiscal years ending December 31, 2010. The Obama administration will rework the proposed
roadmap.&quot;<em>&nbsp;</em>See his post, <strong><u><a
href="http://profalbrecht.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/accounting-education-under-ifrs/">Accounting
Education Under IFRS</a></u></strong> -- although I do not agree with his concept that IFRS equals
income smoothing.</p> <p>So what does this mean for accounting education?</p> <p>Actually, a
discussion via his blog post titled <a href="http://profalbrecht.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/what-imeant-in-accounting-education-under-ifrs/"><strong>What I Meant in Accounting Education under
IFRS</strong></a> covers some very good ideas about what changes need to happen when we begin
teaching IFRS in schools (and, I believe, in CPE / professional development as well). The discussion
comes from a visit by SEC Deputy Chief Accountant Julie Erhardt to a graduate class of Professor
Dennis Beresford (former chairman of the <a href="http://www.fasb.org/">FASB</a>).</p> <p>Julie
recommends that the approach to financial accounting needs to change to a focus on the business
issues first. She goes on to say, <span style="color: #000000;">&quot;Only after the economic issues
and the basic principles are covered would some of the details (e.g., what to do with contingent rentals)
that distinguish IFRS from GAAP be mentioned. In this approach, about 50 percent of the effort would
be on the economics, 25 percent would be on the principles (that ought be to pretty similar), and 25
percent on the rules (that could be different).&quot;</span></p> <p>There are several more posts
from Professor David Albrecht over at his blog, <a href="http://profalbrecht.wordpress.com/">The
Summa</a>, which are worth looking at if you are trying to comprehend what the change to IFRS will
mean (including some comprehensive opposing perspectives).</p> <p>What do <em>you</em> think:
To IFRS or not? What year do you predict?</p><!-- Imported Assets -->
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2450/ifrs-is-coming
tom@macpa.org(Tom Hood)
Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:00:00 GMT
http://www.macpa.org/blog/2450/ifrs-is-coming