A.E. Feldman Blog

U.S. companies need to prepare for the convergence of global accounting standards. A mid-year update of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s agenda left no doubt that the group is actively planning for U.S. GAAP to be replaced by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), reports CFO.com. Moreover, a large majority of accounting leaders from around the [...]

The credit crisis has triggered a broad and growing emphasis on risk. In fact, a recent study conducted by KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute (ACI) and the National Association of Corporate Directors shows that risk management is now the biggest concern for audit committees. Moreover, although most audit committee members at public companies say their audit [...]

Salaries are climbing along with demand for accounting talent. Despite fears of a recession and layoffs, accountant salaries have jumped to their highest levels ever. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). The IMA’s 2007 Salary Survey, which polled roughly 1,600 internal auditors, treasurers, forecasters and planners at [...]

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed that companies publicly traded in the U.S. adopt a specific new technology, known as eXtensible Business Reporting Language or XBRL, for financial disclosure. The mandate issued by the SEC outlined a graduated process for adoption of XBRL, although Fortune 500 companies would be required to adopt as [...]

Fair value accounting has been blamed for exacerbating the credit crisis – mainly for its contribution to billions worth of dollar writedowns. Also known as FAS 157, the measure forces companies to use complex methods to assign a value to an asset based on what the current market would be willing to pay for it. [...]

Amid increased scrutiny and regulation, the internal audit profession has grown dramatically in the last several years. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) reports that membership in the organization, which spans 165 countries, has increased a staggering 58% over the past four years to more than 150,000 professionals. According to the IIA, studies have also [...]

The issue of data center efficiency is garnering more attention as companies face mounting pressure to cut back on spending. That’s because the massive, energy-gobbling data centers that hold racks of mission-critical equipment are costly to maintain. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that data centers in the U.S. consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of [...]

Thanks to the accounting scandals at Enron, Tyco and WorldCom, firms are under greater scrutiny to be clearer with financial statements, audits and tax reports. “The years in the aftermath of Sarbanes-Oxley have spotlighted the critical role the accounting profession plays in our capital market system,” said Denny Reigle, AICPA Director of Academic and Career [...]

Compliance professionals have become white-hot commodities at banks, reports Bank Technology News. The report states that while Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations have driven up salaries for accountants, financial and legal staff as well as compliance officers, the current credit crisis is further exacerbating the hunt for compliance talent. Moreover, BTN notes there is a shortage [...]

U.S. companies need more preparation for the convergence of global accounting standards, according to a survey of CFOs and other senior finance professionals conducted by Deloitte. The survey finds that globalization of the world’s capital markets has triggered a shift away from local standards and benchmarks to global ones. According to Deloitte, one key example [...]