Archive for the 'Compliance Jobs' Category

Push for Convergence Accelerating, Demand Grows for IFRS Expertise

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

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 [...]

Risk Management Watch: Risk Top Concern for Audit Committees

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

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 [...]

Corporate Accountants Enjoying Significant Pay Raises

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

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 [...]

Risk Management Watch: Fed Moves to Boost Oversight

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Recent stress in the financial markets has prompted the Fed to move to improve its ability to oversee the stability of the financial system. Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman, Christopher Cox, recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two agencies that will deepen their information sharing and cooperation as well as [...]

Risk Management Watch: Boards Focus on Risk

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Today, corporate boards face a challenging set of issues in responding to the need for improved oversight of risk management. A full 70% of financial institutions place such oversight responsibilities with the board, up from 57% in 2002, reports Financial Week citing a survey by Deloitte Global Risk Management. Financial Week quotes Lionel Allan, CEO [...]

Risk Management Watch: Hedge Funds Focus on Risk as Assets Grow

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

Institutional investors remain strongly committed to hedge funds, despite last year’s downturn in performance, according to a recent study by Greenwich Associates and Global Custodian. Watson Wyatt’s Global Alternatives 99 research also shows that alternative assets managed on behalf of pension funds by the world’s 99 largest investment managers grew by 40% to $822 billion [...]

Fair Value Expertise in Demand

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008

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. [...]

Risk Management Watch: Kohn Says Banks Learned Valuable Lessons, CROs Remain Hot Commodities

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Poor risk management at top U.S. investment banks resulted in top execs missing the impact of valuation declines and liquidity shortages, said Scott Polakoff, Deputy Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), in prepared testimony at a recent Senate Banking Committee hearing. “The risk management frameworks in place at these firms and others across [...]

Internal Audit Professionals in Demand, Playing Greater Role in Governance, Risk and Compliance

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

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 [...]

Risk Management Watch: Wave of Management Changes Continues as Banks Focus on Risk

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

Lehman Brothers has reshuffled top execs as the banks’ risk management is called into question. The embattled investment bank has replaced both its chief financial officer and its chief operating officer. The moves are the latest in a wave of management changes on Wall Street as banks continue to suffer heavy losses on mortgage assets [...]