A.E. Feldman Blog

Although the backlash against IFRS appears to be picking up steam, the conversion is seen as having a positive impact on foreign investment in U.S., according to a recent KPMG survey. The senior finance executives and institutional investors polled by KPMG, however, stress the need to prepare. U.S. companies need to gear up for the [...]

Freddie Mac announced it is suspending foreclosure sales on mortgages eligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program as part of the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable plan. Freddie Mac’s previously announced suspension of foreclosure sales on occupied properties expired on March 6th. Ingrid Beckles, Senior Vice President of default asset management at Freddie Mac says [...]

The focus on…and criticism of…fair value accounting standards has intensified over the past two years as more than $1 trillion of writedowns and losses have contributed to what as emerged as the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. Also known as FAS 157, fair value accounting forces companies to use complex methods to assign a [...]

Productivity gains from private equity involvement in companies since 1980 have boosted the U.S. economy by $4 billion to $15 billion per year and are expected to be even greater in the current recession, according to one of the most exhaustive studies conducted by the non-profit World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF study, which involved [...]

Chief Financial Officers and senior-level executive CPAs now say the U.S. economic downturn will last longer than previously expected. According to a new survey of 1,183 CPAs who hold leadership positions as chief executives, COOs, and CFOs conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business [...]

Recession or not…companies must file financial and tax reports. That’s good news for accountants as economic uncertainty continues to plague countries around the globe. Here in the U.S., as layoffs seem to dominate headlines, accounting firms are expected to buck the hiring trend, according to Dow Jones/AP.
Right now, as a growing number of companies attempt [...]

The Obama administration brings the promise of new approaches to old problems, according to Infrastructure Investor. The report argues that investors eager to see a new approach to infrastructure financing by the U.S. government are hoping to capitalize on this promise.
One day after President Obama took his oath of office, a group of investment banks, [...]

The SEC has finally delivered its mandate that corporations start filing financial statements using XBRL technology. The final version of its rule mandating eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for public companies has been posted. The 500 largest public companies must start XBRL compliance this June, followed by other large filers in 2010, and all remaining [...]

These days Wall Street has to be creative in where it looks for new revenue streams. Now as M&A and private equity go south or constrict, banks (looking for ways to bump up fees) are even hungrier. And facing a gloomy economic outlook, giving financial advice to companies in distress can generate fees. Many large [...]

The $500,000 cap on executive pay at TARP banks has sparked concerns that the government is likely to over-regulate the entire industry…laying out the welcome mat for top talent at smaller firms. The WSJ, CNBC, Crain’s New York and the FT have all published recent reports that right now big earners will seek other opportunities, [...]