Contrary to what you hear from corporate PR departments, there are real benefits from SOX and its Section 404. One of the PCAOB's members makes an effective case for those benefits.
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February 7, 2007
Altria Ready to Consider Next Breakup: Tobacco | online.wsj.com
Kraft goes against the grain when it comes to FIN 48: it reports a benefit from its application, not a writedown of assets.
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February 5, 2007
Noted Policy Experts Tapped to Keynote Eighth Annual TCPI Symposium | sev.prnewswire.com
Chairman Olson speaks at the Tax Council Policy Institute's annual conference, but invariably, the subject turns to Section 404 and its costs.
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Where Do The SEC's Interest Lie?
February 1, 2007
Speech by SEC Commissioner: Remarks at the Corporate Directors Forum 2007 | sec.gov
There has been a shift in the SEC's priorities, as evidenced in this speech by SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins.
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February 1, 2007
SEC Clears Market-Based Way To Value Staff Stock Options | online.wsj.com
The Office of the Chief Accountant has cleared the use of a new derivative instrument for determining the value of employee stock options in recognizing option compensation expense.
While the instruments (ESOARs) are an interesting exercise in developing fair values, one might wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just use an option pricing model. -
Another Example Of Internal Controls Not Working
January 5, 2007
Greater Atlantic Fincl To Restate 1Q, 2Q 2006 | online.wsj.com
Tiny S&L Greater Atlantic Financial restates due to an intercompany account being improperly reconciled for five years - another example of why small firms need to have internal control reviews.
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Lease Accounting Changes Lurch Forward - A Bit
January 4, 2007
IASB, FASB Announce Working Group Members | accounting.smartpros.com
The FASB and the IASB move (slowly) towards their goal of revising lease accounting standards. They've announced the members of a working group, whose charge is to help them identify relevant lease accounting issues.
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Reimagining History At UNH: Part 2
January 3, 2007
UnitedHealth Predicts 14% Rise in Profit in 2007 | online.wsj.com
Further examination of representations being made by UNH when it restates its earnings.
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January 3, 2007
UnitedHealth Predicts 14% Rise in Profit in 2007 | online.wsj.com
UnitedHealth hints at how it might present its corrected earnings for the past decade. It could drastically "reimagine" the way things were.
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January 3, 2007
PCAOB Finds Problems At PricewaterhouseCoopers | online.wsj.com
The PCAOB found issues with some PwC audits. Some of them are to be expected, given that the PCAOB can't let pressure off the auditing firms.
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January 3, 2007
Oversight Board Criticizes Deloitte Over Audits | online.wsj.com
The PCAOB's report on Deloitte's audits was not well received by the firm. They contested the PCAOB's findings on several points.
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Audit Committees: Still Searching For Accountants
November 30, 2006
2006 Audit Committee Research Report | www.huronconsultinggroup.com
Four years after Sarbanes-Oxley gave a regulatory push for more financial experts on audit committees of boards of directors, the presence of accounting/finance-trained members is still scant.
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Fannie Mae: Part Of The Way Home
November 30, 2006
SEC 8-K Filing | sec.gov
While shareholders wait for 2004 and 2005 annual reports on Fannie Mae's financial status, former CEO Franklin Raines reaches an agreement on his severance pay package. There are numerous open items that are contingent on the restated amounts - an ironic twist, in that his fall from grace was tied to his influence over financial reporting process.
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November 30, 2006
WSJ Article: Is IPO Slowdown a Bad Thing, As Sarbanes-Oxley Foes Claim?; SEC 8-K Filings | online.wsj.com
More loss of managers as the backdating investigation machine continues to turn. Some seem uncooperative; some reap some surprising benefits. (They get to hold some of their options.)
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Coming Attraction: Lighter Weight Auditing Standard 2
November 30, 2006
PCAOB Speech by Mark Olson | www.pcaobus.org
The much-awaited "Auditing Standard 2 Lite" may be arriving shortly. The question is: will it alleviate grumbling about internal control evaluation or just give critics more to criticize?
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Starbucks: "Oddball" FIN 47 Responsibility
November 30, 2006
SEC 10-Q Filing | sec.gov
The fact that Starbucks recorded a charge for implementing FIN 47 seems anomalous at first - until you break it down more. Then you realize why it makes perfect sense for retailers to be recording liabilities typically associated with dirtier (environmentally speaking) industries.
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November 30, 2006
PCAOB Speech by Charles Niemeier | www.pcaobus.org
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SVB Financial: A Different Spin On Backdating
November 30, 2006
SEC 10-Q Filing | sec.gov
SVB Financial uses some interesting logic to come up with risk factors related to its clients that it believes could affect its own business.
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November 10, 2006
SEC 8-K Non-reliance filing | sec.gov
Navistar Financial discloses problems with recognizing sale transactions too soon on transfers of securities to securitization trusts. There could be more valuation issues ahead.
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November 9, 2006
Auditing Firms Urge New Ways To Detect Fraud | online.wsj.com
The six largest auditing firms get together and propose a new model for business reporting and auditing. It's not altogether new, and could pose more problems than it resolves.
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OSI Partners Buyout Contradiction
November 8, 2006
Outback Steakhouse Owner OSI Agrees To $3 Billion Buyout Deal | online.wsj.com
OSI Partners offers to take the company private on the same day that it puts a non-reliance notice on its current financials. What is the buyout price based on, one wonders?
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