GLG News by FASB 28: Sale-Leaseback Accounting Experts

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

Bush Nominates Two Democrats to SEC: More of the Same is Likely

March 31, 2008

Analysis of:White House to Tap Two Dems to SEC | www.cfo.com

Will President Bush's recent nomination of two Democrats to the SEC make it more investor friendly?  Not likely!

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

2007 Accounting Error of the Year: Depreciation and Amortization

January 2, 2008

Analysis of:Securities Suits Spike in 2007 | www.cfo.com

The subject article provides some interesting insights into the upward reversal in the number of securities class-action lawsuits filed during 2007.  Given such, I thought it might be fitting to offer my personal insights into what I continue to believe is the most common, yet rarely noticed, accounting error. As in prior years, inappropriate depreciation and amortization methodologies once again gets my nomination for Accounting Error of the Year.  Unfortunately, absent some unforeseeable improvement in oversight by corporate auditors and the SEC, I suspect that I will again be making the same nomination this time next year.      

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

SEC Schedule II - Visibility into the Integrity of Reported Results

September 11, 2007

Analysis of:SEC Schedule II - Visibility into the Integrity of Reported Results | tinyurl.com

Few other disclosures give as much visibility into the integrity of a company’s reported results like the SEC’s Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts. Unfortunately, despite such schedule being required of most public companies, few companies seemingly fully comply. The absence of otherwise required data, or worse, the outright omission of the schedule in its entirety, should raise investor concerns that a company may be engaging in some degree of inappropriate earnings management.

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

US GAAP: A Foreseeable Death

March 8, 2007

Analysis of:One Accounting Standard for All? | www.cfo.com

This article raises the question as to whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) will ultimately mandate that domestic public companies report their financial results pursuant to International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).  I believe, as a former SEC Assistant Chief Accountant who had oversight responsibility for numerous foreign private issuers, that the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” 

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

Grant Thornton Supports Lease Accounting Overhaul

December 29, 2006

Analysis of:Grant Thornton LLP Supports Review of Lease Accounting Rules as FASB/IASB Working Group is Named | home.businesswire.com

 

If they do not already do so, analysts need to begin proactively adjusting their models to reflect the assets and liabilities underlying “operating” leases onto the books of the companies they follow.  It is no longer a question as to whether many current operating leases will go onto the books, its merely a question of when and how many!

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

Chinese Alternative to Sarbanes-Oxley: Ready, Aim, Fire!!!

December 29, 2006

Analysis of:Accountant Gets Death Penalty | www.cfo.com

Given the endless belly-aching by Corporate America and its agents about how draconian Sarbanes-Oxley is, even in the midst of a seemingly never-ending stream of accounting scandals, I thought that a little comical perspective may be in order.  With that said, I submit this article which sets forth the Chinese alternative to Sarbanes-Oxley!

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

SEC: Merry Christmas to Small Public Companies

December 29, 2006

Analysis of:PCAOB Proposes AS2 'Repeal' | www.cfo.com

 

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s recent dismantling of AS2, its guide for auditors in their assessments of corporate internal controls over financial reporting, at the persistent urging of SEC Chairman Christopher Cox is further evidence of President Bush’s underlying agenda to disembowel Sarbanes-Oxley (“SOX”).  Unfortunately, the consequences of such disembowelment will likely be disproportionately borne by investors in smaller public companies.   

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

Apple: Jobs in Jeopardy?

December 29, 2006

Analysis of:Apple stock on wild ride but Jobs job looks safe | biz.yahoo.com

 

Anonymous but supposedly knowledgeable sources cited in recent news articles assert that premeditated fraud was involved in the granting of certain stock options at Apple.  With such assertions once again comes the speculation as to whether Steve Jobs will survive Apple’s stock option scandal.  As a former Assistant Chief Accountant with the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, this posting attempts to provide guidance to those attempting to assess the situation. 

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

VITESSE vs. KPMG?

December 27, 2006

Analysis of:Vitesse Explains Firing of KPMG | www.cfo.com

Vitesse had previously attributed, without any further elaboration, its termination of KPMG to a “lack of independence” which certainly raised a few eyebrows given the extensive prohibitions of Sarbanes-Oxley. As addressed in this article, Vitesse has now clarified that such “lack of independence” is solely prospective in nature given that it is considering legal action against KPMG apparently for failing to detect the various improprieties underlying its now acknowledged “accounting train wreck.”

Ronald KiimaPresident Kiima Incorporated

AUDIT COMMITTEES: FORM OVER SUBSTANCE

November 30, 2006

Analysis of:Missing: Audit Committee Accountants | www.cfo.com

This article sheds much needed light upon what I believe to be the most pervasive and significant internal control weakness among public companies…that being the absence of current and relevant technical accounting and financial reporting expertise on audit committees. As an audit committee truly serves as the last line of defense to the dissemination of erroneous or fraudulent financial reporting, it is imperative that analysts be more attentive to the technical qualifications of its members.

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