I am working on a research paper on the unit of account. Well, no it’s really about bifurcation of compound financial instruments. But wait, it’s really about aggregation. I guess one could say it’s about linking the presentation of things too. My head is whirling. Exactly. The point of the paper is not about the [...] Read more > >
Implicit in the FASB’s conceptual framework is a balance sheet (rather than an income statement) perspective. This has nothing to do with the relative decision usefulness of balance sheet vis-à-vis income statement information. Instead, it is the result of a decision (which I agree with) to define income in terms of changes in net assets. [...] Read more > >
Okay, so this is a stupid question .. but i don’t know the answer to it. When citing the new codification, one includes the applicable section number. But what do you do for FASB ?? What year? Do we go to the year the underlying standard was issued or current year? Anybody know? Read more > >
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is pleased to announce that Lynn Rees, Andersen Professor of Accounting in the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, has accepted the FASB 2011-2012 Research Fellowship, which will begin in July. Background Each year, the FASB selects a member of the academic community to serve as a research fellow. [...] Read more > >
UPDATE: Here is the direct link to the video of the testimony. –RJB Tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM, The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing entitled: “The Role of the Accounting Profession in Preventing Another Financial Crisis” FASB Chairman Leslie Seidman and other prominent individuals in the accounting [...] Read more > >
See forthcoming Fortune, where accountants are in HUGE demand in this down economy. Great news for us! Go to this link to read more…. Read more > >
UPDATE: Here are two files for the roundtable: a 2006 review paper by Christine Botosan called “Disclosure and the Cost of Capital: What Do We Know?” and recent working paper on voluntary environmental disclosures by Plumlee, Brown, Hayes and Marshall. The FASRI Round Table series continues at 4pm Eastern time on Wednesday, April 6th. Rob Bloomfield, [...] Read more > >
Please click here to here the archived recording of this session. The FASRI Round Table series continues at 4pm Eastern time on Tuesday, March 29th. Rob Bloomfield, Jeff Hales and Phil Shane will host the program, and our guest speaker is Russ Lundholm, Professor at the University of British Columbia. Russ will tee up a [...] Read more > >
FASB Research Fellow Phil Shane asked me a thought-provoking question last week: what do we know about the differences between people’s stated beliefs about the value of information and their actual decisions? I am hoping readers might help me flesh out a few preliminary thoughts. First, a comment on the relevance of the question for [...] Read more > >
UPDATE: Audio of the Roundtable is here. The FASRI Round Table series continues with a session at 4pm Eastern on Wednesday, March 23rd. Robert Bushman, professor at the University of North Carolina, will tee up a discussion related to his research that will hopefully impact the FASB’s developing disclosure framework project. Click here for a research paper to read [...] Read more > >
The audio podcast for the disclosure framework roundtable is available here. As a bit of personal commentary, I find it interesting to think of a comprehensive disclosure framework in the context of the recent research on textual analysis, in which researchers use computer programs to process the non-financial/non-tabular content of annual reports, other SEC filings [...] Read more > >
Please click on “more” below and then click here for the slides that Akwasi Ampofo (project manager) will use to introduce us to the FASB’s Disclosure Framework project, the topic of this week’s Round Table discussion. The Round Table will begin at 4pm Eastern on Wednesday, February 23rd. Please click here for up-to-date information regarding Board and staff deliberations regarding this [...] Read more > >
The FASRI Round Table series is about to start up again with our first session taking place at 4pm Eastern on Wednesday, February 23rd. Akwasi Ampofo, manager of the FASB’s disclosure framework project will help us kick off a series of round tables dealing with the topic of disclosure. Akwasi will introduce some of the [...] Read more > >
The FASRI Round Table series is about to start up again with our first session taking place at 4pm Eastern on Wednesday, February 23rd. Akwasi Ampofo, manager of the FASB’s disclosure framework project will help us kick off a series of round tables dealing with the topic of disclosure. Akwasi will introduce some of the [...] Read more > >
A couple of days ago the FASB issued a proposal to limit netting/offsetting. The proposal is similar to the IASB’s current approach. Therefore, if it is finalized, companies in the United States would not be allowed to offset as many assets and liabilities (especially derivatives) as they do now, meaning larger balance sheets. David Zion [...] Read more > >
The State of Maryland has recently passed a law that allows the creation of for-profit “benefit” corporations that include in their charter a commitment to pursue goals other than profit maximization. As the Washington Post reports: These hybrid entities pay taxes and can have shareholders, without the risk of being sued for not maximizing profits. [...] Read more > >
Mark DeFond of the University of Southern California presented a paper here at UT-Austin last week. It is neat as it deals with a basic concept .. that is, comparability. HOW FUNDAMENTAL IS THAT? EXACTLY! VERY. Title of paper: The Impact of Mandatory IFRS Adoption on Foreign Mutual Fund Ownership: The Role of Comparability. He [...] Read more > >
From the Telegraph, and quoted without comment: Iain Richards, of Aviva Investors, told the Lords that the IFRS system of auditing the banks had had “a material cost to the taxpayer and to shareholders” because “as a result dividend distributions have been made and bonuses have been paid that were imprudent”. Mr Richards said: “The [...] Read more > >
From the FASB website: Financial Accounting Foundation Appoints Daryl E. Buck and R. Harold Schroeder to the Financial Accounting Standards Board Norwalk, CT, January 14, 2011—The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the appointments of Daryl E. Buck and R. Harold (Hal) Schroeder to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Mr. Buck is currently Senior [...] Read more > >
JP Morgan sent around a report on a change in pension accounting at Honeywell last November. Honeywell had been following the traditional procedure of amortizing any accumulated pension gains or losses that lay outside of the corridor over the average remaining service life of employees. The company decided to stop amortizing – any gain or [...] Read more > >