===================================================
Accounting Research
Manager(TM)
Weekly Summary of
Developments
April 13-17, 2009
===================================================
Accounting Research
Manager subscriber,
The Accounting Research
Manager database now contains this week's weekly summary of developments. Click
the link below to access and print the fully-formatted Weekly Summary:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
If you do not have immediate Internet access
to the Accounting Research Manager database, below is the text of this week's
Weekly Summary.
Accounting and SEC
Headlines
Disclosure Checklists -- Disclosure Checklists Updated through
March 31, 2009
Investments -- SEC Releases Staff Accounting Bulletin
No. 111
SEC Reporting -- SEC Publishes Technical Amendments and
Codification of Financial Reporting Policies
SEC Filings -- SEC Releases Updated EDGAR Filer
Manual
Income Taxes -- FASB Discusses the Applicability of
FIN 48
Inflation Rates -- Interpretation Added, Inflation Rates
for Judging Whether an Economy Is Highly Inflationary - March 2009
Audit Confirmations -- PCAOB Issues Concept Release on
Possible Revisions to Standard on Audit Confirmations
International Financial
Reporting -- IASB Issues
Agenda for April 22-24, 2009 Meeting
Auditing and Internal Controls
Headlines
Audit Confirmations -- PCAOB Issues Concept Release on
Possible Revisions to Standard on Audit Confirmations
Attestation Guide -- 2009 Edition Published
Single Audits -- 2009 Edition of Knowledge-Based Single
Audits Published
Subsequent Events -- AICPA Proposes Guidance on Subsequent
Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts
Government Headlines
Single Audits -- 2009 Edition of Knowledge-Based Single
Audits Published
=============================
ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
=============================
Disclosure Checklists --
Disclosure Checklists Updated through March 31, 2009
As discussed in our
Literature Update, the General U.S. GAAP Financial Statement Disclosures
Checklist has been updated through March 31, 2009:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The disclosure requirements
of the following have been incorporated into this checklist:
-FASB Staff Position (FSP)
FAS 107-1 and APB 28-1, Interim Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial
Instruments;
-FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2,
Recognition and Presentation of Other-Than-Temporary Impairments;
-FSP FAS 141(R)-1, Accounting
for Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination That
Arise from Contingencies; and
-FSP FAS 157-4, Determining
Fair Value When the Volume and Level of Activity for the Asset or Liability
Have Significantly Decreased and Identifying Transactions That Are Not Orderly.
We have also updated the General
U.S. GAAP Interim Financial Statement Disclosures Checklist through March
31, 2009, to reflect the interim disclosures required by FSP FAS 107-1 and APB
28-1.
We have also updated the
following SEC disclosure-related checklists through March 31, 2009:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
-Financial Statement
Disclosures - This checklist outlines the required SEC disclosures for
financial statements included in 1934 and 1933 Act domestic filings that are
incremental to U.S. GAAP. The checklist is organized by topic.
-Management's Discussion
and Analysis - This checklist outlines the required SEC disclosures for
MD&A included in 1934 and 1933 domestic filings, including Forms 10-K and
S-1.
-Incremental
Certifications, Disclosures, and Reporting Mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley -
This checklist outlines the certification, disclosure and reporting
requirements resulting from the SEC rules mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002 . The checklist provides a by-topic
"tickler" and effective dates. It also provides a column for users to
note implementation date.
-SEC Form 10-Q checklist
- This checklist is for financial and nonfinancial
information included in Form 10-Q and is organized by form item number.
Revisions we made to these
checklists include:
-Updating our references to
reflect the SEC’s publication of revised Compliance and Disclosure
Interpretations, Exchange Act Rules;
-Reflecting the issuance of
FSP FAS 107-1 and APB 28-1; and
-Incorporating SEC staff
amendments to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) Topic 5M, “Miscellaneous
Accounting - Other Than Temporary Impairment of Certain Investments in Equity Securities ” (see discussion below).
See our Literature Update for
complete details.
Investments -- SEC
Releases Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 111
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The SEC’s Office of the Chief
Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance amended and replaced SEC Staff
Accounting Bulletin (SAB) Topic 5M, “Miscellaneous Accounting - Other Than
Temporary Impairment of Certain Investments in Equity Securities” (SAB 111).
This guidance amends SAB Topic 5M to reflect FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2. This FSP
provides guidance for assessing whether an impairment of a debt security is
other than temporary, as well as how such impairments are presented and
disclosed in the financial statements. The amended SAB Topic 5M maintains the
prior staff views related to equity securities but has been amended to exclude
debt securities from its scope.
SEC Reporting -- SEC
Publishes Technical Amendments and Codification of Financial Reporting Policies
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The SEC has published a final
rule, Technical Amendments to Rules, Forms, Schedules and Codification of
Financial Reporting Policies. This rule makes technical amendments to
various rules, forms and schedules under the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities
Act) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). The purpose of
these technical amendments and revisions is to eliminate obsolete terminology
and revise reporting and disclosure requirements as necessary to achieve
consistency between the SEC's compliance requirements and FASB Statement No.
141 (Revised December 2007), Business Combinations, and FASB Statement
No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated
Financial Statements. In addition, this final rule amends Rule 3-04 under
Regulation S-X to now require a separate reconciliation in the notes to the
financial statements (or in a separate schedule) that shows the effects of any
changes in the registrant’s ownership interest in a subsidiary to the equity
attributable to the registrant.
This final rule is effective
upon publication in the Federal Register.
SEC Filings -- SEC
Releases Updated EDGAR Filer Manual
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The SEC has published a final
rule, Adoption of Updated EDGAR Filer Manual. This rule includes
revisions to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System
(EDGAR) Filer Manual to reflect updates to the EDGAR system. The revisions are
being made primarily to update EDGAR to support the potential rule where
domestic and foreign large accelerated filers that use
This rule is effective April 16,
2009.
Income Taxes -- FASB
Discusses the Applicability of FIN 48
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
As reported in its "Summary
of Board Decisions" publication, the FASB met on April 15, 2009, and
discussed the applicability of FASB Interpretation (FIN) No. 48, Accounting
for Uncertainty in Income Taxes. The FASB discussed issues presented in
comment letters related to a decision to proceed with the guidance phase for
FIN 48 for pass-through and tax exempt not-for-profit entities. Specifically,
the FASB decided:
-To provide guidance in
narrative form with examples as needed to clarify the application of the
guidance;
-To provide guidance related
to whether a tax is or is not an income tax;
-That attribution of the
income tax to the entity or its owners should be based on the laws and
regulations of the taxing authority rather than on who is responsible for
payment of the income taxes;
-That the proposed guidance
would clarify that an entity’s status as a pass-through entity or a tax exempt
not-for-profit entity is a tax position; and
-To provide guidance that
explains that a consolidating entity should include uncertain tax positions
recorded by its subsidiaries in its consolidated financial statements,
regardless of the tax status of the consolidating parent.
The FASB also decided that
any proposed guidance on the applicability of FIN 48 would be effective upon
issuance for entities that currently apply FIN 48, and upon adoption of FIN 48
for those entities that have deferred the application of FIN 48. Certain
nonpublic entities may defer the effective date of FIN 48 to the annual
financial statements for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008.
Inflation Rates --
Interpretation Added, Inflation Rates for Judging Whether an Economy Is
Highly Inflationary - March 2009
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
Our Interpretation, Inflation
Rates for Judging Whether an Economy Is Highly Inflationary - March 2009,
has been issued and reflects the latest available inflation rate information.
Since our last update in December 2008, the following countries have been
reclassified from the “watch list” of countries that may have highly
inflationary economies to the list of countries that do not have highly
inflationary economies:
-
-Haiti.
See our Literature Update for
complete details.
Audit Confirmations --
PCAOB Issues Concept Release on Possible Revisions to Standard on Audit
Confirmations
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The PCAOB issued for public
comment, Concept Release on Possible Revisions to the PCAOB’s
Standard on Audit Confirmations. As proposed, this release would revise the
standard on audit confirmations, AU section 330, The Confirmation Process.
The PCAOB is using this concept release to seek public comment on the potential
direction of a standard setting project that could result in an amendment to,
or a new auditing standard on, the PCAOB’s current
standard on audit confirmations. Specifically, the PCAOB is seeking public
comment on a number of possible changes to AU 330, including in the following
areas:
-Definition of confirmation;
-Requirements to confirm;
-Designing confirmation
requests;
-Maintaining control over
confirmation requests and responses;
-Reliability of confirmation
responses;
-Exceptions and
non-responses;
-Management requests not to
confirm;
-Disclaimers and restrictive
language; and
-Negative confirmations.
Comments on this proposal are
due May 29, 2009.
International Financial
Reporting -- IASB Issues Agenda for April 22-24, 2009 Meeting
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The IASB is scheduled to
discuss the following agenda items at its April 22-24, 2009 meeting:
-Amendments to IFRS 1, First
Time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards;
-Amendments to IFRS 2, Share-based
Payment, related to group cash-settled share-based payment;
-Amendments to IFRS 5, Non-current
Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations;
-Earnings per share;
-FASB amendments on fair
value measurement and other-than-temporary impairments;
-Financial instruments:
recognition and measurement;
-Insurance contracts;
-IFRS for non-publicly
accountable entities;
-Amendments to IAS 37, Provisions,
Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets;
-Management commentary;
-Post-employment benefits;
-Rate-regulated activities;
and
-IASB technical plan.
Some of the documents
listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For
information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content,
click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
=======================================
AUDITING AND INTERNAL
CONTROLS HEADLINES:
=======================================
Audit Confirmations --
PCAOB Issues Concept Release on Possible Revisions to Standard on Audit
Confirmations
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
As discussed above in our
Accounting and SEC Summaries, the PCAOB issued for public comment, Concept
Release on Possible Revisions to the PCAOB’s Standard
on Audit Confirmations. As proposed, this release would revise the standard
on audit confirmations, AU section 330, The Confirmation Process. The
PCAOB is using this concept release to seek public comment on the potential
direction of a standard setting project that could result in an amendment to,
or a new auditing standard on, the PCAOB’s current
standard on audit confirmations. Specifically, the PCAOB is seeking public
comment on a number of possible changes to AU 330, including in the following
areas:
-Definition of confirmation;
-Requirements to confirm;
-Designing confirmation
requests;
-Maintaining control over
confirmation requests and responses;
-Reliability of confirmation
responses;
-Exceptions and
non-responses;
-Management requests not to
confirm;
-Disclaimers and restrictive
language; and
-Negative confirmations.
Comments on this proposal are
due May 29, 2009.
Attestation Guide -- 2009
Edition Published
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
We have published the 2009
Edition of Attestation Guide, and incorporated the guidance in this
publication into the "Attestation Engagements" chapter of Engagement
Standards. This edition has been completely redesigned and developed to
incorporate the most recent professional standards and guidance for the conduct
of attestation engagements and to integrate the use of attestation engagement
practice aids, tools, and other resources within its guidance. The new guidance
is organized into eleven chapters that provide complete and concise guidance on
conducting: (a) examination-level; (b) review-level; (c)
compilation-level; and (d) agreed-upon procedure attestation engagements
over both financial and non-financial information. This edition has been
updated to reflect:
-AICPA Statement on Standards
for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) No. 15, An Examination of an Entity's
Internal Control over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated with an Audit of
Its Financial Statements;
-SSAE Interpretation No. 7 of
AT-101, Reporting on the Design of Internal Control;
-July 2007 revision to Government
Auditing Standards (Yellow Book );
-PCAOB Rule 3300T, Interim
Attestation Standards; and
-The most recent attestation
guidance from the IFAC and the IIA.
See our Literature Update for
complete details.
Single Audits -- 2009
Edition of Knowledge-Based Single Audits Published
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
We have published the 2009 edition of Knowledge-Based
Single Audits. This publication is designed to help the auditor efficiently
and effectively perform the compliance audit portion of the single audit in
accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the
See our Literature Update for
complete details.
Subsequent Events -- AICPA
Proposes Guidance on Subsequent Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
The AICPA has issued for
public comment, Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS), Subsequent
Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts. This proposed SAS has been
drafted using International Standard on Auditing (ISA) No. 560, Subsequent
Events, as a base. In addition to converging with ISA 560, this proposed
SAS also combines elements of existing standards and considers the impact of
accounting guidance related to subsequent events and:
-Combines the guidance
pertaining to subsequent events and subsequent discovery of facts into one AU
section;
-Eliminates the accounting
guidance related to subsequent events from the auditing literature; and
-Incorporates the guidance
related to report reissuances that currently resides
in other AU sections.
As proposed, this SAS would
be effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or
after December 15, 2010.
Comments on this proposed SAS
are due July 15, 2009.
Some of the documents
listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For
information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content,
click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
======================
GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:
======================
Single Audits -- 2009
Edition of Knowledge-Based Single Audits Published
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com
As discussed above in our
Auditing and Internal Controls Summaries, we have published the 2009 edition of
Knowledge-Based Single Audits. This publication is designed to help the
auditor efficiently and effectively perform the compliance audit portion of the
single audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the
See our Literature Update for
complete details.
Some of the documents
listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For
information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content,
click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com