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Accounting Research Manager®
Weekly Summary of Developments
January 30 - February 3, 2012
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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@hkcmcpa.us


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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
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International Accounting -- New IFRS Checklist Published
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We have issued our initial “Summary Checklist of Recent Authoritative International Financial Reporting Standards.” This checklist is intended to serve as a reference tool to review authoritative standards recently issued or approved by the IASB. The coverage of this checklist includes International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), International Accounting Standards (IAS), and interpretations developed by the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC). All of these documents must be approved by the IASB before they are issued.

This initial checklist includes those pronouncements issued or approved by the IASB through January 31, 2012, and will be updated shortly after the IASB issues a new or amended IFRS, IAS or IFRIC interpretation. Items will be removed from the checklist after all reporting entities should have adopted the standards or interpretations.

Preparers and auditors can use this checklist to ensure that recently approved IASB standards and interpretations have been considered in preparing or auditing financial statements under IFRS.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Derivatives and Hedging -- Publication Updated
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


We have updated our publication, Derivatives and Hedging - Interpretations of U.S. GAAP, to reflect amendments of the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM through FASB Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05. Among the new interpretations included in this edition of the publication are:

-Interpretation 815-10-30-1.B, “SEC Staff Views on Measurement Using Pricing Service Information,” which notes that the SEC staff has provided its views on GAAP compliance issues when third-party pricing service information is used to measure fair value (whether for the purpose of recognition or disclosure).
-Interpretation 815-10-35-3.A, “Not-for-Profit-Entity Reporting Changes in Fair Value of Derivative Instruments,” which explains that a not-for-profit entity needs to consider donor-imposed and legal restrictions when reporting changes in the fair value of derivative instruments.
-Interpretation 815-10-50-4H.B, “Other GAAP Effects of Credit-Risk-Related Contingent Features,” which observes that a credit-risk-related contingent feature (including one subject to disclosure under paragraph 815-10-50-4H) may be subject to various GAAP requirements.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Financial Instruments -- New Edition of Publication Issued
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We have published the 2012 edition of Financial Instruments. The primary objective of this publication is to serve as a comprehensive reference manual of generally accepted accounting principles in the United States for financial instruments, including loans, securities, securitizations, and derivatives. This edition of the publication has been updated through the issuance of ASU No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820) - Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs.

In addition, this edition of the publication reflects new guidance or views communicated by members of the SEC staff in various speeches.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Revenue Recognition -- Updated Interpretation Published
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We have updated our publication, Revenue Recognition Guide, to incorporate changes in the accounting literature and various interpretive developments. Most significantly, it has been updated to reflect the issuance by the FASB for recent guidance on the milestone method of revenue recognition and multiple-deliverable arrangements, as well as the application of the special requirements for recognition of revenue in software arrangements. In addition, this edition includes a detailed discussion of the second Exposure Draft, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605): Revenue from Contracts with Customers, issued in November 2011 that would replace and significantly change revenue recognition accounting standards.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Classification and Measurement -- FASB and IASB Discuss Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments and Other Matters
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As reported in its "Summary of Board Decisions" publication, the FASB and IASB (the Boards) held a joint videoconference meeting on January 27, 2012. The Boards discussed accounting for financial instruments, including: (a) the convergence efforts on aligning the classification and measurement models under IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, and the FASB tentative model; and (b) the “three bucket” approach for impairment of financial assets, including the application of the credit deterioration model to purchased financial assets with evidence of credit deterioration.

The Boards tentatively decided to jointly redeliberate selected aspects of their classification and measurement models to seek to reduce the following key differences:

-The contractual cash flow characteristics of an instrument;
-The need for bifurcation of financial assets and, if pursued, the basis for bifurcation;
-The basis for and scope of a possible third classification category (i.e., debt instruments measured at fair value through other comprehensive income); and
-Any interrelated issues from the above (e.g., disclosures or the model for financial liabilities given the financial asset decisions).

The Boards also discussed how the three bucket impairment model should be applied to purchased financial assets with an explicit expectation of credit losses at acquisition. In addition, the Boards discussed other aspects of the accounting for such purchased financial assets, including the following:

-Application of the impairment model;
-The scope of purchased financial assets that would be initially included in Bucket 2 or Bucket 3 and for which accretion from the purchase price to the expected cash flows would be required;
-Favorable changes in expectations after acquisition; and
-Presentation in the statement of financial position of purchased financial assets with an explicit expectation of credit losses at acquisition.

Risk Alert -- AICPA Issues Financial Institutions Audit Risk Alert
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The AICPA has issued an Audit Risk Alert, Financial Institutions Industry Developments: Including Depository and Lending Institutions and Brokers and Dealers in Securities - 2011/12. This publication provides users with a detailed overview of recent industry, technical, regulatory, or professional developments. Audit Risk Alerts can also be used by an entity’s internal management to address areas of audit concern.

IFRS for SMEs -- IASB Issues IFRS for SMEs Update
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The IASB staff has issued its periodic "IFRS for SMEs Update" publication which is a summary of news relating to the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs). This update includes discussion of the following topics:

-Overall update on the IFRS for SMEs;
-Status report on Q&As about the IFRS for SMEs;
-Status report on IFRS for SMEs translations;
-Additional Spanish- and Arabic-language training modules;
-IFRS for SMEs “train the trainers” workshop in the Republic of Kazakhstan; and
-Where to obtain IFRS for SMEs materials.

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@hkcmcpa.us


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AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROLS HEADLINES:
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Risk Alert -- AICPA Issues Financial Institutions Audit Risk Alert
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


As discussed above in our Accounting and SEC Summaries, the AICPA has issued an Audit Risk Alert, Financial Institutions Industry Developments: Including Depository and Lending Institutions and Brokers and Dealers in Securities - 2011/12. This publication provides users with a detailed overview of recent industry, technical, regulatory, or professional developments. Audit Risk Alerts can also be used by an entity’s internal management to address areas of audit concern.

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GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:
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Governmental GAAP -- New Edition of Governmental GAAP Guide Published
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


We have published the 2012 Edition of Governmental GAAP Guide. This publication is written with the recognition that financial professionals who work with state and local governments must stay current with emerging governmental standards or face unfortunate consequences. This edition of the publication has been updated throughout with the latest information on:

-GASB Statement No. 60, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Service Concession Arrangements;
-GASB Statement No. 61, The Financial Reporting Entity: Omnibus - an Amendment of GASB Statements No. 14 and No. 34; and
-GASB Statement No. 62, Codification of Accounting and Financial Reporting Guidance Contained in Pre-November 30, 1989 FASB and AICPA Pronouncements.

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@hkcmcpa.us