May 2009
FASB Releases Statement on Subsequent Events
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued FASB Statement No. 165, Subsequent Events, which is intended to establish general standards of accounting for -- and disclosure of -- events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued.
It requires the disclosure of the date through which an entity has evaluated subsequent events and the basis for that date.
The FASB's statement outlines:
NYSSCPA Tax Reform Testimony on YouTube
NYSSCPA Past President Thomas E. Riley, who testified a week ago to the need for state-level tax reform before the New York State Senate Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform, is shown below in a YouTube video of the proceedings.
All four hours of testimony were recorded in two YouTube videos. If you only want to see Riley's testimony, advance the video above to 1:13:45. After his initial remarks, he and Senator Liz Krueger, chair of the committee, engage in dialogue that runs to the end of the recording.
Gov to Propose Ethics Overhaul
Gov. David A. Paterson is considering a plan to restructure the state's ethics rules, according to a article in the Albany Times-Union. He will reportedly introduce legislation to replace two of the state's ethical watchdog entities with a single, smaller panel with greater insulation from political influence.
Update: Obama Nominates Sotomayor to Supreme Court
President Barack Obama announced at a press conference this morning that he is nominating Sonia Sotomayor, a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals judge in New York City, to the Supreme Court.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor, 54, would become the nation’s 111th justice, replacing Justice David H. Souter when he retires.
Sotomayor would be the first Latina to serve on the nation's highest court, if confirmed.
NYSSCPA Past President Testifies for Tax Reform
NYSSCPA Past President Thomas E. Riley testified to the need for state tax reform at a hearing before members of the New York State Senate yesterday, pledging the Society's help in identifying and working to eliminate inequities in the code.
Riley noted that while the NYSSCPA's SET Tax proposal provides a solution for problems inherent in the federal taxation model, nothing similar has yet been designed for tax reform at the state level.
Among other things, Riley urged simplification of the tax system and a leveling of the playing field between different types of corporate entities. He said he supports the use of tax credits to encourage certain economic behaviors, but said the process has had some "unintended consequences" and should be made easier for the small business owner.
The four-hour hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Budget and Tax Reform, which will be available on YouTube next week, also featured testimony by representatives of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the New York Bankers Association, the Fiscal Policy Institute, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Partnership for New York City and several others.
To SEC or Not to SEC?
It's safe to assert that it's been a bad year for the Securities and Exchange Commission, and now the power -- perhaps even the existence -- of the agency that missed Madoff (or ignored his mischief) is at stake.
Unsurprisingly, SEC Chair Mary Schapiro is objecting to a plan being considered by the Obama administration to create a new financial watchdog to protect consumers, which would reportedly reduce the SEC's authority.
From the New York Times:
"The proposal the administration was considering would centralize the enforcement of laws that protect consumers of financial products, such as credit cards, mortgages and mutual funds. That effort currently is spread across a number of federal and state agencies, including the SEC, with oversight of mutual funds and other investments, the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission."
Is this a good idea? Should the government instead choose the option reportedly favored by Schapiro, which would leave the SEC and other agencies intact, pulling members from several to sit on a "systemic risk council" charged with monitoring the financial system? Or should we revisit the Treasury Department's Blueprint for Financial Regulatory Reform, offered up last June before the subprime crisis turned into the economic crisis?
For those who don't remember (a lot has happened since then!), that plan sought to slash the number of regulatory agencies that police Wall Street to three: one to regulate banks, another to oversee consumer protection and business practices, and the third -- the Federal Reserve -- to regulate any aspect of the markets to ensure stability.
Which brings up another point: Should the part-public, part-private printer of all our green be its regulator, too? Because that's the option the White House is reportedly leaning toward.
Finding Freedom From Foreclosure
Getting a loan and keeping it current is very difficult these days. As a result, many individuals and companies struck by default or foreclosure—and, in turn, their CPAs—are facing difficult conversations with lenders.
FASB Tightens Rules on QSPEs
An accounting rule often blamed for its role in the mortgage crisis is getting its comeuppance. FASB voted today to tighten rules on qualified special purpose entities.
The rules allowed companies to keep loans off their balance sheets, but the change will require companies to report loans contained in the QSPEs and to increase their capital reserves in proportion as a buffer against potential losses. Regulators say the move will increase transparency.
Tapping the Untapped Market for Financial Advice
Sheryl Garrett was a partner at a successful wealth management firm, but still felt she had not completely achieved her life goals. The hours on the job were draining, and Garrett felt she was on-call 24 hours a day, even when on vacation.
Garrett was raised in a middle class family, and she was bothered by the fact that working class people like her own friends, family and neighbors couldn’t afford her services, or might even be turned down as clients by her firm. [Watch her video below or click here to hear her at the Personal Financial Planning Conference.]
Moynihan Inducted as NYSSCPA President at Annual Dinner
NYSSCPA President Sharon Sabba Fierstein passed the presidential torch to President-elect David J. Moynihan at the Society's 112th annual Election Meeting and Dinner Thursday night.
“Quality matters” will be the focus of Moynihan’s presidency, the incoming president said during his acceptance speech.
The son of a man who became a CPA at 49 years old, Moynihan said he never forgot the day his father received a letter in the mail informing his dad he had become a CPA.