Accountants Round Up

"Accountancy Profession Becoming ‘Closed Shop’ For Rich"

By Paul Grant: Breaking into the accountancy profession is becoming increasingly difficult for those from low income families, according to a government report.

The study into social mobility found that top professions are being closed off to all but the most affluent families, despite efforts to close the gap between rich and poor.

Read complete article Accountancy Profession Becoming ‘Closed Shop’ For Rich
Source: Accountancy Age, 21 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited. All rights reserved.

"Financial Reporting Complexity: Can It Be Reduced?"

By Dan Meyer: The Global Accounting Alliance, a group of accounting standard-setting bodies from throughout the world, recently met in New York to discuss complexity in financial reporting. They found some agreement on the desirably of simplifying financial reporting but not much agreement on how to accomplish the goal.

Read complete post Financial Reporting Complexity: Can It Be Reduced?
Source: Tick Marks, 17 July 2009.

Accountants Round Up is Retiring

Dear loyal readers, it is time for ARU to bid you farewell after this week.

We greatly appreciate your readership and trust over the past few years and it has been enjoyable to serve you with a collection of emerging accounting-related news items.

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"EU: Banks Using Looser Accounting Rules"

By Brussels (AP): European banks are increasingly using looser accounting rules to report a higher value in their 2008 accounts for complex investments that depreciated during the financial crisis, EU market supervisors said Wednesday.

Rules which required assets to be valued at market prices -- called fair-value or mark-to-market -- were eased in October to allow European companies to use higher prices for derivatives when they reported earnings from the third quarter of 2008.

Read complete article EU: Banks Using Looser Accounting Rules
Source: Yahoo Finance, 15 July 2009. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! All rights reserved.

"Accounting Not To Blame For Financial Crisis"

By Mario Christodoulou: Accounting rule makers should remain independent from `undue commercial and political pressures', a group of recognised leading financial experts has warned in a report which defends accounting standards as `not a root cause of the financial crisis'.

The Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), formed in the wake of the global economic meltdown by American and International accounting rule makers, today published its recommendations where it said the independence of standard setters should be maintained.

Read complete article Accounting Not To Blame For Financial Crisis
Source: Accountancy Age, 28 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited.

"Financial Services Careers: Rising Tide of Regulation"

By Nick Huber: It’s shaping up to be the year of regulation as well as recession, with the government introducing a new regulatory framework in response to the banking crisis. Earlier this month the government unveiled its long-awaited financial white paper, seen as the biggest shake-up in the regulation of the City since it came to power in 1997.

The plans have received a mixed reaction from the City. But experts say that the increase in financial regulations is likely to be good news for accountants as financial firms strengthen their compliance departments, boosting demand for advisory work and providing opportunities to work more closely with regulators.

Read complete article Financial Services Careers: Rising Tide of Regulation
Source: Accountancy Age, 23 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited.

"More on Health Care Reform: Congress Apparently Sweet on Soda Tax"

By TAXGIRL: Though the health care reform bill has officially been tabled until after the break, there is still work to do in Congress before a vote can be scheduled. At the top of the list? Find a way to pay for the bill...Yes, you guessed it. The so-called “soda tax” is now back in the picture.

The soda tax (which failed when proposed in New York) has been proposed in the House and Senate as a potential revenue generator to pay for health care reform. The tax would be a 3 cent surtax on soda, energy drinks and “other” sugary drinks (various proposals have included taxing, for example, certain kinds of juices).

Read complete post More on Health Care Reform: Congress Apparently Sweet on Soda Tax
Source: TAXGIRL Blog, 28 July 2009. © 2005-2009 Kelly Phillips Erb.

"Social Media: Just Get Plugged In Already"

By Liz Gold: It’s not about the technology, it’s about the relationships. This mantra comes from Tom Hood CPA and president of the Maryland Association of CPAs. Of course, he’s right – when talking about social media.

In a recent blog post, Hood relayed this message to the 25 participants in the AICPA’s Leadership Academy earlier in the month, noting that many young professionals feel that their firms don’t “get it” when it comes to social media and are blocking such sites in their organizations.

Read complete post Social Media: Just Get Plugged In Already
Source: Accounting Tomorrow, 15 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Managing Your Time During the CPA Exam"

By Roger CPA Review: You’ve gotten past the first four screens. Now, it all comes down to earning 75 points before the time runs out. No, it’s not a video game. It’s the CPA Exam, and it’s a balancing act between knowledge and time management. Are you ready?

Each section of the CPA Exam is broken up into mini-tests, or “testlets.” There are three multiple choice testlets per exam, with each testlet containing 30 questions.

Read complete post Managing Your Time During the CPA Exam
Source: CPA Exam Preparation Blog, 14 July 2009. Copyright © 2009 Roger CPA Review