Study Group: Utilities and Power Generation Industry: Financial Statement Analysts(?)

Lease accounting can be understood in relatively simple terms, and can be very beneficial to both preparers and users of financial statements.  In the case of utilities, recording the leased asset as a component of rate base would allow them the opportunity to earn a return on this asset.

Jane J. Thompson, called prepaid cards and money center services “foundational products” and ““Our concept is to go up the credit ladder of financial services,” The new products, like the prepaid debit card, will be offered through third-party partners, allowing Wal-Mart to...

PCAOB’s chairman Mark Olson has said of SFAS No.159: "The increased use of fair value accounting poses a challenge for auditors and the PCAOB." Time is short as this SFAS goes into effect for most companies for financial years beginning after November 15, 2007, except for early adopters. The...

This article is based on “Control Overrides in Financial Statement Fraud” by Robert Tillman and Michael Indergaard of St. John’s University, available at http://www.theifp.org/research%20grants/tillman_final_report.pdf The study examines 834 companies that filed financial restatements between 1997 and...

Kenneth Wilcox, President of SVB Financial, believes that Sarbox has made the US economy less competitive. He disputes claims by a Big Four accounting firms that the costs are declining, with second year costs only 40% of the first year. In 2006 SVB paid over $20 million to the Big...