Auditing

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced yesterday that it would hold a two-day public meeting in March to receive input on auditor independence and audit firm rotation.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued a release on Dec. 28 advising auditors "that the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern assumption is a matter to be considered on every audit engagement."

In a Dec. 23 release, the U.S Government Accountability Office announced that it couldn't render an opinion on the federal government's 2011 consolidated financial statements. The GAO cited "widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations."

1. Serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) that made its financial statements unauditable.

The PCAOB today reproposed for comment an auditing standard on communications with audit committees, and other amendments to PCAOB standards. The Board initially proposed the standard on March 29, 2010.

Testifying in front of the senate, Jon Corzine of MF Global was asked if "we should reexamine the accounting treatment of repo-to-maturity transactions."

He replied: "To the extent that people believe that the disclosures that we made were not adequate, and they believe that more disclosure is better, that certainly should be considered." He continued: "I'm probably not the one who should speak to this--I'm certainly not an accounting expert.

Earlier this year, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued a 40-page concept release that explored ways it could enhance auditor independence, objectivity and professional skepticism. One option the release discussed in detail was mandatory audit firm rotation.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has announced 28 new and reappointed members to its Standing Advisory Group (SAG), a team of experts that advises the board.

According to a Nov. 16 article in the New York Times, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which takes over failed pension plans to continue paying retirees, made errors in calculating benefits. As a result, some retirees may have been getting too much and others may have been getting too little.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced today that it had reached a cooperative agreement with the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan, a deal which will allow the two countries to conduct joint inspections on auditors and audit firms that practice within both countries. Of the more than 900 PCAOB-registered audit firms operating outside the United States, 12 are located in Taiwan.