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Accounting & Auditing OP/ED by The Grumpy Old Accountants Enron's 10th Anniversary: Context for Andersen's Auditing Failures We already have discussed the context for Enron's crimes by describing the Roaring Nineties as a period of accounting exaggeration and worse. We then referenced the first SEC filing that confessed some of the crimes by Enron's managers. In this and the next essay, we turn our attention to the auditor Arthur Andersen; specifically, we note the context for underauditing during the 1990s in this essay and, in the next, we discuss some specific issues with Andersen's audits.   Quick Links:  Return to Accounting Homepage Weekly Newsletter Online CPE Twitter: SmartProsEditor       Updated 12/15

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This Week in the SmartPros News & Insights Newsletter Companies Worry About SEC's Advice to Disclose Cyberthreats ... Part II: 2011 Annual Report Preview ... CPE: Cyber Terror and Cyber Risk: What You Need To Know ... Book Pick: Auditing Cloud Computing: A Security and Privacy Guide Probe Finds Elaborate Cover-up at "Rotten" Olympus A panel probing an accounting scandal at Japan's Olympus Corp. said Tuesday an elaborate scheme to cover up $1.5 billion of investment losses was orchestrated by a group of top executives who were "rotten to the core." Fed Nearing a Plan to Clarify Direction of Rates The Federal Reserve under Ben Bernanke has gone further than ever to explain its policies to the public. It's ready to go further still. Federal, State Tax Audit Activity Heats Up Federal and state governments are turning up the heat on corporate tax audit activities in their continued efforts to capture more tax revenue, according to a recent survey of corporate tax executives conducted by KPMG LLP. EDITORIAL: A Blow Against Fraud Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who presides over a federal district court in Manhattan, issued a ruling Monday that should make American citizens rejoice. He refused to sign off on a wrist-slap $285 million settlement the Securities and Exchange Commission had proposed to sign with Citigroup that would have allowed the giant Wall Street investment bank to avoid admitting defrauding investors of $700 million. Probe Finds Elaborate Cover-up at "Rotten" Olympus A panel probing an accounting scandal at Japan's Olympus Corp. said Tuesday an elaborate scheme to cover up $1.5 billion of investment losses was orchestrated by a group of top executives who were "rotten to the core." Insurance Coalition Asks IASB and FASB to Withdraw Staff Papers on Short-Duration Insurance Contracts A global coalition of insurance companies and associations called upon the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to withdraw staff papers on accounting for short- duration insurance contracts and substantively address all significant issues in a formal, open dialogue. Federal, State Tax Audit Activity Heats Up Federal and state governments are turning up the heat on corporate tax audit activities in their continued efforts to capture more tax revenue, according to a recent survey of corporate tax executives conducted by KPMG LLP. FASB Chairman Adds Two Agenda Projects to Improve Financial Reporting by Not-for-Profit Organizations Leslie F. Seidman, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), today announced the addition of two agenda projects?a standard-setting project and a research project?intended to improve financial reporting of not-for-profit organizations. FASB Adds an Agenda Project on Fair Value Measurement Disclosures for Private Companies and Not-for-Profit Organizations The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has added to its agenda a project to assess the feasibility of reducing or eliminating certain fair value measurement disclosure requirements for private companies and not-for-profit organizations. GASB Proposes Financial Projections for Assessing Economic Condition of Governments The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) today proposed that state and local governments should present five-year projections of cash inflows, cash outflows, and financial obligations that would accompany their financial statements as required supplementary information.

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