FASB News
Private Company Council Sets Town Halls
The Private Company Council (PCC), the body that advises the FASB on private company accounting matters, will hold Town Halls at AICPA conferences in April and June 2021, part of its efforts to provide companies with updates of new and emerging accounting standards, according to its agenda. The PCC plans to hold a Town Hall on April 29 at the AICPA’s Group of 400 (G400) Community Meeting. The G400 is an invitation-only event that enables attendees to explore accounting best practices with leaders from top CPA firms in the country. The meeting was cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. A second Town Hall will be held on June 7 at the National Advanced Accounting and Auditing Technical Symposium (NAAATS) at AICPA Engage. The Engage conference, typically a three-day conference typically in June, was postponed and held online last year. The conference typically features speakers on technology, tax, personal financial planning, and auditing and accounting, among other topics and panel discussions. There is a chance the meeting would continue to be held online. PCC Town Halls meetings are set up to provide private company accountants, auditors, and other practitioners with updates about FASB accounting rules, including deep dives into the nuances of the rules.
IASB News
Interpretations Committee Says Standards Adequately Address Supply Chain Financing Presentation Matters
The IFRS Interpretations Committee has published its final conclusions that International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adequately provide the basis for companies to determine the presentation of liabilities that are part of reverse factoring arrangements, also known as supply chain financing. IFRS standards are also sound enough for companies to report the presentation of the related cash flows, and disclose information in footnotes, such as liquidity risks that arise in such arrangements, the committee said. The Interpretations Committee said that in light of this it would not recommend that the IASB add a standards-setting project on these matters. The IASB endorsed the decisions, a new requirement under the committee’s due process, Vice Chair Sue Lloyd said during a December 21, 2020, podcast.
AICPA News
Jennifer Burns Named Chief Auditor
The AICPA has announced that Jennifer Burns, a retired partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP, will be joining the organization as chief auditor on January 25. She succeeds Bob Dohrer, who returned to RSM International as chief operating officer (COO). Burns has more than 25 years of experience in accounting. As the chief auditor, she will serve as the association’s leading expert on auditing and attestation standards. She will play an integral role in the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board (ASB), which crafts audit standards for audits of U.S. private companies. Burns will also lead the AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee (ARSC). She will lead in partnership with chairs of the board and the committee. The organization said a big part of her role will be on developing innovative standards that encourage the use of technology in audit as companies and auditors increasingly use ever more sophisticated technology, including artificial intelligence (AI). Burns will represent the association at the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO). She will also be responsible for key relationships and coordination with other standards-setters and governmental officials. “Jennifer brings deep knowledge of public accounting practices, standards and technology’s impacts and benefits on audit and attestation services. She is in a unique position to lead transformation of the standards,” Sue Coffey, association executive vice president for public practice, said in a statement. “Her experience will greatly contribute to the ASB’s ongoing work to modernize private company auditing and attestation standards and advance the profession’s use of technology in providing audit, attestation, review, compilation and preparation services.”
