Was It a Sh*tty Deal?

I’ve been pondering the role of Goldman Sachs in the transactions that Senator Levin objected to during recent hearings of the Senate Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations.  Did sales personnel for Goldman Sachs, when offering certain securities at a particular price, owe an obligation to the potential buyer to inform that the price might be [...]

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SEC’s Schapiro on Accounting

Thanks to Rick Telberg at CPATrendlines, I am now aware of Mary Schapiro’s latest comments on accounting (to the CFA Institute 2010 Annual Conference in Boston, Mass.).  We now have proof that the spirit of Professor Philip Barbay is alive and well inside the beltway.  You don’t remember Professor Philip Barbay?  He was the fool [...]

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Sen. Sherrod Brown Prods SEC/FASB to Fix Accounting Standards

Freshman Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), on May 5, 2010, offered an amendment to S. 3217:  Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.  On May 7, 2010, a joint letter from seven prominent organizations was sent to the Senate, objecting the Brown’s excursion into accounting standard setting. What’s going on, ProfAlbrecht? Thanks for asking.  I’ll lay [...]

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Deloitte’s Inspection Report: Good or Bad News?

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has released (May 4, 2010) its 2009 inspection report for Deloitte & Touche, LLP, and Deloitte’s response.  The PCAOB is charged, under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, with inspecting each of the largest audit firms each year, as well as smaller audit firms (with public company clients) once [...]

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SEI Sues FASB

In a lawsuit against the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) filed Wednesday, May 5, 2010, Silicon Economics, Inc., charges that that the FASB has illegally appropriated its intellectual property:  a proposed set of alternative accounting standards.  At stake are the accounting rules that could be used by over one [...]

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