Google stock breaks $1,000 barrier

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Advanced Accounting, Financial Accounting.

Google stock breaks $1,000 barrier Strong third-quarter results have sent Google’s stock past the $1,000 US mark for the first time. Shortly after the markets opened Friday, Google Inc. shares jumped more than 12 per cent to $1,007.40 US in heavy trading before edging back down to $1,000 later in the morning.  The Nasdaq-listed stock… Read more »

Enhancing audit quality

Posted by & filed under Auditing, MD&A.

Financial Collapse Could auditors have prevented the failures of the 2008 financial collapse? A CICA/CPAB initiative analyzes proposals for an improved process Illustration: Michael Austin                 Does a corporate failure automatically mean there was an audit failure? This is the underlying question linking the proposals for enhancing audit… Read more »

Going concern: When should the watchdog bark?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, IFRS.

International accounting standards definition of Going Concern: ‘a going concern … will continue in operation for the foreseeable future … [and] … has neither the intention nor the need to liquidate or curtail materially the scale of its operations’ The purposes of the going concern assessment: To determine whether the financial statements give a true… Read more »

The Future of Private Company Reporting?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, IFRS.

IFRS( International Financial Reporting Standards)  for SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) is a separate comprehensive set of standards for non-publicly accountable entities that is the result of a five-year development process with extensive consultation with SMEs worldwide. It simplifies many of the principles in full IFRSs for recognition and measurement, omits topics not relevant to SMEs,… Read more »

Corporate Disclosures: To Disclose or Not To Disclose!

Posted by & filed under Financial Reporting and Analysis, IFRS.

Why do companies choose to disclose, or not, forward-looking information in their corporate annual?  Accountants have long known that disclosure is important for companies and users of financial statement information. In its simplest form, the voluntary disclosure decision can be understood as managers having an incentive to disclose if the benefits of disclosure exceed the related… Read more »

Going Full Throttle towards IFRS, could this cause more Accounting Shenanigans?

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Fraud Accounting, IFRS.

Canada is in the midst of a seismic shift in accounting standards— one that will tie the country more tightly to international commerce, but might also result in investors being taken for a ride. Starting this year, Canadian public companies will issue financial statements using international financial reporting standards (IFRS) instead of the generally accepted… Read more »

Canadian Audit Committee Update: Evolving issues for 2010

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Advanced Accounting, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Fraud Accounting, IFRS.

Audit Committee Evolving Issues  focuses on communicating to stakeholders about the impact of adopting IFRS. Today’s changing business and economic conditions provide an opportunity for the audit committee to reassess its priorities and refocus its agenda. The purpose of the Audit Committee is to strengthen the integrity of the financial reporting process and the quality… Read more »

David beats Goliath: Great-West Life co ordered to pay $456M to policyholders

Posted by & filed under Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis.

LONDON, Ont. – A stunning $456-million judgement in a class-action lawsuit against insurance giant Great-West Lifeco (TSX:GWO) is a sign the courts are being more aggressive in keeping tabs on how corporate Canada conducts its affairs. The Judgement: Justice Johanne Morissette ruled after a 45 day trial in London, Ont. that Great-West breached sections of… Read more »

The concept of Bankruptcy!

Posted by & filed under Accounting Careers, Canadian Economy, Corporate Restructuring, IFRS.

The concept of bankruptcy is difficult to grasp and understand. Often the causes are due to Greed , Economic Conditions or Mismanagement. In essence Bankruptcy is a capitalistic concept-it is the loss of capital, an inability to pay a person’s or company’s creditors. Accounting is a tool that provides information to management, to identify the potential… Read more »