December 2011 Newsletter
PROPOSED SLATE OF CANDIDATES FOR 2012-2013
Secretary
The following is the proposed slate of candidates based on nominations from the membership to be included on the ballot for election to the Board of Directors for the 2012– 2013 fiscal year. As stated in Article 16, Section 5: "Additional nominations of eligible members may be made by written petition addressed to the Society's regular office and received on or before December 15th, signed by five members and accompanied by the written acceptance of each such candidate. No person may be a candidate for more than one position and the additional nominations which are provided for herein may be made only from those members who have not accepted a nomination from the Nominating Committee".
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Amy Cooper
TREASURER
Lance Bodeen
SECRETARY
Cathleen Hahn
DIRECTORS
Melissa Beedle
Rita De la Torre
Josh McIntyre
Steven Pence
Janet Younger
HAGELBARGER DIRECTOR
Tracy Hartung
341 West Tudor Road Suite 105 P 907 562-4334 akcpa@ak.net
Anchorage, Alaska 99503 F 907 562-4025 www.akcpa.org
Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy
The Alaska State Board of Public Accountancy Executive Secretary Position has been reposted and will remain open for applications until December 23, 2011. If you know of any one that meets the qualifications and would be interested in applying, please forward the attached link.
Why am I a member of the AKCPA?
Jason Bontrager, Director
To be, or not to be an AKCPA member, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep,No more; I choose to be a member of the AKCPA
CPA LICENSE RENEWAL
Online renewal of Public Accountancy licenses, for the January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2013 licensing period, is now available. Public Accountancy licenses expire on December, 31, 2011. Online renewal is available through January 31, 2012, and is effective immediately.
Click here to RENEW ONLINE
Only licensees who have a social security number on file with the Division may renew online. If you do not have a SSN, you must also submit a Social Security Exemption Form, with your renewal application.
Paper renewal forms are also available for those who cannot, or choose not to, renew online. To download the forms go to the Applications/Forms web page.
Private Company Reporting Issues Update
Live Webcast Replay Dates:
December 15, 2011
December 30, 2011
January 6, 2012
(10:00 am, CT to 11:45 am, CT)
The landscape of financial accounting standards has never been more in a state of flux. U.S. GAAP and International standards are being examined to determine how increasingly multi-national companies can achieve consistency in accounting standards and practices. Private companies in the United States, usually smaller than public companies and much more numerous, with different needs for their financial statements have felt that accounting standards, in some cases didn’t address their needs and added complexity and cost to their preparation, for little apparent benefit.
Now, the Financial Accounting Foundation is proposing an approach to private company accounting standards that they believe will address the concerns of private companies and accounting professionals. In a free, streaming video webcast produced by the Accounting Continuing Professional Education Network (ACPEN), a representative of the FASB, Lawrence Smith, CPA, FASB Board Member, and David K. Morgan, a practitioner who has been deeply involved in the private company standards reform process as the Past Chairman of the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section Executive Committee, will frankly discuss the pros and the cons of the Financial Accounting Foundation Board of Trustees’ Request for Comment – Plan to Establish the Private Company Standards Improvement Council.
During this session, moderated by James Smith, CPA, of Dallas, Texas, participants will discuss the FAF’s consideration of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel; its proposal to form the Private Company Standards Improvement Council (PCSIC); a description of the proposed membership; as well as a description of the proposed operating methods and oversight of the PCSIC. With the assistance of a moderator who will pose questions regarding the proposal, the two participants will present their views regarding whether the proposal is an effective response to the challenge of establishing financial reporting standards for private companies. As with all ACPEN webcasts, you the audience will be able to email your own questions to the panelists.
Join us for this free Professional Issues Update presented by ACPEN in cooperation with your state CPA society. The original webcast will be available as a Live Webcast Replay™ on three later dates, with experts standing by to respond to questions submitted by Replay viewers.
Moderator:
James A. Smith, CPA, Smith, Jackson, Boyer & Bovard, PLLC, Dallas, TX
Panelists:
Lawrence Smith, CPA, Board Member, FASB, Norwalk, CT
David K. Morgan, CPA, PFS, Lattimore, Black, Morgan & Cain, P.C., Brentwood, TN
FASB Webcast
The FASB has announced that they will be presenting a webcast update focused on standards of interest to nonpublic entities. The webcast will be on December 20th and is eligible for two hours of continuing education. To learn more about the program and to register please follow this link.
PCAOB Enters Into Cooperative Agreement with the Netherlands |
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Washington, DC, Dec. 5, 2011 -- The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today announced that it has entered into a cooperative arrangement with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for the oversight of auditors that practice in the regulators' respective jurisdictions. The two regulators plan to hold a formal signing ceremony in January. "The agreement with the Netherlands is a key step forward in our effort to ensure effective cross-border audit oversight," said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty. "We are pleased that we have been able to overcome obstacles to conducting inspections in certain European Union Member States, first with the United Kingdom, and now with the Netherlands," he added. The PCAOB has also signed cooperative arrangements with two other European countries, Switzerland and Norway. Cooperative arrangements have been reached with regulators in North America, the Middle East, and Asia. In addition to providing a framework for conducting joint inspections, the arrangement includes provisions governing the exchange of confidential information between the AFM and the PCAOB, consistent with provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Those provisions amended the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to permit the PCAOB to share confidential information with its non-U.S. counterparts under certain circumstances. The arrangement also includes an agreement on data protection. "The AFM has been vocal in insisting that firms improve audit quality," said Rhonda Schnare, PCAOB Director of International Affairs. "The PCAOB looks forward to working with the AFM in pursuit of that goal. We are also pleased that we've found a way to move forward with a framework for joint inspections that satisfies the Netherlands' data protection laws." The Sarbanes-Oxley Act directed the PCAOB to oversee and periodically inspect all accounting firms that regularly audit companies whose securities trade in U.S. markets. More than 900 audit firms currently registered with the PCAOB are located outside the United States, spanning 88 jurisdictions. There are 15 registered firms located in the Netherlands. |
