Global Markets

A phased implementation of XBRL is imminent, and the largest U.S. companies may take the plunge first

Sarbanes-Oxley costs dropped a whopping 41% with outside audit spending related to 404 compliance down 5.4%. But a spike in external audit fees resulted in an overall increase in all accounting costs for the year

Financial Executives International (FEI) is urging the U.S. Department of Treasury to require U.S. auditing firms, like their European counterparts, to issue online transparency reports detailing important financial information and governance policies

Decoding the 25,000 pages of FASB rulings is not a task for the faint of heart. But plans to distill the information into a single-source Web-based document should make the job a lot easier

While the number of corporate restatements soared in 2006, only a small percentage for fraud

Multinationals need to replace their fragmented policies and legacy systems with ultra-safe, ultra-sophisticated and ultra-standardized platforms and practices

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has approved two proposals designed to clarify possible conflicts of interest between a public auditing firm and a potential client by increasing transparency

The globalization of business sourcing and outsourcing has raised the bar when it comes to supply chain risks. Nearly 75% of 110 risk managers surveyed by Marsh Inc. reported higher supply chain risk levels since 2005, while 71% reported increased costs as a result of unexpected disruptions during those years