Financial Reporting: From Rules to Practice

Highlights from the 16th Annual Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference

The 16th Annual Financial Reporting Conference, hosted by Baruch College this past May 4, once again brought together regulators, standards setters, preparers, auditors, and users to discuss current topics in accounting, auditing, and reporting. The past several years have seen the “big three” accounting standards'—revenue recognition, leases, and financial instruments—final issuance, and many companies have started to prepare for implementation. One of the day's panels focused on these standards and how accountants and auditors can get ready for the effective dates. But other panels sought to answer the question of “what comes next” by discussing FASB's upcoming agenda and debating which topics in current practice were most in need of attention from standards setters. Several panelists voiced the feeling that accounting standards have become too complex—making annual reports too long and too late, burying users in disclosure overload, and becoming compliance documents that do not influence investors' decision making.