don't go near the water

we're going highbrow today people. this blog isn't just about the latest fashions, sights and sounds. the monkees were great, but how long can we talk about the musical genius of peter tork? the answer: not long. i pack this blog full of articles that i like to read. today i am going to pack it with articles about what i do and see everyday and some things i want to do and see.

the first thing is fas 157. first, what is fas? fas is short for fasb, which is short for financial accounting standards board. fas 157 is all about fair value. see what's happened lately is that with this financial meltdown, as i like to call it, we've gotten sensitive to what is being held on company's balance sheets. are these assets really worth what they are saying they're worth? how do we find out? how are the valuations calculated? that's what fas 157 is about. it's supposed to break down these assets into three levels, with each level determing a different value structure. fas 157 is all the rage right now.

and because fas 157 is all the rage, there is already talk of changing it.

next, what does the sec regulator look for? well we just talked about one: fair value. another is goodwill impairment. what is goodwill? goodwill is the intangible asset representing the excess amount above book value that a company paid for another company. and every year, that excess has to be tested for impairment. and with all this economic meltdown, you'd figure a lot of these have been impaired and you'd be right, but companies have a way of figuring figures that makes them look pretty good. so these regulators have to verify how goodwill is tested and how it is finally determined.

i should point out, i'm not a regulator. but an auditor does basically the same thing. i just do it on a much smaller scale.

a new area of accounting will focus on alternative energy, how to accounting for emissions and such. this is a very interesting article about how companys will value their credits under cap and trade.

and finally, this article is about wind energy and how difficult the logistics of transporting the energy really is. this has nothing to do with what i do, but it's intersting nonetheless.