DISQUS

Phil Baumann · 1 year ago

Dennis,

I would imagine GRC software would benefit from these complications of hyper regulatory controls.

This brings up a larger concern about reporting in general. How much of the accounting and reporting process is mired in the accumulated dross of bygone eras? Just skimming today's speech on REG FD, it struck me as almost laughable that we are today attempting to bring instantaneous publishing to amended legislation from 1934. Over time, did not regulatory and legislative measures result in ever widening gyres of theory to appease every conceivable stakeholder? Did economic reality get lost in the shuffle of fantastic accruals? I’m just wondering.

In the US, FASB pronouncements are predominantly the result of political compromise (call me out if I'm wrong). I'm not saying that they’re unethical or theoretically botched. But they aught to be unflinchingly about relevant measures of operating, investing and financing activities. I'm not sure how a blog post or Tweet about quarterly net income is going to offer much more value to investors than a ""glossy PDF". If regulatory authorities are going to embrace social media, it better be unadulturated love.

Perhaps these complications will only go away when investing gets its focus back on the long-term. It's useful that web interfaces can finally be used for publishing the up-to-date numbers; but if the numbers are geared toward short-term, speculative goals, then the process has complication built right into it and there's no way out of that, is there?

I’m out of the business and horribly ignorant, so here are some questions for you:

-Is accounting, auditing and reporting fundamentally facing the right direction for this century or is it stuck trying to satisfy the transient needs of the last one?

-Could social media get us back to the original goal of reporting and past the needs of the assembly-line mentality?

-Or: will social media be where the new snow jobs blow (sorry for the proximity of those two words).

-GRC software will likely grow in demand--but does that do the investor or other stakeholders any good? (How much is that industry a scam?)

-Will auditing reform come from within or without? Or what rough beast slouches...?

Phil

Dennis Howlett · 1 year ago

Interesting questions Phil for which I'm not sure I have all the answers and those I do I'm not likely to share in public as they impact IP. Broadly I'd say these are BIG issues that the audit industry has to address but is in shape to do so.

I question I will answer: GRC isn't a scam, there are plenty of gaps to fill on the documentation side let alone process.