The SEC voted unanimously to approve Accounting Standard No. 5 [1]. This was expected despite the somewhat surprising last-call for comments a few weeks ago. The standard was approved over the last minute objections of several players. Notably, the Nasdaq, on behalf of its issuers, appealed for refinements [2]: "AS5 has not provided the needed clarity or the tools to alleviate the root cause of unnecessarily onerous and costly auditing processes." They may have had some success. One commissioner said he would seek legislative action if the standard somehow were to backfire. The next key regulatory battle will be over small company relief. Two commissioners, Paul Atkins and Kathleen Casey, repeated their requests for delays in forcing non-accelerated filers to comply, but chief accountant Conrad Hewitt said such a move was not necessary. Many of you are proceeding as if the law apply for your next filing. That strikes me as a smart move.  

For more:
- here's an article [3] from Financial Week