The French surrendering.......to reason?

[Michael Tee]

<<Market cap is a calculation of the worth of outstanding shares of stock. Pretty useless figure on privately owned corporations.>>

I guess you never heard of "fair market value" which is how ownership of all the outstanding shares of a privately held corporation could be evaluated.  Same underlying principle as market cap, smaller market; and a hypothetical predicted value instead of actual value as dictated by the market on a daily basis.

<<Last time I checked, reporting revenues was something that all corporations are required to do (public and private), and it's generally audited in some way and therefore fairly reliable.>>

You should check again, then.  The standards for auditing public corporations are exhaustively detailed and minutely regulated, whereas for privately held corporations, the standard is usually "generally accepted accounting principles," a rubric within which generations of genuinely creative CPAs have flourished and occasionally fallen, and which, moreover, allows a considerable latitude for discussion as to what "generally accepted" really means.

[Amianthus]

I guess you never heard of "fair market value" which is how ownership of all the outstanding shares of a privately held corporation could be evaluated.

This is not a legal case, where "fair market value" is determined by courts, nor are we talking about tax assessments. Those are the only uses of "fair market value" that are applied to private corporations.

You should check again, then.  The standards for auditing public corporations are exhaustively detailed and minutely regulated, whereas for privately held corporations, the standard is usually "generally accepted accounting principles," a rubric within which generations of genuinely creative CPAs have flourished and occasionally fallen, and which, moreover, allows a considerable latitude for discussion as to what "generally accepted" really means.

Sure, I'll check again. States have been cracking down on "accepted practices" for 30+ years. According to the state of NY: "Organizations with gross revenues greater than $250,000 must undergo a financial audit by an independent CPA.  Those with revenues between $100,000 and $250,000 must file a CPA’s review report.  Those with revenues below $100,000 are not required to retain a CPA, but must submit a financial report certified by its board with its CHAR 500 to the NYS AG’s office."

Most state have similar regulations. Plus, there is also the threat of an IRS audit if the numbers look fishy.

[Michael Tee]

<<According to the state of NY: "Organizations with gross revenues greater than $250,000 must undergo a financial audit by an independent CPA.  Those with revenues between $100,000 and $250,000 must file a CPA’s review report.  Those with revenues below $100,000 are not required to retain a CPA, but must submit a financial report certified by its board with its CHAR 500 to the NYS AG’s office.">>

This is kid stuff.  None of it adds up to more than saying they need independent audits.  The standards for the audits are what they've always been, "generally accepted accounting principles," which haven't changed much in the past 30 years or so.  Sarbanes-Oxley mandates federal oversight of the accountants and accounting standards for all publicly traded companies, and for those traded on the NYSE like Viacom and Time-Warner, the audits have always had to comply with the NYSE standards as well, even before Sarbanes-Oxley.

[Amianthus]

None of it adds up to more than saying they need independent audits.  The standards for the audits are what they've always been, "generally accepted accounting principles," which haven't changed much in the past 30 years or so.  Sarbanes-Oxley mandates federal oversight of the accountants and accounting standards for all publicly traded companies, and for those traded on the NYSE like Viacom and Time-Warner, the audits have always had to comply with the NYSE standards as well, even before Sarbanes-Oxley.

Actually, the "generally accepted accounting principles" are the same rules used for publicly traded companies and large private corporations. CPAs are required to follow them for both public and private corporations.

[Michael Tee]

<<Actually, the "generally accepted accounting principles" are the same rules used for publicly traded companies and large private corporations. CPAs are required to follow them for both public and private corporations.>>

The generally accepted accounting principles are a pretty basic framework.  They're the starting point for auditors of publicly traded companies, but NYSE rules and Sarbanes-Oxley take the generally accepted accounting principles to whole new levels.  The difference between following generally accepted accounting principles for auditing a privately-held corporation and following them and the overlay of further regulations governing the auditing of publicly traded companies is like the difference between following Biblical schemes of taxation and the tax codes of modern industrial nations.

[Plane]

I would guess that the annual income of a publishing company would measure indirectly  how much they were publishing , how much they were being read , somewhat it would measure how much influence they had with the public.


    Whether large or small ,corporations have a "corporate culture" lax or formal , cutting edge or stodgy , many things about a company are determined by its policy's ,and the people who make them ,and the people who obey them, or don't.

     The ownership is not the greatest element in corporate culture ,the underlyng culture is .


      Is Vanity Fair known for verity? Partisanship?

      History is not evidence , but it is an indicator.

[Amianthus]

The generally accepted accounting principles are a pretty basic framework.  They're the starting point for auditors of publicly traded companies, but NYSE rules and Sarbanes-Oxley take the generally accepted accounting principles to whole new levels.  The difference between following generally accepted accounting principles for auditing a privately-held corporation and following them and the overlay of further regulations governing the auditing of publicly traded companies is like the difference between following Biblical schemes of taxation and the tax codes of modern industrial nations.

In the United States, generally accepted accounting principles, commonly abbreviated as US GAAP or simply GAAP, are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for publicly-traded companies and many privately-held companies. Similar to many other countries practicing under the common law system, the United States government does not directly set accounting standards, in the belief that the private sector has better knowledge and resources. US GAAP is not written in law, although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that it be followed in financial reporting by publicly-traded companies. Currently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) sets accounting principles for the profession. The US GAAP provisions differ somewhat from International Financial Reporting Standards though efforts are underway to reconcile the differences so that reports created under international standards will be acceptable to the SEC for companies listed on US markets without reconciliation to US GAAP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_Accepted_Accounting_Principles_%28USA%29