Accounting WEB reports that the AICPA is offering a seminar, July 22-23, on understanding and applying the new eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) required for public companies by the SEC. "This is a significant emerging issue for preparers," said Arleen Thomas, AICPA senior vice president. "The SEC proposed rule would affect the largest 500 companies by the end of the year." Read More>>

The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that Ernest Almonte, incoming chairman of the AICPA, gave the keynote speech during an awards banquet for the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program, which encourages diversity in the accounting profession. Almonte is also auditor general of Rhode Island, a position he has held since 1994. "I never thought someone with an accounting background could have a career like he does," said participant Jillian Maresco. Read More>>

In the 1987 film "The Untouchables," Elliot Ness rescues Al Capone's accountant - a mousy little man with glasses, clutching a thick leather briefcase. The Patriot News of Harrisburg, Pa., advises it’s readers to “forget the stereotype.” These days, accounting is cool—and apparently, a lot of students leaving high school think so, too. The AICPA said in May that more than 64,000 students graduated with degrees in accounting in 2006-07, the largest number in the 36 years. At the same time, more than 203,000 students enrolled in accounting programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Pretty cool. Read More>>

PressEnterprise.com in Riverside, Calif., announced that two University of California-Riverside professors in the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management received a $13,000 grant from the AICPA to study how to prevent fraudulent activity by insiders at corporations. Professors Barry Mishra and Erik Rolland expect to publish their findings in an academic journal and finish their initial research in a year. Read More>>