Our editor is away so if you see a story we missed or have a question for the group. Post it in Open Items. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow.
Bill Clinton puts blame for family's scandals on accountant [FN]
Internal Revenue Service Joins Cybercrime Hunt With New Investigation Team [WSJ]
A Former Accountant Might Be Just What Alibaba Needs in a CEO [Bloomberg]
Alterra Investors Should Oppose KPMG Reappointment, ISS Says [Bloomberg]
Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd. (ALTE) investors should reject the insurer’s plan to reappoint KPMG- Bermuda after a government accounting board faulted the auditor’s work, said Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. The proxy-advisory service joins Glass Lewis & Co. in advising shareholders next month to vote against a proposal by Alterra’s management to keep the Bermuda affiliate of the Big Four accounting firm as the company’s auditor.
Obamas Earned $1.7 Million, Paid $453,770 in Taxes; Bidens Made $379,178 [Bloomberg]
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported $1.7 million in adjusted gross income last year and paid $453,770 in federal income taxes, according to tax returns released yesterday by the White House. The Obamas’ adjusted gross income for 2010 dropped about 69 percent from the previous year, when it was $5.5 million, and 2010 was the couple’s lowest-earning year since 2006, before Obama’s presidential campaign generated interest in books he wrote. Their total federal income tax liability for 2010 dropped about 75 percent from 2009, when it was $1.8 million.
ASU 2011-2: The Accounting for Troubled Debt Restructurings Still Leaks Oil [Accounting Onion]
How accounting standards and Hondas are not alike.
Testy 9th Circuit Hears Whistleblower Case [CNS]
Two Boeing employees who were fired after providing a newspaper reporter information about alleged ethics violations asked the 9th Circuit to reconsider a federal judge’s ruling that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act does not prohibit termination for disclosures to the media. No court has yet addressed whether employees can be fired under federal whistleblower laws for providing non-confidential information about potential fraud to the press.
Arguments Have Loopholes, Too [CFO]
The debate over GE’s taxes has as many holes as the IRC.
Gary Busey Endorses Donald Trump for President in 2012 [YouTube]
• KPMG wins dismissal of Madoff feeder fund lawsuit [Reuters]
A class action lawsuit brought against KPMG by Meridian Horizon Fund, L.P. and other investors in Tremont Partners was dismissed yesterday in New York. Tremont had more than half of its assets were Berns andKPMG audited Tremont funds in 2006 and 2007.
Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that the plaintiffs’ case did not show that KPMG had any intent to deceive the investors in Tremont. Emily Chasan reports that Judge Griesa wrote, “Merely alleging that the auditor had access to the information by which it could have discovered the fraud is not sufficient,” and that the firm would have had to botch the engagements so badly that it would have amounted to “no audit at all.” He did not rule out the possibility of Meridian re-filing their lawsuit in the future.
• SEC may require more details of wrongdoing to be disclosed in settlements [WaPo]
The SEC is thinking about disclosing more details in their civil action settlements; a move that would do away with the quick and dirty “neither admitted nor denied the charges.” This could result in a more transparent process where violations of the law are — God forbid — disclosed in detail.
Securities lawyers said a more detailed public record of cases could make defendants less likely to settle and make it easier for shareholders to file class-action lawsuits piggybacking on the SEC’s claims. It could also lead to embarrassment for executives if the agency publicized their roles in violating securities law, even if they are not personally charged.
God knows we can’t have executives embarrassed.
• The Tax Code and Regs for Your iPhone [TaxProf Blog]
Who wants to schlep around the physical tax code?