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Accounting News Roundup: Alibaba’s IPO Filing; KPMG’s Latest Acquisition; Teaching Entrepreneurship | 05.07.14

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Investors Say Alibaba IPO Filing Leaves Many Questions Unanswered [WSJ, F-1]
Including accounting and auditing: "Though skepticism has abated since last year, many U.S.-listed Chinese companies still face investor worries about transparency. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has raised questions about the accounting of more than 130 such companies in recent years. The Chinese affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms are appealing a U.S. court ruling that suspended them from auditing U.S.-traded clients for six months. The ruling was part of a broader dispute between Washington and Beijing about U.S. regulators' access to documents related to Chinese audit clients."

Federal employee reps warn about flagging [The Hill]
Low morale isn't just for public accountants! "Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 federal workers, emphasized the greater stress on employees due to cuts in staff. The IRS, she said, has 10,000 fewer employees than four years ago, but the amount of work to be done has increased, causing a decline in service and unhappiness within the ranks."

KPMG buys Southfield-based turnaround consultancy BBK [DFP]
BBK fixes cars, so to speak: "Founded in Southfield, BBK was known for its work with industrial clients, particularly the auto industry, and its consultants were a familiar sight on the shop floors and in the executives suites of distressed Chrysler and General Motors suppliers."

Teaching Entrepreneurship Gets an Incomplete [WSJ]
It sounds like people are trying too hard: "Thousands of institutions—universities, community colleges, even high schools—offer courses that purport to prepare students for careers as entrepreneurs. Yet there is no employer demand for people trained in the "art" of entrepreneurship, nor does the training offer any recognized value in other jobs. Indeed, one can receive a Ph.D. in entrepreneurship even though there is no academic consensus on what works for starting a new business. Not surprisingly, as the number of entrepreneurship teachers grows, the number of new businesses continues to decline."

How to Tackle Four Common Ways You Let Your Focus Slip [FC]
You need a plan, Stan.

A List Of Alternate Suggestions For The Title Of Star Wars: Episode VII [io9]
If The Ancient Fear doesn't satisfy you.

Posted in ANR

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Accounting News Roundup: The Role of the Interim CFO; Taxes and the War on Terrorism; A Peek at Facebook’s Books | 09.08.11

When CFOs Become Interim CEOs [CFOJ]
The ascension of CFO Tim Morse to the CEO position at Yahoo is unusual, especially when, as with Morse, the interim tag is applied. In the rare instances when a CFO assumes the interim chief executive position, it’s often because the company doesn’t have a more obvious choice among its operational executives, and wants to nonetheless project a sense of stability.

Blunt E-Mail Raises Issues Over Firing at Yahoo [NYT]
In the upper echelons o executives are forever leaving to pursue urgent opportunities, develop important new ventures or, that old standby, spend more time with their long-neglected families. Hardly anyone ever admits to being sacked. Even in cases where the executive has all but been bodily ejected from his executive suite — Rick Wagoner of prebankruptcy General Motors or Tony Hayward of post-oil-spill BP — the most they say is that they have been asked to step aside.

Taxes in the Age of Terrorism: Echoes [Bloomberg]
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. has been waging a different kind of war. It’s been both smaller and longer than previous wars, taking less money to fight and more time to win. It’s also been the nation’s first war to be fought entirely on credit.

Tax Cut Extension May Be Tough Sell [WSJ]
President Barack Obama’s push to extend the payroll tax holiday to spur economic growth may not be an easy sell, in part because some economists and lawmakers question if it’s delivering enough bang for the buck. In his speech to Congress Thursday, Mr. Obama is expected to lay out an economic plan with a price tag of $300 billion or more that includes extending the two-percentage point reduction in Social Security payroll taxes paid by employees and reducing the employers’ share.


Facebook doubles first-half revenue [Reuters]
Facebook’s revenue doubled to $1.6 billion in 2011’s first half, a source with knowledge of its financials told Reuters, underscoring its appeal to advertisers while it grapples with intensifying competition from the likes of Google Inc (GOOG.O). Net income in the first half of 2011 came to almost $500 million, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous because privately-held Facebook does not disclose its results.

Supercommittee May Kick Off Tax Overhaul as It Focuses on Debt [Bloomberg]
The 12-member supercommittee holds its first meeting today in an effort to find $1.5 trillion in cuts in areas including defense spending and Medicare. On taxes, the group is likely to consider setting targets for major changes to be considered over the next year, before Bush-era income tax cuts are set to expire at the end of 2012.

Obama’s whopper of a claim on tax cuts [Fact Checker/WaPo]
The president’s Labor Day speech in Detroit featured an assertion that contained a number of warning signs that it might be an errant fact: “biggest middle-class tax cut in history.” First of all, anytime a politician claims he or she has done something historic, watch your pockets. That’s usually a dubious claim.