Accounting News Roundup: Booz Partners Approve Merger with PwC; Grant Thornton’s Global Revenue; POTUS Reminds Us That Tax Reform Is Hopeless | 12.23.13

EU Forges Greek Bond Deal [WSJ]
European leaders said they secured a deal to reduce Greece’s debt after they labored overnight and into Thursday morning to find agreement on what they had billed as a blockbuster package to stem the Continent’s debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the marathon negotiating session that the leaders had reached agreement with private banks on a “voluntary” 50% reduction of Greece’s debt in the hands of private investors. He also said they had agreed to expand the firepower of the euro zone’s bailout vehicle, known as the European Financial Stability Facility, by four- or five-fold—suggesting it could provide guarantees for around €1 trillion, or about $1.4 trillion, of bonds issued by countries such as Spain and Italy.

Ruth Madoff Says Couple Tried Suicide in 2008 [NYT]
Mrs. Madoff said in an interview with The New York Times: “I don’t know whose idea it was, but we were both so saddened by everything that had happened. It was unthinkable to me: hate mail, phone calls, lawyers.” The situation was “just horrific,” she continued. “And I thought, ‘I just can’t, I can’t take this. I don’t know how I’ll ever get through this, nor do I want to.’ So we decided to do it.”

Decade-Old Accounting Regulation Becomes Popular Target on 2012 Campaign Trail [FoxNews]
Because some people just can’t let it go.

State Tax Haul Jumps 10.8% [WSJ]
States beset by budget travails and high national unemployment notched a double-digit rise in tax revenue in the second quarter, thanks in part to recession-era tax increases and the slowly recovering economy. State tax revenue climbed 10.8% during the quarter ended in June from the year-ago period, according to a report released Wednesday by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York. Preliminary data, also not adjusted for inflation, show growth continued in July and August, though at a slower pace, the Institute said. In 41 states that have reported for those two months, tax revenue was up 6.8% compared with the same two months in 2010. The growth was led by 9.8% gains in income taxes and 3.6% in sales taxes.

Bankers, Beware of Auditors Who Blow Off Their Regulator [Francine McKenna/Bank Think]
*cough*Deloitte*cough*

On the Job, Beauty Is More Than Skin-Deep [WSJ]
Don’t be ugly.

Eight Questions the WSJ Could Have Asked KPMG China [Silicon Hutong]
Including: “What does your “risk management” department do, exactly? In layman’s terms?”

SABMiller Names New CFO [WSJ]
SABMiller PLC, the global brewer of flagship brands Grolsch, Peroni Nastro Azzuro and Miller Lite, said Wednesday its chief financial officer, Malcolm Wyman, is to retire by the end of August after 25 years at the company. Mr. Wyman, 64 years old, who will also stand down from the board at the group’s forthcoming annual shareholders meeting on July 21, will be succeeded by James Wilson, finance director for SABMiller’s Europe division, it added in a statement.

PwC reported to accounting regulator after taking out criticism of client from report [Telegraph]
[C]oncerns relate to an independent report that PwC was hired to write for Magellan Aerospace Corporation, a Canadian aircraft parts company. PwC’s brief was to look into a whistleblower’s claims that Magellan’s order book had been inflated. However, criticism of Magellan’s “poor” accounting was left out of PwC’s final version – at the request of the client’s audit committee.

ParenteBeard LLC Announces Combination With McCrory & McDowell, LLC [ParenteBeard]
“McCrory & McDowell has a reputation for excellence and an entrepreneurial spirit that is consistent with the values and principles of our firm,” said Bob Ciaruffoli, ParenteBeard Chief Executive Officer. “This combination capitalizes on the strengths of both firms to create a unique, significant CPA and consulting services firm in the Pittsburgh region, which will benefit our clients, our team members and the larger business community.”

Two Out Of Three Looking To Switch Jobs, Says New Survey [Forbes]
Deloitte predicting a nationwide exodus.

Senators Introduce Bill to Repeal Ethanol Tax Credit [AT]
Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced the Ethanol Subsidy and Tariff Repeal Act, which would eliminate the VEETC and also fully repeal the import tariff on foreign ethanol. Cosponsors include Senators Ben Cardin, D-Md., Richard Burr, R-N.C., Jim Webb, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and James Risch, R-Idaho.

Dunkin Brands Files for IPO [WSJ]
Now you can do more than run on it.

Bin Laden Aides Are Said to Have Bought Bulk Orders of Pepsi, Coke [Bloomberg]
The two polite Pakistanis who helped Osama bin Laden hide in the shadow of their country’s army bought bulk food orders, chose major brands and equally favored Pepsi and Coke, neighbors and a local shopkeeper said.

How to Criticize Your Boss — Nicely [WSJ]
How do you the let the boss know that (s)he uses cliched catch phrases way too much?

~ Ed. note: TPTB are insisting on a half day today and who are we […]