Google Plans Litigation Against U.S. Tax Authorities [Bloomberg]
Google Inc., which is being probed by several tax agencies around the world, is planning litigation against the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over the company’s 2003 or 2004 tax bill, according to a company filing. The company disclosed the potential lawsuit in its annual 10-K report with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed Jan. 29. A search of federal court records didn’t show that any lawsuit has been filed.
Audit Firm Rotation: Maybe Make A Switch When The Government Takes Over [Forbes]
"When it comes to audit firms for financial services firms, the U.K. and U.S. governments prefer the devil they know."
KPMG partner acquitted in tax shelter trial [BC, Earlier]
After a four-week trial in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, KPMG’s Daryl Haynor was acquitted by the jury on three of four counts on Monday. Jury members couldn’t agree on one count, which was dismissed on Wednesday by Senior Judge Sandra Beckwith. Beckwith ruled that “no rational trier of fact” could find Haynor guilty based on the facts presented at the trial.
Does an 'A' in Ethics Have Any Value? [WSJ via Tony Catanach]
Four years after the scandals of the financial crisis prompted deans and faculty to re-examine how they teach ethics, some academics say they still haven't gotten it right.
The simplicity of Chinese accounting scandals [Quartz]
Rod Sutton, an insolvency expert and the Asia Pacific chairman of professional services firm FTI Consulting, says he is often baffled by how auditors miss what turn out to be uncomplicated financial irregularities at Chinese companies. ”Often, what we deal with are basic cases of inflating revenues that really do not have an Enron level of complexity.”
Paul Gillis: Three Accounting Frauds Most Chinese Companies Use To Cheat Foreign Investors [China Money Podcast]
Q: So Paul, can you use your imagination and picture what you think happened when Caterpillar's CFO told the CEO about this massive loss in their C-suit? A: I imagine that was a pretty awkward situation. It's very embarrassing for anyone at Caterpillar to be involved in a deal like this. I'm sure there is a search for the guilty parties on the way.
City cracks down on tax preparers [CST via TaxProf]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was forced soften his plan to protect consumers against financial scams to satisfy businesses concerned about being stripped of their licenses for mere technical violations. But the mayor apparently is not backing down on his crackdown on alleged fraud by those who help Chicagoans file their annual income tax returns. Ninety-three tax preparers were recently investigated by the city. Nearly 97 percent were found to be in violation of city regulations governing their industry.
Panic, obviously.
This time, Kansas: "Larry D. Lord is charged with 10 counts of mail fraud, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a news release. An indictment filed in federal court alleges he wrote checks to pay his and his wife’s personal credit card debts using bank accounts owned by Cheney Construction Inc., a Manhattan-based construction company. He then mailed the checks, Grissom said. Lord, an accountant, was responsible for paying the company’s bills and issuing paychecks to employees. The indictment alleges the thefts occurred between 2005 and 2012."
