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Accounting News Roundup: Obama’s Budget ; Lois Lerner May or May Not Testify; A Hipster Tax Crisis | 03.05.14

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Obama Budget Raises $276 Billion From U.S. Multinationals [Bloomberg]
Richard Rubin reports on the latest budget that has no chance of going anywhere: "In the fiscal 2015 budget proposed yesterday, the Obama administration seeks to generate $276 billion over the next decade from what it calls loophole-closing in the international tax system. The revenue — 75 percent more than was sought through such changes in last year’s budget plan — would be used to reduce corporate tax rates."

Camp pans Obama budget, despite tax overlap [The Hill]
The W&M Chair is not a happy Camper: “Unfortunately, the President’s budget adds more complexity to the tax code and increases taxes for more Washington spending. That is the wrong direction.”

Attorney denies Issa claim that Lois Lerner will testify Wednesday [WaPo]
No one really knows. Maybe it'll be a surprise! "Lois Lerner’s attorney has denied claims from a key Republican that the former Internal Revenue Service official agreed to testify Wednesday about the agency’s targeting controversy, but e-mails suggest Lerner had indeed considered talking to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee."

Here's your Papa Whiskey Charlie campus report for March 5th: 

St. Louis agency launches H&R Block campaign for 'hipsters' [SLBJ, HipsterTaxCrisis]
You probably never heard of it.
Posted in ANR

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Accounting News Roundup: PCAOB Sees Deal with China; Baby Debit?; Ponzi Booze | 05.19.11

Strauss-Kahn Quits IMF, Kicking Off Succession Contest [Bloomberg]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as the 10th leader of the International Monetary Fund, kicking off a contest for his successor as Europeans seek to retain the job amid a lack of unity among emerging-market nations. “I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence,” Strauss-Kahn said in a statement released by the Washington-based IMF four days after his arrest on sexual-assault charges. The fund said it will comment “in the near future” on the succession. Strauss-Kahn, 62, had beeFrance’s 2012 presidential election.

U.S. watchdog sees cross-border audit deal with China this year [Reuters]
James Doty, chairman of the PCAOB told Reuters, the breakthrough came during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue that took place in Washington last week. “Both sides have agreed to accelerate efforts, including undertaking a process for negotiations and engaging in technical assistance activities, to reach a bilateral agreement governing cross-border audit oversight,” Doty said in an emailed statement.

Beyond the Balance Sheet: Redefining the Role of Today’s CFO [CFO Journal]
The role of the CFO is not what it used to be. Traditional control, financing and compliance are still important aspects of the job. But in a hypercompetitive world, the best CFOs have a much broader set of skills, insights and experiences.

In defense of Gen – Y (aka the millennials) [CPA Success]
Tom Hood is here for you.

Baby Names for Accountants [The Summa]
After the “Baby Like” craze, Dave Albrecht has taken things a step further.

The Quandary of Coburn’s Exit [WSJ]
The remaining members of the Gang of Six met without Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and agreed to press on in their effort to craft a long-term pact that could include controversial proposals to raise revenues and curb Social Security. But the departure of Mr. Coburn, a conservative known as a deficit hawk, could prove a fatal blow to hopes that an ad hoc set of senators could crack the code of deficit-reduction politics and find a compromise that has escaped party leaders.

California Court Compels Overstock.com to Turn Over Contact Information of Former Employees to District Attorney Investigating Consumer Fraud [WCF]
You can practically see Sam Antar wringing his hands in glee (like a convicted criminal would do) over this.

G.O.P. Senators Question I.R.S. Scrutiny of Donors [NYT]
A group of Republican senators wrote to the head of the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday seeking internal correspondence and other information about the agency’s heightened scrutiny of donations to some nonprofit advocacy groups that are playing a growing role in political campaigns.

McDonald’s Under Pressure to Fire Ronald [WSJ]
More than 550 health professionals and organizations have signed a letter to McDonald’s Corp. asking the maker of Happy Meals to stop marketing junk food to kids and retire Ronald McDonald. The letter, slated to run in the form of full-page ads in six metropolitan newspapers around the country on Wednesday, acknowledges that “the contributors to today’s (health) epidemic are manifold and a broad societal response is required. But marketing can no longer be ignored as a significant part of this massive problem.”

Madoff liquor cabinet sells for $41,500 [CNN]
Among other items, a bottle of “mysterious brown liquid” went for $950.

Accounting News Roundup: KPMG Picks Up Sourcing Adviser EquaTerra; Rothstein Kass Adds Tax Principals; Careful When Traveling with the Boss | 02.22.11

Christie to Propose Small-Business Tax Cuts [WSJ]
Less than a week after he vetoed a slew of Democratic job-creation and tax-cutting bills, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will present a budget Tuesday that includes around $200 million in tax cuts, mostly for small businesses, a source familiar with the budget said. The figure represents a small portion of Mr. Christie’s overall state budget, details of which were kept tightly under wraps. However, the move underscores Mr. Christie’s determination to be seen as a tax-cutter even amid one of the worst budget crises in years.

KPMG to Provide Broader Global Outsourcing rough Acquisition of EquaTerra [PR Newswire]
“EquaTerra is an ideal fit for KPMG and we look forward to welcoming the EquaTerra team to the KPMG network family,” said Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman, KPMG International. “Through this acquisition, clients of KPMG member firms will benefit from the addition of a market-leading sourcing adviser to help them transform their organizations into more flexible enterprises in a way that meets today’s complex market demands.”

Satyam Settles; PwC Left In Lurch [Forbes]
Yes, this story is still out there. No, this doesn’t mean it’s over.

Big Increases in Tax Prosecutions (27%), Convictions (15%) [TaxProf Blog]
You’ve been warned.

Rothstein Kass Hires Three New Tax Principals [PR Newswire]
Rothstein Kass today announced the addition of three new principals to its ranks. Moshe Biderman, an alternative investment industry expert, has boarded as a Tax Principal in the Rothstein Kass Financial Services Group, and will be based in the Roseland, New Jersey office. David Logan, well-known within the alternative investment community, has also joined the company as a Tax Principal in the Financial Services Group. He is based in the firms’ New York office. Meanwhile, Robert Siegel, a tax planning and advisory services specialist to both public and private companies, has re-joined Rothstein Kass as a Tax Principal in the Rothstein Kass Commercial Services Group. He will operate from the firm’s Roseland location.

Women Still Earning Less than Men in Finance [FINS]
According to the data, with women in financial activities earn only 71% of what men earned: women made $732 a week, compared to $1,039 a week for men.


Dynegy to Replace CEO, Board After $665 Million Icahn Bid Fails [Bloomberg]
Bruce Williamson, 51, has resigned as chairman and will step down as CEO effective March 11, Dynegy said yesterday in a statement. Patricia A. Hammick, 64, who headed a board of independent directors reviewing the Icahn bid, succeeds Williamson as chairman, the company said. Board member David Biegler, 64, will become interim CEO. Chief Financial Officer Holli Nichols, 40, also will resign as of March 11.

Travel With the Boss: The Pluses and the Chasms [NYT]
Traveling with the boss offers an array of both professional opportunities and minefields. After all, a week of meetings, meals, airport delays and taxi rides can add up to more time together than a junior employee may normally experience in a year. There are also plenty of chances to err — a less-than-stellar client presentation, a technology mishap or perhaps a suggestion to eat at a famous barbecue place when the boss is a vegan.

Accounting News Roundup: SEC Official Explains His Porn Habits; Private Companies May Embrace IFRS Quicker; New Bill Would Ax Tax Tardy Fed Employees | 03.04.10

• Porn Nightmare Never Ends for SEC Official [FINS]
Whatever your porn preferences, you’re probably not sharing them with complete strangers. If you are, the cloud of awkward around you has got to be so thick that you may as well have leprosy. However, if you have the unfortunate luck of getting caught viewing this art form at work, then you might be forced to discuss your preferences, how often you’re engaging in the activity, among other things:

[T]he really juicy stuff begins when he’s asked about accessing Web sites like tgirlhotspot.com and ladyboyx.com (warning, very NSFW): “Our records show that on Wednesday, August 13, 2008, beginning at 1:57 p.m., you made approximately 85 attempts…to access a Web site called tgirlhotspot.com. Do you have any recollection of attempting to access this site?”

The employee answers: “I do not personally have recollection of it, but it would not surprise me.” To which the inspector — and the reader — responds: “Okay. That’s fair.”

Seriously, who can remember every instance that they’ve visited ladyboyx.com? Does the guy have a photographic memory? Maybe on certain images but date, time, and spreadsheet you had open that you could quickly jump to in case someone came to close? That’s asking a little much.

• Should the U.S. Forget about Private-Company GAAP? [CFO Blog]
Now that the Blue Ribbon Panel for private company GAAP has been announced, it makes some people wonder if the non-SEC types will just ignore this whole song and dance the Commission is doing get with the IFRS program ASAP. Ahh, the advantages of being a private company…

Even though both the BRP and the SEC will release their musings on their respective topics in 2011, private companies already have options, “[T]he U.S. private sector has already set some IFRS wheels in motion. In 2008, AICPA recognized the IASB as an official standard-setter, which means U.S. auditors are allowed to issue opinions on private-company financial results filed using IFRS.”

It’s doubtful that IFRS reporting will spread like H1N1 among private companies but while the SEC twiddles the private sector seems to recognize where all this is ultimately going.

• Jason Chaffetz: Ax Hill staff tax cheats [Politico]
Since all the members of the House are up for reelection this year, everyone needs something solid to campaign on and apparently Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has found his stump.

Chaffetz is introducing legislation that would extend an IRS policy — termination employees that haven’t paid their federal taxes — to all federal departments and agencies.

In 2008 alone, 447 House employees and 231 Senate workers didn’t pay their taxes, according to figures from the IRS, Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense.

“We have over 600 staffers on Capitol Hill not paying their taxes. That’s just not acceptable,” Chaffetz said in an interview with POLITICO. “It’s disingenuous to take federal taxpayer dollars and not pay your full share of taxes. It’s wrong.”

Between to the two bodies in Congress, over $8 million are owed in taxes. We don’t have to remind anyone how little money this is grand scope of the federal government. But hey! Rep. Chaffetz has an election to win and by God, this could be the ticket. Some other notable delinquent federal employees include the Postal Service at $257 million; Dept. of Veteran Affairs at $131 million; Army and Navy owe $81 million and $61 million respectively.

But pointing out those people wouldn’t make for very good press.