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Accounting News Roundup: Romney’s Road Less Traveled; Bogus IRS Letters; Pirated Accounting Textbooks | 08.30.12

Defeat, Introspection, Reinvention, Nomination [NYT]
Not long after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race in early 2008, a titan of New York finance, Julian H. Robertson, flew to Utah to deliver an eye-popping offer. He asked Mr. Romney to become chief executive of his hedge fund, Tiger Management, for an annual salary of about $30 million, plus investment profits, according to two people told of the discussions. For Mr. Romney, who had spent the previous decade in public life forgoing any paychecks, the position promised to catapult him back to the pinnacle of American business and into the ranks of the stratospherically rich. Several friends and relatives urged him to accept. “Let’s put it this way,” said Mr. Robertson. “He could have made a lot of money.”

Freeh Calls for Peace in Fight Over MF Global Money [DealBook]
An MF Global trustee on Wednesday called for a “global settlement” in the scramble to recover money from the bankrupt brokerage firm, a bid for peace amid a bitter fight over limited resources and missing customer cash. Louis J. Freeh, the trustee of MF Global’s holding company, complained in a court filing that a nearly yearlong legal battle was taking too much time and draining precious resources. Mr. Freeh, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said he sought to settle with both the trustee for MF Global’s brokerage arm, James W. Giddens, and an overseas administrator tending to the firm’s British unit.

CareFusion to discuss accounting option with SEC [MW]
CareFusion Corp.  said it will delay filing its annual earnings report for the latest fiscal year with the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss the medical-device company's accounting policy for sales-type leases in its Pyxis dispensing-product line. The company said that, while it has consistently applied its policy for more than 10 years, it "was made aware of a potential alternative application of the accounting rules and thought it prudent to discuss the matter directly with the SEC" before submitting its financial report. Under SEC rules, CareFusion will have until Sept. 13 to complete the filing.

AICPA Sees Widespread Problem in Erroneous IRS Letters [AT]
The American Institute of CPAs has written to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman outlining its concerns with what it sees as a “widespread problem affecting numerous taxpayers”: erroneous letters from the IRS to taxpayers filing foreign trust forms. In a letter from AICPA Tax Executive Committee chair Patricia Thompson, the Institute urged the IRS to investigate to determine the source of the processing problem so it would stop sending out the erroneous letters. The AICPA also recommended that the IRS should consider issuing an announcement that such erroneous letters do not require a response. “The letters are inconveniencing taxpayers and causing them to incur unnecessary professional fees when practitioners must respond to the IRS explaining why the IRS letters are incorrect and request an abatement of the penalties,” the AICPA said in letter to the IRS on Tuesday.
 
Pirated ACCA, CFA textbook ring busted [SD]

Shanghai police detained 35 suspects for pirating thousands of copies of international accountant and financial association textbooks, police announced this morning. More than 20,000 books of the British-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Chartered Financial Analyst, a credential awarded by US-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals, were confiscated in the campaign. The total value of the case had reached 200 million yuan (US$31.5 million), according to the Yangpu District police.

Pew: 58% Say the Rich Should Pay More Taxes [TaxProf]
Although the Tax Foundation argues, "the media coverage is leaving out a few key points." 

 
Outlook Secrets for CPAs [AWEB]
News you can use (unless your firm still runs Lotus Notes).

Restaurant Chains Feel the Need for Speed [WSJ]
Chipotle processed an average of six more transactions during the lunch hour last quarter, beating its 2007 record. The Colorado-based burrito chain is training its staff to be more prepared for the lunch rush, with extra trays of ingredients ready on the sideline, and to be attentive to customers so they don't have to repeat themselves. At each of its most efficient restaurants, Chipotle averages more than 350 transactions during the lunch hour—about one every 11 seconds. "We haven't seen an impact on sales yet, but over time, it will result in more visits because customers will realize they can get through the line quickly," [Co-Chief Executive Monty]  Moran said.

‘No More Hookers’ sign posted in neighborhood [CBS]
A Roanoke man took action by posting signs in his front yard to let area hookers know his neighborhood is not the place to set up shop. Corbin Prydwen told WSLS he noticed his Mountain View neighborhood had a prostitution problem when he moved there in June. “In the middle of the day towards the afternoon we’ll have between three and four prostitutes sitting under the trees here,” Prydwen said. He said he hoped the sign sents a message to the prostitutes. “I live here, I’m not going to tolerate this, this is my home,” he said

 

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