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Accounting News Roundup: State Tax Collections Are…Up?; BDO on the Hook for $91M in Florida Suit; GT Announces Regional Leader, OMPs | 02.01.11

Taxes Boost State Coffers [WSJ]
State tax revenue grew at the fastest rate in nearly five years during the fourth quarter, as the steadily improving economy and higher taxes in some states propelled strong growth in income- and sales-tax collections. But most states still face budget cuts this year, as collections remain below pre-recession peaks and states are no longer able to fall back on stimulus funds from the federal government to fill budget gaps. State tax collections increased 6.9% in 41 states that have reported their revenue, according to a report to be released Tuesday by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York.

$91M awarded in Batchelor case [Miami Herald]
A Circuit Court jury in Miami decided on Monday that the accounting firm BDO Seidman should pay the late philanthropist/aviation pioneer George Batchelor’s estate and foundation $91 million for “fraudulently” concealing false information about a company in which Batchelor had invested. The award consists of $55 million in punitive and $36 million in compensatory damages. Steven Thomas of the Venice, Calif., firm Thomas, Alexander & Forrester, is lead Batchelor attorney. He said he thought that the punitive damage award was so hefty because “BDO, right up to the end, denied it had a public duty — and public is literally their middle name: CPA.”

NFL Commissioner and Union Chief Meet to Discuss Expiring Player Contract [Bloomberg]
The National Football League and its players’ union will meet the day before the Super Bowl, aiming to “intensify negotiations” on a new labor contract. The Feb. 5 bargaining session in the Dallas area is the first in a series of meetings scheduled for the next several weeks, the NFL and the NFL Players Association said yesterday in a joint statement. Also yesterday, the NFLPA said that CBS Corp. refused to air a commercial opposing a lockout by NFL owners. The ad was supposed to run on CBS College Sports Network’s coverage of a Feb. 5 college football all-star game that’s sponsored by the NFLPA.

Deloitte’s Troubles Bubble To Surface [RTA]
Francine McKenna gives Deloitte’s troubles a look.

FCIC Gives Accounting Standards a Free Pass (Along with Practically Everybody Else) [Accounting Onion]
The FCIC had a hard time assigning blame to anyone or anything.


Wayne Kaplan named Grant Thornton LLP Philadelphia Office Managing Partner; Rick Gebert to lead Southeast region [GT]
And Michael Bennett is the new OMP in Houston.

Corporate Tax Reform: Where’s the Beef? [TaxVox]
With only two years until the election, any kind of meaningful tax reform seems, dare we say, hopeless.

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