U.S. starting salaries in accounting and finance appear headed for an increase in 2013 [JofA, RH]
U.S. accounting and finance starting salaries will rise in 2013 despite an uncertain economy, according to a recently published salary guide. Average starting salaries for corporate accounting employees in the United States are projected to increase between 2.7% and 4.5% compared with 2012, depending on the position and the size of the company, according to executive staffing firm Robert Half’s 2013 Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance. Public accounting average starting salaries are expected to increase 2.6% to 3.6% over last year.
Romney ‘I Dig It’ Trust Gives Heirs Triple Benefit [Bloomberg]
In January 1999, a trust set up by Mitt Romney for his children and grandchildren reaped a 1,000 percent return on the sale of shares in Internet advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. If Romney had given the cash directly, he could have owed a gift tax at a rate as high as 55 percent. He avoided gift and estate taxes by using a type of generation-skipping trust known to tax planners by the nickname: “I Dig It.” The sale of DoubleClick shares received before the company went public, detailed in previously unreported securities filings reviewed by Bloomberg News, sheds new light on Romney’s estate planning — the art of leaving assets for heirs while avoiding taxes. The Republican presidential candidate used a trust considered one of the most effective techniques for the wealthy to bypass estate and gift taxes. The Obama administration proposed cracking down on the tax benefits in February.
SEC Lieutenants Depart [WSJ]
Ricardo Delfin, one of Ms. Schapiro's closest advisers on signature policy issues, including tightened rules for money-market mutual funds, left the SEC last month to work for a new group focused on market risk that was founded by Sheila Bair, the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In addition, Ms. Schapiro also has lost a senior legal counsel who ran legislative affairs, while a deputy left the chairman's office for a new position within the agency. Two high-ranking policy experts have also left in the past two months. Several current and former SEC officials have predicted Ms. Schapiro could announce an early departure from her own post after the November presidential election or by year-end. The departure of several aides supports the idea of turnover at the top, these people said. Ms. Schapiro's five-year term doesn't end until June 2014.
Ricardo Delfin, one of Ms. Schapiro's closest advisers on signature policy issues, including tightened rules for money-market mutual funds, left the SEC last month to work for a new group focused on market risk that was founded by Sheila Bair, the former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. In addition, Ms. Schapiro also has lost a senior legal counsel who ran legislative affairs, while a deputy left the chairman's office for a new position within the agency. Two high-ranking policy experts have also left in the past two months. Several current and former SEC officials have predicted Ms. Schapiro could announce an early departure from her own post after the November presidential election or by year-end. The departure of several aides supports the idea of turnover at the top, these people said. Ms. Schapiro's five-year term doesn't end until June 2014.
Watch Hand Gestures to Find the Underlying Truth in a Conversation [LH]
Go watch some old videos of Mussolini and it will all make sense.
Southeastern Indiana county seeks removal of absent auditor [AP]
Franklin County Auditor Erica Hudson began appearing infrequently for work over the summer and has become nearly unreachable by telephone, County Commission President Tom Wilson told the Connersville News-Examiner for a story Wednesday. "She hasn't been to the office in over a month," Wilson said. "She hasn't had any communication with the office." She instructed her staff to leave office mail unopened on her desk, Wilson said. "The mail had something from the (IRS) about a tax problem and now the county got fined $4,000 because she didn't take care of it," Wilson said.
Online sellers scrambling to understand new IRS 1099 form [Reuters]
Payment processors, including those for credit cards, debit cards, and third-payment systems such as PayPal, are now required to send out a special IRS 1099 form if you made more than $20,000 and had more than 200 transactions. If you run a small or side business that takes credit cards or electronic payments, you need to study up on Form 1099-K. Issued for the first time last tax season, it's still new enough to give folks the jitters. As H&R Block Inc spokeswoman Teresa Clark notes, those who get one "may be confused about what the 1099-K represents." Bottom line: If you've already been reporting all your business income, the new 1099-K won't be such a big deal, but if you thought your side business of selling online was below the radar for tax purposes, the 1099-K makes certain it no longer is.
PwC Appoints Eric Hornsten as Managing Partner of the Austin office [PwC]
Succeeding Jim French.
Succeeding Jim French.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ Growing Inventory Levels: Is It a Fumble or a Fraud? [WCF]
Sam Antar knows shifty inventory when he sees it.
Sam Antar knows shifty inventory when he sees it.
Texas Woman Shoots Husband Over Their Cat [ABC]
42-year-old Audrey Deen Miller, is accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Investigators with Harris County Precinct 4 say the couple had an argument over the family cat, though there are several cats on the property so it isn’t clear yet which cat sparked the argument. Investigators say when Miller’s husband threatened to hurt the cat, Miller shot her husband in the stomach. The husband was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he had surgery for his wounds and was listed in stable condition. The incident occurred around 7:15 in the morning in a backyard of a quiet suburb northwest of Houston. The cat was not hurt.
