Strong solar storm heading for Earth [Reuters]
A strong geomagnetic storm is racing from the Sun toward Earth, and its expected arrival on Thursday could affect power grids, airplane routes and space-based satellite navigation systems, U.S. space weather experts said. The storm, a big cloud of charged particles flung from the Sun at about 4.5 million miles per hour (7.2 million km per hour), was spawned by a pair of solar flares, scientists said. This is probably the strongest such event in nearly six years, and is likely more intense than a similar storm in late January, said Joseph Kunches, a space weather specialist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA.L. This solar disturbance is a three-stage affair, or as Kunches said in a telephone interview from Boulder, Colorado: "We hit the trifecta."
The I.R.S. Does Its Job [NYT]
Taxpayers should be encouraged by complaints from Tea Party chapters applying for nonprofit tax status at being asked by the Internal Revenue Service to prove they are “social welfare” organizations and not the political activists they so obviously are.
IASB eyes selective reforms after frantic change [Reuters]
Tackling company "disclosure overload" will be among cherry-picked projects for accounting standards reform after industry calls to ease the pace of change, a top accounting rule-setter said on Wednesday. "Now we have most of the world on board, even a small change to a standard can be like dropping a pebble into still water," International Accounting Standards Board Chairman (IASB) Hans Hoogervorst said in a speech in Mexico. "Let's fix what needs fixing, and no more. The most common feedback is a request for a period of stability."
More Vitriol Aimed at Obama's Tax Plan [CFO]
At a congressional hearing today, Mark Smetana, CFO of Eby-Brown Co., a privately held distributor, tried to persuade lawmakers that “pass-through” companies like his shouldn’t be effectively penalized for their tax status while larger companies fatten up on an overhauled tax code. He noted a recent Ernst & Young report that found pass-through businesses — small and midsize entities organized as limited-liability companies or S corporations — pay 44% of federal business income taxes, even though they generate only 36% of business net income. “The recent framework for business tax reform released jointly by the Obama Administration and the Department of Treasury strongly implies that those organized as pass-through entities are advantaged in the current tax code over corporations,” Smetana said. “This is simply not the case.”
Women Widen Jobs Lead over Men in Accounting Industry [CPAT]
The obvious next question: "Where are the women owners and leaders?"
PCAOB reopens comment period on audit firm rotation concept release [JofA]
You have until April 22nd to make your case known.
A U.S. District Court judge in Nevada sentenced a former Internal Revenue Service agent to two years in prison for driving an 18-year-old Eureka woman to Reno where he put her to work as a prostitute. Kemp Shiffer, 59, of Reno, who was a lead criminal investigator for the IRS, was also sentenced Monday to 10 years of supervised release and 250 hours of community service work, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release. Shiffer was arrested in August and pleaded guilty in November to one count of transporting an individual in interstate commerce for purposes of prostitution.
IRS pursues summons of ex-KPMG partner [SFBJ]
The Internal Revenue Service is pursuing Boynton Beach resident David Greenberg, a former KPMG partner, to produce records related to a 10-year-old tax fraud conspiracy. Greenberg was acquitted of charges of defrauding the government in one of the biggest tax fraud cases in U.S. history. He was one of four people charged with using tax shelters to help wealthy people escape more than $1 billion in taxes. Two KPMG executives and a lawyer were convicted of the charges in December 2008, but a jury exonerated Greenberg. But the IRS believes Greenberg has records that may help its investigation of other alleged co-conspirators in the scheme. On March 5, the agency requested that U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra enforce its summons for Greenberg’s records.
Lenny Dykstra’s Accountant Wanted To Launch A Charlie Sheen Energy Drink [Deadspin]
Yep!
Should you really have that next cup of coffee? [MSNBC]
Wondering if it’s time for another cup of coffee? Just take a look at your iPhone. A new software application from The Pennsylvania State University shows users the optimal time to consume caffeine and when to reach for the decaf. Dr. Frank Ritter, who created the app along with Dr. Martin Yeh, isn’t trying beat the drum against the country’s coffee habit. Rather, he believes the application’s graphical output presents a novel way for individuals to conceptualize their caffeine consumption.
Accounting firm Deloitte & Touche sued for $7.6 billion in massive mortgage fraud case [