Author: Caleb Newquist

Founding editor, Going Concern.

Accounting News Roundup: AIG Rolls Out Repayment Plan; Wal-Mart Names New CFO; IRS Files Lien Against Sharpton | 09.30.10

AIG to Convert Preferred Shares Into Common to Repay U.S. [Bloomberg]
“American International Group Inc. agreed with U.S. regulators to repay its bailout by converting the government’s holdings into common shares for sale, a step toward independence for the insurer whose near collapse two years ago threatened the global economy.

The U.S. Treasury Department will convert its preferred stake of about $49.1 billion for 1.66 billion shares of common stock and then sell the holdings in the open market, AIG said today in a statement. Common shareholders, who hold about 20 percent of the company, will have their stake dilutent, the insurer said. Those investors will receive as many as 75 million warrants with a strike price of $45.”

Spain loses AAA status, stands firm on austerity [Reuters]
“Spain lost its final top-line debt rating on Thursday as the government sought backing from lawmakers for a budget it hopes will be austere enough to convince markets it can slash the deficit at a time of economic weakness.

Moody’s become the third and last rating agency to cut Spain out of the highest AAA category which has helped it finance its debt relatively cheaply. The one-notch cut had been expected and the agency said it hoped not to have to cut again soon, bolstering Spanish debt markets.

But the agency also said a poor growth outlook meant Madrid would have to take further steps to meet its deficit targets in years to come. The Bank of Spain said a sluggish recovery would slow further in the third quarter.”

IASB head knows all about cross-channel frictions [FT]
“In a decade spent overseeing international accounting standards, Sir David Tweedie has become an amateur student of French psychology.

The Scot has locked horns with France several times as head of the International Accounting Standards Board, the body that sets the International Financial Reporting Standards rules followed in the European Union and other countries.

His fascination for his adversary is such that he recently thrust into my hands an academic paper entitled “France and the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Model: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives”. The article explores the hostility often felt in France towards the British and American way of doing business.”

McDonald’s May Drop Health Plan [WSJ]
“While many restaurants don’t offer health coverage, McDonald’s provides mini-med plans for workers at 10,500 U.S. locations, most of them franchised. A single worker can pay $14 a week for a plan that caps annual benefits at $2,000, or about $32 a week to get coverage up to $10,000 a year.

Last week, a senior McDonald’s official informed the Department of Health and Human Services that the restaurant chain’s insurer won’t meet a 2011 requirement to spend at least 80% to 85% of its premium revenue on medical care.”


Wal-Mart picks successor to longtime CFO [Reuters]
“Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) named Charles Holley to succeed Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe, who will retire on November 30.

The world’s biggest retailer said on Wednesday that Schoewe, 57, will stay at Wal-Mart until January 31 to help with the transition.

Holley, 54, joined Wal-Mart in 1994 and is treasurer and executive vice president of finance.

Those credentials should make him a capable CFO, said Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi, though Wall Street could view the transition negatively since it adds uncertainty.”

All We Are Saying Is Give Dick Fuld a Chance [Jonathan Weil/Bloomberg]
Names being floated to replace Larry Summers as the National Economic Council include Citigroup Chairman Dick Parsons and Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy. Jonathan Weil sees where Obama is going with this:

“There’s much we can learn about the kind of person the president is looking for by studying these two contenders’ credentials. In addition to CEO chops, it seems Obama is seeking someone who also has served on the board of directors of at least one company that either had a massive accounting scandal, blew up so spectacularly that it threatened to take down the global financial system, or both.”

…and doesn’t think he’s aiming high enough. He has some of his own suggestions.

Memo to Media Departments: Here Are Three Ways to Make My Job Easier – rebuttal [AccMan]
Dennis Howlett’s rebuttal to Adrienne’s plea to PR types.

Sharpton faced with fresh tax woe [Tax Watchdog]
The Rev. owes around $538k to the IRS for 2009. His lawyer is a tad confused by the whole thing and says everything will paid up by Oct. 15th.

Here’s Some Stuff You Didn’t Buy at PwC’s Lehman Brothers Auction in London

Gosh, team. It’s been over two years since Lehman bit the big one and now all that’s left is bits and pieces (Barclays, pink sheets, Dick Fuld’s stonewalling testimony) and charges from the SEC that could eventually see the light of day (unless the sun burns out first). Oh! And Ernst & Young. They’re in the mix too, although some people we talk to have their doubts about any repercussions.

Anyhoo, there was a big auction at Christie’s in London today directed by the newly-branded PwC. After everyone got done ribbing the P. Dubs partner in attendance about the Atari design, the bidding started. Here’s a little taste of what’s been sold so far, courtesy of the Times:

• Corporate Sign from Canary Wharf building – £42,050. Bidding started at £5,000

• Gary Hume’s Madonna – £120,000 (most expensive item so far)


• A collection of five maps from circa 1720 – £1,875

• An 1870 collection of the works of one Bill Shakespeare

• Two etchings by Lucian Freud

• Photographs by Sebastião Salgado

• A 43.5-inch painted pine model of a 62-gun ship

Overall, the auction has topped £600,000, according to Accountancy Age but is still rising. You can probably still get a bid in if you hurry.

Lehman Memories Sold Off Piece by Piece at Auction [NYT]

Analysts Aren’t Concerned About SEC Probe of Vermont Hippies’ Revenue Recognition Policies

Somewhat related: It’s National Coffee Day. Does the SEC have no sense of timing?

Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc (GMCR.O) fell as much as 18 percent on Wednesday, a day after it said U.S. regulators made an inquiry into some of its revenue recognition practices and its relationship with a vendor, which analysts said was M.Block & Sons.

However, most analysts believe Green Mountain’s accounting policies are sound.

“We are comfortable with Green Mountain’s revenue recognition policy, the fact that it does not have control over M. Block & Sons, unquestioned management integrity and strong auditors (PricewaterhouseCoopers),” Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Mitchell Pinheiro said.

At least this analyst knows the name of the auditors. We’re looking straight you, Dick Bové.

Green Mountain roasted on SEC probe; analysts unfazed [Reuters]

Grad Student Wants to Know if Previous non-Accounting Chops Will Help Him Land Big 4 Gig

Back with another edition of “Help! My career is in shambles,” an MSA student has a background in “project management” and wants to know what their options are upon graduation. Will the professional experience make a difference?

Have a question about your career? Need ideas on how to improve the prestige of your firm? Thinking about running for office on the lawyers suck platform? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll get you the prestige or public office you so desire.

As for our seasoned soonockquote>I’m currently in a one year MSA program. I am in my late 20s, so not exactly a professional spring chicken. I went to a liberal arts college for undergrad, and I got really good grades there. Prior to enrolling in the MSA program, I worked for 5 years doing Project Management. I (finally) realized that line of work wasn’t for me and didn’t see where I could go with it that would make it for me, and so decided to go back to school in something more practical than my undergrad. Right now, I’m beginning to explore my options for after I get out of the MSA program. Ideally, I want to try to get to a place where my previous experience is appreciated and valued right away, but am wondering if that is possible if I go Big 4. On the other hand, I keep seeing on job boards that previous Big 4 experience is a crucial requirement for many experienced accounting openings.

My questions are: will the Big 4 look favorably or unfavorably on my previous experience? Are they more likely to fill their entry level positions with younger graduates as opposed to those that have many years of professional experience behind them? If I’m a more attractive candidate, can I leverage that into better starting salary/benefits? Finally, is it worth it to do Big 4 for a couple years knowing that in the long run it will probably help with job prospects, even though in the short term I might be giving up potentially more lucrative possibilities because of my past experience? How can I use my past professional experiences to my advantage as a “non-experienced” hire – Big 4 or otherwise?

Interesting dilemma. We’ll do our best here and invite our readers to share their thoughts on this particular situation. We’ll address the questions one at a time.

Is your experience viewed as favorable or unfavorable? – In the opinion of this blogger your experience is valuable, no matter what it is. Dealing with stupid people, managing various resources and being familiar with a professional routine puts you light years ahead of any grasshopper that just did half a dozen keg stands over the weekend. That being said, a Big 4 firm (via a recruiting professional) might not share our perspective. Depending on what your “project management” experience entails, it could be viewed favorably or unfavorably. Have you managed groups of people? Do you have any client-facing experience? Any leadership roles? These are all good (and partly addresses your last question) and can be perceived as key strengths. If the answer is no, no, and HELL NO, then your experience is less meaningful.

Are they more likely to fill their entry level positions with younger graduates? – Yes. YES. YES. It isn’t unheard of for the Big 4 to hire someone with your background (i.e. older) at the entry-level and in fact, we’ve seen instances where non-traditional types skip ahead of others in their class but as a general rule, you’re at a big disadvantage here.

Can I leverage previous experience into better starting salary/benefits? – The Big 4 firms have plenty of options for benefits packages. The “super-secret project management experience benefits package” does not exist. As far as salary is concerned, you can leverage your experience by applying for jobs that require previous experience. If you go after an entry-level position you will end up with an entry-level salary.

Is it worth it to do Big 4 for a couple years even though in the short term I might be giving up potentially more lucrative possibilities because of my past experience? – Look friend, we hate to be the one to break this to you but in the short-term, your life at a Big 4 firm could quite very well be hell. The Big 4 provides professional services; is that the kind of job are you looking for? Do you really want to be an auditor? God, I hope not. Tax? Again, you’re looking at quite a bit of pain here and your experience could be marginalized. A position in the advisory practice would be ideal for you but without more details on your experience, it’s hard for us to gauge if that’s a realistic possibility.

How can I use my past professional experiences to my advantage as a “non-experienced” hire – Big 4 or otherwise? – Like we mentioned above, push any leadership, management and client-facing experience. These are crucial for an aspiring Big 4 rock star.

Bottom-line here is, what is it that you’re trying to achieve with this MSA? Is a Big 4 firm the ideal place for you to land out of school? Maybe. Maybe not. Finding the right fit of your past professional experience combined with your brand-spanking new advanced accounting knowledge will take some work on your part. While a Big 4 firm on your résumé will open a few doors down the road, a job in-house may make more sense with your PM experience. Choose wisely.

Accounting News Roundup: Grant Thornton Calls for ‘Regulatory Intervention’ in the UK Audit Market; FASB Member Betting on ‘Hyrbid’ Mark-to-Market Model; SAP Acquiring Sage? | 09.29.10

GT seeks limit on Big Four market share [Accountancy Age]
“Grant Thornton is calling for direct regulatory intervention in the audit market that would limit the number audits a firm could hold among public companies.

The call comes in a submission to the House of Lords economic affairs committee which is conducting an inquiry into the dominance of the Big Four firms and constitutes the most emphatic public demand yet for regulators to directly intervene in the market.

Among the other proposals made by Grant Thornton are a code of conduct for investors urging them to promote the use of auditors outside the Big Four. Grant Thornton also wants to see so called restrictive covenants – clauses placed by banks in credit agreements insisting that only Big Four firms be used on an audit.”

How Not to Create New Jobs [TaxVox]
“I suppose the Senate’s debate today may serve some useful purpose as a show vote. Endangered Democrats can go home and argue that while they care deeply about American jobs, Republicans–who voted en masse to kill the bill–do not. But partisan politics aside, this is a classic example why Congress should not be allowed anywhere near tax policy during election season.”

Mark-to-market plan could be modified: FASB member [Reuters]
“Strong opposition to a controversial proposal to expand fair value accounting could sway rulemakers to modify the plan, a member of the U.S. accounting rule-making board said on Tuesday.

The proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board calls for loans and other financial assets to be valued based on what they would fetch in the market, known as mark-to-market, or fair value. That change is intended to give investors a clearer picture of assets held on banks’ books.”

The banking industry has opposed the measure, saying it does not make sense to assign market prices to loans that will never be sold.

‘Thus far, I think the count is up to about 1,500 or so comment letters,’ said Lawrence Smith, a board member of FASB, which sets U.S. accounting rules. ‘I think I’ve read one that supports what we propose.’

Smith added that board members will probably be influenced by the opposition. ‘If I were a betting person, I would bet on some type of hybrid model being adopted,’ he said.”

BP to Create New Safety Division in Wake of Spill [NYT]
Now here’s an idea! ” BP will set up a new global safety division and make other changes to the way it operates as it seeks to absorb some lessons from the explosion of a oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, the soon-to-be chief executive Robert Dudley said Wednesday.

BP said the new division would aim to improve risk management and safety, and also review how the company manages agreements with contractors. The plans were announced as Mr. Dudley prepares to take over as chief executive on Friday.”

Investors, Regulators Laid Path to ‘Flash Crash’ [WSJ]
“A report by the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on that day’s steep decline, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapse 700 points in minutes before rebounding, is expected as soon as this week. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro has called the day’s events “clearly a market failure.”

Staff from both agencies, which provided an initial joint-account in May, continued Tuesday to negotiate how certain events would be described in the report, according to people briefed on the discussions.

One area of discussion, one person said, concerns the so-called “E-mini” futures contract, which mimics movements in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and was a source of heavy trading that day when liquidity dried up. Part of the discussion concerns whether to disclose the number of contracts exchanged in the E-mini contract, which could show the size and impact of the trades.”


SAP to buy Sage? [AccMan]
Dennis Howlett mulls over the latest SAP/Sage rumors.

Voting on Bush Tax Cuts Divides Democrats in Congress Before Election Day [Bloomberg]
We realize it might be tough to get your head around this, “Democrats worried about defending congressional majorities are divided over voting on income taxes before Election Day. Party strategists warn they are missing an opportunity to define themselves against Republicans.

After Senate Democrats postponed action on President Barack Obama’s proposal to extend middle-class tax cuts until after the Nov. 2 election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested members still may vote this week before leaving Washington to campaign. Two days later, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that would be a ‘specious act’ without the chance of a Senate vote.”

College Graduates’ Top Employers [BusinessWeek]
The latest from Universum: 1) Google 2) KPMG 3) E&Y 4) PwC 5) Deloitte. It’s really not fair if you let the cool company jump in the mix.

Wendy’s/Arby’s CFO: Killing Cows and Pigs Isn’t as Profitable as It Used to Be

This is especially troublesome for the House that Dave Thomas partially built because eating more produce isn’t an option for most Americans.

Higher costs for commodities like beef and bacon will take a bite out of margins at Wendy’s/Arby’s Group (WEN.N) in the second half of 2010, an executive for the No. 3 U.S. fast-food chain said on Tuesday.

“Beef and bacon are two commodities that have been troublesome to us in this current environment,” Steve Hare, Wendy’s/Arby’s chief financial officer, said at an investor conference.

Beef, bacon to bite margins at Wendy’s/Arby’s: CFO [Reuters]

Accountants Disgust Charlie Munger on a Multitude of Levels

If you piss off a billionaire, there will be repercussions. And Charlie Munger is not a typical billionaire.

He just so happens to be the BFF and business partner of the second richest person in this fair land of ours and since WB is too busy chasing tail with new friends, he recently felt the need to vent at the University of Michigan about, among other things, accountants and how they failed. FAILED US ALL!

The accountants utterly failed us. And by the way, there’s practically no sign of any intelligent reversal of the failure of that profession. I have yet to meet many accountants who are the least bit ashamed for their contribution to our recent troubles. But it was immense. Imagine when Enron comes down to the SEC and says “we want to write a little contract with A, and a little contract with B, and take all the profit we’re going to make from these complicated contracts over the next 20 years into earnings immediately, and put an asset on our balance sheet of $28 billion from signing two pieces of paper.” And the SEC, led by wonderful accountants who studied at great places, [says] “Why, of course you should have that kind of accounting!” What the hell were they thinking? How can anybody have any respectable understanding of human nature without realizing that the kind of people who were going to be tempted by that accounting were not going to be able to resist the temptations? It was disgusting.

Now you might think this is one of those situations where the old man says to you, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.” This is bullshit. Charlie Munger is definitely pissed. He’s not putting all the blame at the doorstep of accountants but you definitely get the impression that if he could, he would.

But why? Why would Mungsy be so pissed? Why would he lump you in with likes of Jimmy Carter, Ryan Leaf and Andy Barker, P.I. (an accountant, no less)? Basically it’s because you people are a bunch of pansies, will politely nod to the whims of the clients you serve and that you’re a bunch of numbers nerds and that you can barely carry on a conversation with another human being let alone understand that greed trumps Debits = Credits:

Partly the establishment accountants want to please the people who are writing the checks. And partly the academic accountants get full of people who overdosed on mathematics. They want everything to be in balance. And they don’t think that that really isn’t rational when creating rules for a human behavioral system. They’re too mathematical and not rational enough when dealing with their fellow humans. You can’t give the average Wall Street CEO really lenient standards of accounting and expect the figures to be good.

Here endeth the lesson.

Charlie Munger on Communism, Botox, and Goldbug Jerks [Motley Fool]

Ron Johnson Would Like to Be the Second Accountant in the U.S. Senate

Because God knows 57 lawyers is far too many and Russ Feingold just happens to be one of them.


As you may be aware, this is the second relatively high-profile race where an accountant and lawyer face off that we’ve covered. In the South Carolina governor’s race tax-tardy accountant Nikki Haley is facing special-interest whore Vince Sheheen. We should also note the the Senate race in New York between incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand (lawyer) and Joseph DioGuardi (accountant) but so far it’s been fairly boring unless DioGuardi happens to make an issue out of Gillibrand’s hotness.

Anyhoo, similar to those two races, the ballot in Wisconsin will appear as follows:

Accountant (R)
Lawyer (D)

So as voters, when faced with such a choice, should we assume that the accountant running for office is family values type that believes in cutting taxes and reducing spending (with no intent to do so) and the lawyer is a spineless tax and spend type that fails to accomplish anything even when they have the political power or leverage?

Wisconsin is doomed.

You’d Be Wrong if You Thought Bob Herz Was Coasting into Retirement

Just because Golden Boy is assuming Roberto’s seat on Friday, don’t think Herz is spending his final days as the FASB Chairman perusing the web for the latest D-list celebrity sex tape:

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the completion of the first phase of their joint project to develop an improved conceptual framework for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and US generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP).

The objective of the conceptual framework project is to create a sound foundation for future accounting standards that are principles-based, internally consistent and internationally converged. The new framework builds on existing IASB and FASB frameworks. The IASB has revised portions of its framework; while the FASB has issued ‘Concepts Statement 8’ to replace ‘Concepts Statements 1 and 2’.

This first phase of the conceptual framework deals with the objective and qualitative characteristics of financial reporting. As part of the consultation process, the IASB and FASB jointly published a discussion paper and exposure draft that resulted in more than 320 responses.

Along with the heavy lifting that comes with the FASB chairmanship, we imagine Herz is also doing some reflecting this week as his tenure comes to an end. You know, reading some of his favorite comment letters and drafting a farewell/thanks for all the good times email to Barney Frank and the ABA. Stuff like that.

IASB and US FASB Complete First Stage of Conceptual Framework [Business Wire]

Big 4 Still Dominate Vault’s Prestige Rankings

This morning we’ll take a break from Vault’s Accounting 50, and bestow their prestige list upon you since style trumps substance in just about every facet of society these days.

So enough chit-chat, here are the top ten firms whose shit stinks the least (prior year ranking in parenthesis):

1 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP New York, NY (1)
2 Ernst & Young LLP New York, NY (2)
3 Deloitte (Accounting Practice) LLP New York, NY (3)
4 KPMG LLP New York, NY (4)
5 Grant Thornton LLP Chicago, IL (5)
6 BDO USA LLP Chicago, IL (9)
7 McGladrey & Pullen LLP/RSM McGladrey Inc. BloomingtonAdams LLP Seattle, WA (6)
9 Plante & Moran, PLLC Southfield, MI (8)
10 J.H. Cohn LLP (Accounting Practice) New York, NY (11)


You’ll note the “NR” behind PwC, E&Y and KPMG. It appears the reason for this comes from last year’s prestige list that shows only the “consulting practice.” We’re awaiting the clarification from our friends at Vault and we’ll update you just as soon as we know the story. Just a glitch, sayeth Vault. We’ve updated above.

But if you make the assumption that the consulting practices were the accounting firms, As you can see, the top five firms are exactly the same. You probably also noticed that the top ten in the prestige list is vastly different from the top ten in Vault Accounting 50. With the exception of Deloitte and PwC, none of the firms in the prestige top ten appear in the Accounting 50. So if you’re a prestige whore and work/life/culture is meaningless, the Big 4 and the rest of the usual suspects will be your taskmasters of choice.

As for the rest:

11 Eisner LLP New York, NY (10)
12 Clifton Gunderson LLP Milwaukee, WI (19)
13 Crowe Horwath LLP Oak Brook, IL (12)
14 Rothstein Kass Roseland, NJ (16)
15 BKD, LLP Springfield, MO (20)
16 Reznick Group, P.C. Bethesda, MD (22)
17 Weiser LLP New York, NY (18)
18 Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP Chicago, IL (17)
19 Cherry, Bekaert & Holland LLP Richmond, VA (15)
20 Amper Politziner & Mattia, LLP Edison, NJ (13)
21 Dixon Hughes PLLC High Point, NC (25)
22 LarsonAllen LLP Minneapolis, MN (14)
23 CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. Cleveland, OH (26)
24 Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP New York, NY (21)
25 Novogradac & Company LLP San Francisco, CA (29)
26 UHY Advisors, Inc. Chicago, IL (31)
27 Marcum LLP Melville, NY (30)
28 Wipfli LLP Milwaukee, WI (44)
29 ParenteBeard LLC Philadelphia, PA (24)
30 Beers + Cutler PLLC Vienna, VA (23)
31 Friedman LLP New york, NY (58)
32 Elliott Davis, LLC Greenville, SC (28)
33 Marks Paneth & Shron LLP New York, NY (35)
34 Berdon LLP New York, NY (36)
35 Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP New York, NY (38)
36 Eide Bailly LLP Fargo, ND (39)
37 WithumSmith+Brown, PC Princeton, NJ (41)
38 Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP Garden City, NY (40)
39 Stonefield Josephson, Inc. Los Angeles, CA (34)
40 Blackman Kallick Chicago, IL (69)
41 Aronson & Company Rockville, MD (59)
42 Schneider Downs & Co., Inc. Pittsburgh, PA (51)
43 Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc. San Francisco, CA (45)
44 Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Company, L.L.C. Bethesda, MD (53)
45 Frank Rimerman & Co. LLP Palo Alto, CA (47)
46 Goodman & Company, LLP Virginia Beach, VA (46)
47 SS&G Financial Services, Inc. Cleveland, OH (NR)
48 Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP Atlanta, GA (37)
49 RubinBrown St. Louis, MO (27)
50 Kaufman, Rossin & Co. Miami, FL (43)

Notables: Top 3 firm Rothstein Kass drops in at 14 here; recently merged Eisner and Amper fall in at 11 and 20 respectively; familiar names like Clifton, Crowe, BKD, Reznick, Weiser, BTVK and CB&H fill in the rest of the top twenty.

Big Moves: Wipfli, Friedman, Blackman Kallick and Aronson & Company all experienced double-digit moves up while Habif, Arogeti & Wynne and RubinBrown dropped the furthest.

Feel free to discuss any of these firms from a prestige standpoint (or lack thereof) and definitely get in touch with us with sterling examples which may or may not include partners who have the tendency to get into fisticuffs. It doesn’t appear to affect a firm’s ranking all that much.

Accounting Firms Rankings 2011: Prestige [Vault]
The 50 Most Prestigious Accounting Firms [Vault]

Accounting News Roundup: ‘Won’t Somebody Think of the Small Businesses?!?’; Facebook’s New Arbitrary IPO Date; Debunking The ‘Failure’ of Bush Tax Cuts | 09.28.10

Analyzing the Small-Business Tax Hysteria [You’re the Boss/NYT]
“The rhetoric on this subject has become counterproductive. It can’t be helping consumer confidence, and it’s certainly not creating any jobs. In what used to be a running joke on ‘The Simpsons,’ whenever trouble arose, Reverend Lovejoy’s wife would shriek, ‘Won’t somebody please think of the children?!!!’ The emerging counterpart to that cry in our real-life politics seems to be, ‘Won’t somebody please think of the small businesses!’ “

AOL in Talks to Buy TechCrunch [WSJ]
“A deal would mark a high-profile marriage between the Internet giant and one of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile blogs, which has often been discussed as a possible acquisition target.

It would also be the latest in a series of alliances between content and Internet companies, which are seeking to draw more users and advertisers by pumping out inexpensive articles on popular topics like fashion, news and sports.”

Facebook IPO likely after late 2012: board member [Reuters]
“Facebook, the world’s largest online social network, is likely to go public sometime after late 2012, a board member said, satisfying investors’ appetite for a slice of one of the Internet’s biggest growth stories.

A stock market debut by a company valued in the tens of billions of dollars would be one of the most highly anticipated initial public offerings of the decade.

But Facebook board member, venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel stressed on Monday that will not happen until after late 2012, and would depend on the company hitting certain revenue targets and how its business model develops.”

Auditors Aren’t Forcing Full Repurchase Risk Exposure Disclosure [Re:The Auditors]
Auditors looking the other way for their banking clients. Again.

BlackBerry Maker RIM Enters Tablet Scrum [WSJ]
“RIM Co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis on Monday showed the device, dubbed the PlayBook, at a conference for BlackBerry developers in San Francisco. The PlayBook has a seven-inch touch screen and high-definition cameras on the front and back sides, but the device won’t connect directly to cellular networks.

RIM said its tablet won’t go on sale until early next year in the U.S. and the second quarter elsewhere in the world, meaning it will miss the key holiday season. The timing also puts RIM behind iPad competitors from Samsung Electronics Co., Dell Inc. and others.”


IRS won’t be mailing tax forms next year [AP]
They’re saving $10 million a year, presumably on stamps and envelopes.

News Corp. SVP Kevin Halpin named Dow Jones CFO [AP]
Kevin Halpin is taking the reins from Stephen Daintith.

Correlation Proves Causation, David Cay Johnston Edition [Tax Foundation]
“I agree with Johnston that tax cuts are not the correct response to every economic situation, and I do not believe that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would cause an economic armageddon. If the federal government’s proclivity for deficit spending can’t be curbed by reducing tax revenue – the ‘starve-the-beast’ approach – then permanently extending the Bush tax cuts for any and all taxpayers is a worse policy than letting the cuts expire because the country will drive off the fiscal cliff even sooner.”