Category: ANR

Satyam Expedites Legal Settlements [WSJ]
The new management at India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd. wants to overcome all of the legal hurdles facing the fraud-hit company as fast as possible – even if it means shelling out a few bucks – so it can get back on the U.S. exchanges. Late Tuesday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Satyam has agreed to pay $10 million to the regulator to settle charges that the software exporter engaged “in a massive accounting fraud.”

Two guilty pleas in NJ in $880 mln Ponzi scheme [Reuters]
Roberto Torres, 76, and his son Alejandro, 39, a former Capitol accountant, each admitted to one count of securities fraud on Monday before U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. The pleas follow the guilty plea last Sept. 15 by Nevin Shapiro, Capitol’s chief executive and a Miami Beach, Florida resident, to securities fraud and money laundering counts. Prosecutors said each defendant admitted that more than 50 investors lost between $50 million and $100 million in the scheme, which ran from January 2005 to November 2009 and helped Shapiro repay earlier investors and fund a lavish lifestyle.

Dish Network Wins Auction for Blockbuster [DealBook]
After a bankruptcy auction that extended into the early hours on Wednesday, Dish Network announced that it had emerged as the winner of Blockbuster’s assets, with a bid valued at $320 million. Dish, the satellite television company, is set to pay roughly $228 million in cash, after accounting for certain adjustments. And the deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

Would You Let Your Employer Track You? [FINS]
When asked if they would accept a “dream job” if it required GPS tracking via Blackberry, 52% of 545 respondents said “yes” in the FINS.com online question forum Sign or Decline. But when asked if they would accept the job if the tracking was done via a microchip implant, only one in five respondents said yes.

Why People Pay Income Taxes [Economix/NYT]
Mostly because people are honest…yes.

White House Releases New Tax Calculator [Tax Foundation]
Don’t worry, it doesn’t appear Joe Biden had anything to do with it.

IRS: Japan Earthquake-Tsunami Constitute ‘Qualified Disaster’ for Tax Purposes [TaxProf Blog]
If it was anyone other than the IRS, we’d think that this determination took a little longer than necessary.

Grant Thornton names new managing partner for Wisconsin [MJS]
Grant Thornton LLP said Tuesday that Jeff Robinson has been appointed office managing partner for the firm’s Wisconsin practice. Robinson replaces Melissa Koeppel, who will move into a national role, working directly with Grant Thornton’s chief operations officer on strategic projects.

Swiss Accounting Firms to Get U.S. Oversight [WSJ]
The agreement between the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and Swiss authorities, announced Monday, allows the PCAOB to review Swiss audit firms whose clients trade in the U.S., including multinational companies with operations in Switzerland. The PCAOB conducts regular inspections of the audit firms under its purview to assess their performance and their compliance with accounting rules and professional standards.

Discover names Graf as new CFO, replacing Guthrie [BBW]
Discover Financial Services on Monday named R. Mark Graf its new chief financial officer, replacing Roy A. Guthrie, who is retiring from the position after six years. Graf, 46, will also hold the titles of executive vice president and chief accounting officer for the Riverwoods, Ill.-based credit card company beginning April 11. He most recently worked as an investment advisor with private equity firm Aquiline Capital Partners in New York.

Married Gay Couples ‘Refuse to Lie’ on Tax Forms [Bucks/NYT]
Some same-sex married couples are refusing to file their federal tax returns separately this tax season, as part of a movement demonstrating that they’re no longer content to quietly comply with the federal law that does not recognize same-sex marriage. And in some cases, these taxpayers will pay Uncle Sam more when they do so.

The Curious Case of the Fed Analyst Fired After Asking Too Many Questions [JDA]
A very interesting and thought-provoking post from AG (sans f-bombs).

Ventry Presents Americans Hate Paying Taxes Today at Seattle [TaxProf Blog]
From the abstract: DUH.

The Gnome of Nebraska: Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, and Self-Dealing [Forbes]
Francince is not impressed with the whimsical, folksy investing advice from O-squared (or cubed, if you prefer).

“Bloomberg Thinks He’s Stopping People from Smoking” [ATR]
Loosies are the new black market gold mine in Manhattan.

Henry Taub, a Founder of a Payroll Firm That Became a Global Giant, Dies at 83 [NYT]
Henry Taub, a founder of the payroll company that grew into the global giant Automatic Data Processing, died on Thursday in Manhattan. He was 83 and lived in Tenafly, N.J.

AICPA: Financial Instruments Compromise Potentially Flawed [JofA]
Although we recognize the need for convergence, the current proposal does not address many issues and may not be conceptually sound,” FinREC said in a letter to FASB. “Due to the short comment deadline, we do not have sufficient data to provide adequate input, which makes it difficult to determine whether this proposed Standard would work in practice.”

Widespread cracks found on Southwest jet-NTSB [Reuters]
Evidence of widespread fuselage cracks and fatigue were found on a Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) jet that made an emergency landing in Arizona with a hole in the cabin, a U.S. safety investigator said on Sunday. The incident on Friday prompted Southwest, the largest domestic airline by passengers flown, to ground planes and cancel hundreds of flights over the weekend so it could inspect its older model 737-300s. Small subsurface fuselage cracks were found on two other planes, which may require repairs, Southwest said.

Bring Donors Out of the Shadows [NYT]
The billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch have drawn sharp criticism for their extensive giving to libertarian causes. Though some of their organizational ties are public, many are unknown, thanks to a provision in the tax code that allows the Koch brothers and other donors, on both the left and the right, to conceal the recipients of their largess, even as they get to write it off on their taxes. Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem: require all nonprofit organizations that engage in political advocacy to reveal their donors.

You’re not writing me another big check? You tax hiker! [Tax Update Blog]
Refundable tax credits draw the ire of Joe Kristan.

Lil Wayne falls in deeper tax hole [Tax Watchdog]
Perhaps this is why he was working so hard while in prison.

Disintegrating accounting firm LECG down to 70 employees [PBJ]
LECG Corp., which listed 1,200 employees just three months ago, said it now has fewer than 70 employees, the majority of whom management expects to leave within the next 30 days. The Devon, Pa.-based accounting firm has been selling off practice groups and paying down its $30 million debt. These transitions will not result in any proceeds to LECG’s common stockholders and it is not anticipated that future operations will, either.

Rich Are Targeted in IRS Audit Offensive [WSJ]
According to the agency’s latest statistical report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the percentage of taxpayers who were audited increased in every category of adjusted gross income above $500,000, compared with a year earlier. The biggest jumps came at the top of the income ladder. About 18% of Americans earning at least $10 million were audited in fiscal 2010, up from 11% in fiscal 2009, according to the IRS. For those earning $500,000 to $1 million, the audit rate rose to 3.4% from 2.8%.

How You Can Pull a GE on Taxes [SmartMoney]
Without paying for all the lobbyists and tax lawyers.

Schapiro SEC Seen Ineffectual Amid Dodd-Frank Funding Curbs [Bloomberg]
Today, Schapiro, 55, faces challenges a good bit nastier than a muddy lacrosse game. As she hits the halfway point of her five-year term as head of the SEC, she must deal with a sprawling legislative mandate to rewrite regulations affecting the financial industry while, at the same time, trying to erase the stain of the SEC’s failure to uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Openly Gay Workers Have Better Careers [FINS]
Abntifying lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees are open about their preferences at work, according to the survey of 2,800 LGBT finance workers conducted by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, director of the Center for Work-Life Policy. Only a third of those who are not out are satisfied with the rate of advancement in their careers, compared with the almost-two thirds of those who are out who said they are satisfied.

Buffett’s Handling of Deputy Baffles Some Experts [DealBook]
Warren E. Buffett is an old-school capitalist with a rock star’s aura, a global celebrity who is revered like a small-town hero. Yet that carefully cultivated image — the envy of nearly every top executive — risks being tarnished by a disclosure that he knew one of his right-hand executives had bought shares in a company before Mr. Buffett’s company announced a deal for it.

The House of Lords — Experienced with “Disconcerting Complacency” — Looks at the Market Concentration and Role of the Auditors [Re:Balance]
Jim Peterson isn’t as impressed with House of Lords report.

Less Would be More from Auditors [The Accounting Onion]
Tom Selling tees up next week’s subcommittee hearing and gives everyone a warning, “[SEC Chief Accountant] Kroeker and Leslie Seidman have been so IFRS-fixated for so long, and have had so little to say on the Subcommittee’s topic, it’s doubtful they are in a position to do little more than defend and deflect. If they actually testify under oath that adoption of IFRS should be part of the solution, I think I might become sick.”

Nasdaq, ICE Top Deutsche Boerse With $11.3 Billion NYSE Bid [Bloomberg]
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. offered to buy NYSE Euronext (NYX) for about $11.3 billion as the companies teamed up in an attempt to snatch the New York Stock Exchange from Deutsche Boerse AG. The companies offered $42.50 in cash and stock for each NYSE Euronext share, according to a statement released today. The bid is a 19 percent premium to Deutsche Boerse’s February offer, based on the German exchange operator’s closing share price as of yesterday, Nasdaq and IntercontinentalExchange said. The bid is 27 percent higher than NYSE Euronext’s stock price on Feb. 8, the day before the company’s announcement of discussions with Deutsche Boerse.

When a Job Is So Bad It Hurts [WSJ]
Some jobs are so bad that they are actually worse for employees’ psychological well-being than not having a job at all, according to a new study in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Researchers from the Australian National University analyzed annual data over several years from 7,155 adults, evaluating links between the nature of their jobs and their mental health. They found “the mental health of those who were unemployed was comparable or superior to those in jobs of the poorest” quality.

AICPA Introduces IFRS Certificate Program Based on Comprehensive, Integrated Curriculum, Online Study [Business Wire]
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants introduced a new course of study leading to a Certificate of Educational Achievement in International Financial Reporting Standards. The new IFRS Certificate Program is a comprehensive, integrated curriculum of online courses for CPAs and other accounting professionals that provide a measurable standard for evaluating competence in understanding and applying international accounting standards.

Sokol Resigns From Berkshire After Investing in Lubrizol [Bloomberg]
David Sokol, once a candidate to succeed Warren Buffett as the head of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), resigned as it was disclosed he helped negotiate a takeover while buying stock in the target company. Sokol, 54, bought about 96,000 Lubrizol Corp. (LZ) shares in January before recommending the company as a takeover target, Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday in a statement. Sokol had initiated confidential talks with Lubrizol the month before. Berkshire agreed to buy the firm for $9 billion on March 14.

GE-Whizzes: Everyone’s Looking for an Edge on Taxes [WSJ]
GE isn’t the only corporate giant striving to pay as little as possible under the tax code. Wall Street firms, battered by losses during the financial crisis, wrote down their tax bills using a variety of methods and claimed benefits against other tax bills.

House of Lords Skewers Auditors; Over To You, Congress [Forbes]
Wish granted.

Tax Court: Woman Can Deduct Funds Withdrawn by Abusive Boyfriend [TaxProf Blog]
The Tax Court yesterday held that a women could deduct funds withdrawn from her businesses by her abusive boyfriend as theft losses.

Too many accounting bodies, bemoan Lords [Accountancy Age]
With six primary regulators of auditing and accounting in the UK, the Lords described their overseeing of the industry as “fragmented and unwieldy”, saying there is patent overlapping of jurisdiction and function. One unified regulator was held up as the gold standard and the committee seemed to be calling for outside powers to swoop in and break up the squabbling crew.

Sister act: Alabama tax prep sisters each face 129 years in prison [AW]
A couple of sisters looking at a Madoff-esque sentence.

Taxpayer Suggestions for Improving the I.R.S. [Bucks/NYT]
A Q&A with a regular Joe…er…Herb who sat on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.

KPMG Sued For Giving Tom Hicks “Clean Audit” a Year Before $525-Million Loan Default [Dallas Observer]
GPS alleges that KPMG “was well aware of the desperate financial condition of Hicks Sports” — specifically, the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars — when it was hired to conduct the ’08 audit.

Tax Revenue Snaps Back [WSJ]
State and local tax revenue has nearly snapped back to the peak hit several years ago—a gain attributed to a reviving economy and tax increases implemented during the recession. But the improvement masks deeper problems for state and local governments that are likely to linger for years. To weather the recession, state governments relied on now-depleted federal stimulus funds, which allowed them to put off painful cuts that would have otherwise been necessary to balance budgets. Meanwhile, demand for government services and the tab for public-worker pensions and health care have conting>Global Accounting Standard Delayed Years by Crisis, Quigley Says [Bloomberg]
The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression may have delayed adoption of a single global accounting standard “by a couple of years,” said James Quigley, chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. “The financial crisis may well have slowed that process down,” Quigley, 59, said in an interview yesterday. “National regulators, understandably, are thinking ‘How can I protect my investors in my country?’ You then start traveling a road of national standards and national regulation, and the momentum we had toward globalization and global standards to support global capital markets has been set back.”

GE Auditor KPMG: Supporting Their Tax Strategy For 102 Years [Forbes]
The world’s best tax law firm can always use some extra help.

Tax Season Gets Tricker for Some Gay Couples [Bucks/NYT]
Tax season often delivers more than the usual set of headaches for same-sex couples. But it’s about to get incredibly more complicated for couples living in California, Nevada and Washington. There is an upside, though. Many of them will save thousands of dollars in federal income taxes.

In Prison for Taking a Liar Loan [NYT]
Hopefully the IRS does choose all its investigative targets simply based on cars they drive.

IRS employees plan rally in support of federal, state workers in downtown Detroit [AP]
Detroit area Internal Revenue Service employees plan to rally in support of federal employees as well as state workers in Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere. National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 78 President Debra Carter plans to lead dozens of IRS employees in a rally at 3 p.m. Wednesday in front of the IRS Computing Center in downtown Detroit.

Senator Coburn Plan to End Ethanol Credit Tests Republican Tax Principle [Bloomberg]
Senator Tom Coburn is trying to challenge the proposition that all tax breaks are created equal. The effort by the Oklahoma Republican to end a tax credit for ethanol places him in conflict with farm-state senators who want to keep the tax incentive. It also puts him at odds with tax-cut advocates in the Republican Party, who argue that eliminating the tax break would result in an unacceptable tax increase. The proposal could reach the Senate floor this week.

Should We Cut Corporate Taxes By Raising Rates on Investors? [TaxVox]
While there seems to be growing agreement in Washington that the U.S. needs to cut its tax rate on corporations, there is (surprise) no consensus at all on how to pay for this. One way: Raise taxes on capital gains and dividends.

China Century’s Accounting Firm Resigns; Says Co Faces Delisting [Dow Jones]
China Century Dragon Media Inc. (CDM) said MaloneBailey LLP formally resigned as the company’s independent accounting firm, alleging it believed irregularities in the company’s bank records suggested the documents may have been falsified. The Chinese television advertising company said the firm noted in its resignation letter that it couldn’t directly verify the company’s bank records and wasn’t able to rely on management’s representations of China Century’s financial statements. The company said it intends to seek and retain a new auditor.

‘Fatally flawed’ accounting standards inflated [Telegraph]
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which have been described as “fatally flawed”, let RBS report a core tier one ratio for 2010 more than 4pc higher than it would have been under the UK’s old accounting rules that were replaced in 2005. The analysis comes ahead of the publication of a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee report into UK accounting practices expected to be highly critical of the IFRS system.