Category: ANR

Huge winter storm slams U.S. Midwest, Northeast [Reuters]
The storm, touching some 30 states and a third of the U.S. population, stretched from New Mexico to Maine and included another blast of winter in New York City. Power was cut to hundreds of thousands of people. The morning commute in New York was disrupted by the weather, preventing some financial traders from getting to work. “Trains are running on weekend schedule and most traders can’t even get out of their homes,” said Thomas di Galoma, head of fixed-income rates trading at Guggenheim Securities in New York.

Weather Service Web site falters at critical time [Federal Eye/WaPo]
Seems about right.

Intuit 2020 Report Depicts Future of the Accounting Profession [BusinessWire]
Agility and flexibility will be paramount to the future of the accounting profession, as technology and demographic shifts transform the way people work and live, the report found. In 2020, accounting practitioners will not only have changed the way they work, but also the work that they do, as consumers and businesses turn to accounting and tax professionals for competitive strategies to navigate the global marketplace.

Probe into $400m SEC office leasing contracts [FT]
The US Securities and Exchange Commission signed leases for $400m of office space without circulating the contract for competitive bidding, as would normally be required. In internal papers filed to justify its decision, the SEC said the “unusual and compelling urgency” of its requirements for 900,000 sq ft of space “supports award of the lease without full and open competition”. The SEC issued the justification for the leases last summer, two weeks after Congress passed the Dodd-Frank financial reform act, which authorised lawmakers to double the agency’s budget by 2015.

SEC probes Computer Sciences on accounting issue [Reuters]
U.S. technology services provider Computer Sciences Corp (CSC.N) said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had launched an informal civil investigation into some of its accounting adjustments. The investigation will look into previously disclosed accounting adjustments in CSC’s managed services sector (MSS), primarily in Europe’s Nordic region, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Evolution of the Accounting Model: What Would Darwin Say? [Re:Balance]
How does “survival of fittest” work in the Big 4?

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 Int 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.

PricewaterhouseCoopers targets women [Telegraph]
PricewaterhouseCoopers will announce that it wants the present 14pc figure to rise significantly over the next decade. It is believed that the first target could be 20pc. Ian Powell, the chairman of PwC, also wants to set an “aspirational goal” of 40pc to 50pc of partners being women or from other under-represented groups, such as ethnic minorities.

The Path to Global Standards? [CFO]
[L]ast week Leslie Seidman laid out her “three highest priorities” through June 30. Remember that date., the Securities and Exchange Commission could reveal whether it intends to require all U.S. public companies to incorporate international financial reporting standards into the current U.S. financial reporting system. Speaking on a FASB Webcast, Seidman, who became the top U.S. accounting standard-setter on December 23, said the board’s main tasks for the first two quarters of 2011 are to achieve, along with the International Accounting Standards Board, melded standards in three areas: financial instruments, revenue recognition, and leasing.

Audit Credibility [The Summa]
From Professor Albrecht, ” ‘Do credible CPA audit firms add benefits to clients that exceed the audit costs?’ It’s an interesting question, I suppose, to narcissists (Big 4 auditors, government regulators and accounting professors) who believe that the world revolves around the audit function. It isn’t a question that floats my boat, for I’m concerned with a different question, ‘Credibility?’ Do credible CPA audit firms add net benefits to investors?”

Finance Chiefs Expand Roles [WSJ]
Long seen as the overseer of a company’s books, finance chiefs have been getting more deeply involved in business strategy, deciding where to invest capital and even looking at a company’s product mix. They’re also taking on new responsibilities: overseeing divisions like information technology, production, customer service and human resources. The change comes as companies put more emphasis on controlling costs, seeking input from finance chiefs as the companies try to manage revenue growth more closely during a tentative economic recovery.

In Financial Crisis Autopsy Auditors Nowhere To Be Found [Forbes]
The auditors who weren’t there.

Continuous auditing: putting theory into practice [IIA/Marks on Governance]
Internal auditing, 24/7.

How to Tax the Rich [WSJ]
Turning bad ideas into good.

Harmonised accounting rules to hit US banks [FT]
US banks could see their balance sheets balloon under new proposals from the accountancy rulemakers that would dramatically reduce their ability to net their derivatives exposure. The Financial Accounting Standard Board and its international counterpart are planning to establish a common approach to the presentation of financial assets and liabilities on company balance sheets.

Big four auditors ’embedded in tax haven world’ [Daily Mail]
The Big Four accountancy firms have come under attack for maintaining on average more than 20 offices each in offshore tax havens despite countries working together to crack down on tax avoidance. The four firms – PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young – have 81 offices in offshore tax havens, according to new research by Financial Mail. MP Chuka Ummuna, who earlier this month confronted Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond over the banks’ 300 offshore subsidiaries, said: ‘There’s a whole industry out there dedicated to helping people avoid tax that will increasingly come under the microscope.

The Secrets to Getting Good References [FINS]
One of your first moves when considering a job change should be to review your professional network for people who can serve as references. Prospective employers are likely to ask you for three or four people who can endorse you as a professional. How you ask is, of course, just as important as who you ask. There are a number of courtesies to keep in mind when you’re choosing your references.

PwC: CEOs confident, eager for talent [Vault]
PricewaterhouseCoopers timed the release of its 14th annual Global CEO Survey results to coincide with the opening of the World Economic Forum at Davos yesterday. Despite an anemic recovery in the US, the results show that CEO confidence has rebounded to pre-crisis levels, with corporate leadership eager to hit the ground running in 2011.

Prof Pees on Colleague’s Office Door [TaxProf Blog]
You’re in trouble, buddy.

CPA firms make Super Bowl wager for charity [AW]
Kolb+Co., a Brookfield, Wisconsin-based public accounting firm, has made a Super Bowl wager with Schneider Downs, Pittsburgh’s largest independent public accounting firm. “Our idea is to involve our entire offices in a team spirit day, where every employee can support their team through casual dress when they make a $5 donation,” said Tom Luken, president and CEO of Kolb+Co. “Once the Super Bowl has been decided, all proceeds will be donated to a charity selected by the winning office.”

Tax Blogosphere Buddies – Joe Kristan [TWTP]
Our friend and purveyor of Tax Update Blog, Joe Kristan, does a Q&A with Robert Flach.

If lien fits, O.J. Simpson prosecutor’s firm must pay it [Tax Watchdog]
Remember Christopher Darden? He’s the prosecutor who instructed the Juice to try on the glove. This led to Johnnie Cochran being immortalized which may have inspired the creation Jackie Chiles. For that, we are grateful. Oh, and Mr Darden has a $30k tax lien.

Taco Bell: ‘Thanks for suing us’ [CNN]
A first?

LinkedIn plans to raise up to $175 million in IPO [Reuters]
LinkedIn Corp, whose professional networking site has 90 million users, plans to raise up to $175 million in an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing. The company, co-founded in 2002 by ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman, announced its intention to go public on Thursday, but did not immediately reveal how many shares would be offered or their price range.

Obama’s Proposal to Simplify Tax Code Complicated by a Mix of Tax Breaks [Bloomberg]
President Barack Obama laid the groundwork for reducing the corporate tax rate and simplifying the tax code in his State of the Union address. He also erected a political hurdle to these efforts as they could lead to higher rates for millions of businesses. Obama said in the Jan. 25 speech that he wants to rid a “rigged” tax code of “loopholes” that allow some corporations to pay less than others, and would use the savings to reduce the top 35 percent corporate rate, one of the world’s highest. He also called for “millionaires to give up their tax break” after an extension of Bush-era tax cuts expires in 2013.

Blue-Ribbon Panel: Just Tweak GAAP for Now [CFO]
The blue-ribbon panel charged with addressing generally accepted accounting principles for private companies presented its recommendations to the Financial Accounting Foundation on Wednesday, in the form of a 70-page report the FAF is slated to consider at its next meeting in February. At its core, the report urges the FAF to create a separate board to modify existing GAAP for the needs of private for-profit companies, allowing for “differences, where warranted, in measurement, recognition, and presentation, and not just disclosure” between public and private companies. However, it stops short of asking for a radical departure from current norms. “At least in the near term, the system should focus on making exceptions and modifications to U.S. GAAP,” the report reads, “rather than move toward a separate, self-contained GAAP for private companies or a wholesale reorganization of GAAP.”

University of Texas at Dallas team takes top honors in AICPA competition [AW]
The students from the University of Texas took first place this past weekend in a national case competition sponsored by the AICPA that focused on enhancing sustainability practices at a business. For winning the AICPA Accounting Competition January 21, the team from Texas, which called itself Eco Consulting LLC, was awarded $10,000. Eco Consulting was comprised of students Dariel Dato-on, Diane Henry, Jinson Jose, and Jennifer Rauschuber. The students were advised by director of undergraduate accounting John Barden, CPA.

‘I’m like a mayor of a medium-sized city’: An interview with IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman [The Federal Coach/WaPo]
Like Wasilla?

KPMG advisory recruiters talk hiring [Vault]
This explains the flurry of emails from experienced hire recruiters.

Stewart CEO Leaves To Be Missionary After Differences With Chairman [Dow Jones]
Now who’s doing God’s work?

Lawsuit alleges San Carlos bookkeeper embezzled $4.8 million [SJMN]
The guilt finally got to Georgia Engelhart, who spent the last 30 years stealing the money from Don and Carole Tanklage’s company. She admitted to the embezzlement in a letter to the couple.

Obama’s State of the Union: What I Heard, And What I Did Not [TaxVox]
Howard Gleckman levels with us, “[W]e are policy wonks here at the Tax Policy Center, and from a wonk point of view, the speech was disappointing.”

CNN Fact Check: 16,500 IRS agents to police health care? [CNN]
The short answer: no.

No Audit At All: Deloitte and Bear Stearns [Forbes]
Francine McKenna takes a closer look at the lawsuit that was given the green light earlier this week.

IRS slaps lien on Goldman derivatives partnership [Reuters]
A Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) partnership that specializes in selling derivatives to U.S. municipalities owes $1.55 million in unpaid federal taxes. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service filed a federal tax lien against the Goldman partnership earlier this month for an unpaid balance of taxes from 2009. Although the tax assessment is a drop in the bucket for Goldman, which earned $8.35 billion in 2010, it’s another dose of unwelcome attention for a partnership that has already attracted unwanted scrutiny over its dealings with municipalities and state agencies.

Yahoo CFO Says Revenue Headwinds ‘At Their Worst’ In 1Q [Dow Jones]
Translation: you people shouldn’t expect much, “[Tim] Morse said he had previously cautioned investors about the impact of the search deal and suggested that Wall Street analysts had perhaps gotten ahead of the curve. ‘Some of the (financial) models I’ve seen out there were a little odd,’ he said.”

TUI saga continues: PwC reinstatement ‘unacceptable’ [AWUK]
In the latest twist of the TUI Travel saga, PIRC is opposing the appointment of PwC because it was the incumbent auditor when “fundamental flaws in internal controls” led to the discovery by KPMG of reporting inaccuracies. In a circular to shareholders, PIRC said: “The company is now seeking to reinstate PwC as auditor of the continuing entity which we regard as unacceptable.”

Baucus: Tax reform bill ‘hopefully’ in 2012 [On the Money/The Hill]
Maximus sounds tepidly optimistic.

UK not planning competition probe into auditors [Reuters]
Don’t hold your breath if you’re expecting anti-trust hearings.

A 2nd I.R.S. Amnesty for Offshore Accounts [NYT]
The Internal Revenue Service said on Monday that it would soon announce a new amnesty program aimed at encouraging wealthy Americans with hidden offshore bank accounts to come forward, declare their money and pay taxes owed. An I.R.S. spokesman, Frank Keith, said that the program would be formally announced “very shortly” and would not offer terms as generous as those put forth in a similar initiative last fall. Senior tax lawyers said on Monday that the announcement would most likely come within several weeks, ahead of the 2011 tax filing season. “The government wants to encourage people not to lie on their said Robert Katzberg, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer in New York with offshore bank clients.

Finance Hiring Outlook 2011 — Most Active Sectors [FINS]
This year the finance industry will continue bouncing back from a dismal 2008 and 2009 that saw hundreds of thousands of jobs disappear from the business. Wealth management firms, commercial banks and firms that extend mezzanine financing are just some that plan to add staff. Here are the five areas projected to make the most hires.

IRS Announces Tax Refund ‘App’ for iPhone [WSJ]
The free IRS2Go phone app, which works with iPhone or Android phones, allows taxpayers to check the status of their tax refund and obtain tax tips. “As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement Monday.

Auditors Under Pressure In The UK: Or Are They? [Re: The Auditors]
Francine McKenna breaks it down.

Healthcare Locums suspends CFO; probes accounting flaws [Reuters]
British medical staffing firm Healthcare Locums Plc (HLO.L) suspended its chief financial officer and another top executive as it investigates serious accounting irregularities at the company. “Serious accounting irregularities have been brought to the attention of the board as a result of which the company will be carrying out an immediate investigation to consider the financial implications,” Healthcare Locums said in a statement. CFO Diane Jarvis and Executive Vice Chairman Kate Bleasdale had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, it said.

Satyam fraud not an accounting failure: ICAI [Business Standard]
The Satyam scam was not an accounting or auditing failure, but one of corporate governance, said Amarjit Chopra, president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Speaking on the sidelines of an international taxation conference here on Monday, Chopra said, “There were promoter shareholders, executive directors and directors, and the auditors were the last rung. On the other side, there were independent directors, one of whom was a dean of the Indian School of Business, but nobody questions the role of independent directors.” Chopra also wanted the government to look at the role played by independent directors, saying one worthwhile suggestion by them could prevent such frauds.

E&Y plans ‘dramatic’ Middle East investment, says CEO [Arabian Business]
No numbers from JT but he is quoted as saying, “We will invest what we need to have the leading practice on the ground.”

KPMG International Launches Annual Review 2010 [PR Newswire]
Available for your iPad.

Auditors seek to ease fears over risk [FT]
The Big 4 is pitching the EC, “The four biggest auditors have denied that their dominance of the market for large company audits had created a systemic risk akin to that posed by leading banks. Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC have told the European Commission that they are willing to help draw up contingency plans addressing the possible scenario of a collapse of parts of their businesses.”

Bear Stearns court action given the green light [Daily Mail]
You can open your eyes now, Deloitte.

10 Ways to Avoid a Tax Audit [WSJ]
Don Dunklee would probably take issue with #2 – Reporting all your income.

E&Y CEO on what makes global leaders successful [Fortune]
Jim Turley gets his blog on while making his way to Davos (surely he’s there by now).

Floyd Norris on Joe Lieberman’s Views on Accounting [The Summa]
Professor Albrecht takes on Floyd Norris.

Stock Option Accounting, Again [Floyd Norris]
Floyd Norris responds.

Sullivan: The Mortgage Deduction Heavily Favors Blue States [TaxProf Blog]
FYI – red staters.

Jack Donaghy Talks Estate Planning with Tracy Jordan [Tax Docket]
He’s a savvy one, that Jack.

Oprah Hates Writing Checks to the IRS [AT]
Oprah is just like us!

Lawyer Asks: Why Is National Hot Rod Association Tax-Exempt? [Forbes]
Perhaps you’ve asked yourself this question.

Omaha Accountant Accused of Embezzling from Firm [AP]
OH NO! NEBRASKA!

RadioShack Says Julian Day to Retire as Chairman, CEO [BBW]
CFO Jim Gooch will take it from here.

IRS Says It Will Start Processing Delayed Income Tax Returns on Feb. 14 [Bloomberg]
The Internal Revenue Service said it will start processing on Feb. 14 tax returns claiming itemized deductions, including for home-mortgage interest, charitable donations and state and local taxes. The delay also affects tax filers claiming deductions for college tuition fees and for teachers’ out-of-pocket expenses. In all, about 9 million households filed returns claiming itemized or other affected deductions before Valentine’s Day last year, the IRS said in a release.

Verizon sees $600 million accounting change charge [Reuters]
Verizon Communications Inc plans to report a $600 million charge for the full year 2010 due to a change in the way it accounts for retirement benefits, following the lead of rival AT&T Inc. Like AT&T, Verizon said Friday it is looking to make its financials easier to understand by changing its pension accounting to recognize gains and losses in the year they are incurred, rather than amortizing them over time.

Fed changes accounting rules [FT]
Paging the Fed basher, “The US Federal Reserve has changed its accounting rules in a way that means it will never have to report negative capital on its weekly balance sheets unless it suffers catastrophic losses. The Fed’s accounting is in the spotlight because of the possibility that it could suffer losses when unwinding its programme of quantitative easing that overwhelms its capital base of $53bn.”

Lieberman’s Legacy on Accounting [Floyd Norris]
Stock options, anyone?

Time for Smaller Companies to Learn XBRL [AW]
Drag them kicking and screaming.

Why Small Business Owners Need a Blog [BBW]
When a website simply isn’t enough.

Ways and Means expected to discuss 1099 provision in a hearing next week [On the Money/The Hill]
“As each committee begins its oversight of the Democrats’ health care law, Ways and Means will be having a hearing next week to examine the impact that the law is having on employers,” a Ways and Means spokesperson told The Hill on Thursday night. “Given the strong concerns about the 1099 mandate that have been voiced throughout the employer community, we would expect that employers will raise the issue and reiterate their calls for repeal.”

Twitter Is a Great Tool. What Happens When It’s Wrong? [BBW]
Pitfalls to real time.

Ernst files to move Lehman suit to federal court [Reuters]
Accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP is moving a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general over its audits of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc to federal court from state court, saying the case depends on questions of federal auditing standards. Ernst & Young was sued last month by then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over allegations it helped hide Lehman’s financial problems before the investment bank filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2008.

Sage delays full iXBRL release [Accountancy Age]
Accountancy Software giant Sage has delayed the release of its updated iXBRL software until after the mandatory HM Revenue & Customs deadline. HMRC has mandated that from 1 April all corporation tax must be filed using the new tagging technology, but while Sage has said it will have a basic iXBRL “template” available before the deadline, the full release will not be made available in time.

Four Reasons CPA Firms Can’t Keep the Lid on Pay Raises for Much Longer [CPA Trendlines]
There are only four reasons?

U.S.: The New Swedish Tax Haven [TaxProf Blog]
Obviously the Swedes are desperate.

From K-9s to 1099s: Pet-friendly firm boosts morale [AW]
CPA happiness is a wet nose.

IRS Will Not Meet 80% E-File Goal, Oversight Board Says [JofA]
59% in 2010 doesn’t bode well for the 80% for 2012.

Top Auditors Under Pressure to End ’Dangerous Stranglehold’ [Jeremy Newman/CEO Insights]
The BDO International CEO is pret-tay pleased that so many BSDs in the UK are asking for the end of the Big 4.

Myners Urges End to Domination of Audit ‘Big Four,’ Times Says [Bloomberg]
Paul Myners, a former U.K. Treasury minister, called for reform of the audit market, to end the domination of the “Big Four” firms, the London-based Times reported. Speaking at a House of Lords inquiry, Myners said Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, KPMG International and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP should share responsibility for the 2008 banking collapse, the newspaper reported.

PCAOB Publishes Final Standards 8-15 on Risk, Materiality; Staff Practice Alert 7 on Litigation, Contingencies [FEI Blog]
Someone’s overachieving again!

Sallie Mae Appoints Treasurer Clark To CFO Post [Dow Jones]
SLM Corp. (SLM) appointed Jonathan C. Clark to the chief financial officer post, succeeding Jack Remondi, who was named to the newly created role of president and chief operating officer earlier this month.

Parmalat Suits Against Grant Thornton Revived by Court [Bloomberg]
Two suits by Parmalat SpA and its Parmalat Capital Finance Ltd. unit claiming damages from the accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP were revived by a federal appeals court in New York. The appeals court ruled today that U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan, who was assigned to oversee federal Parmalat-related lawsuits from throughout the country, applied the wrong standard in deciding to exercise jurisdiction over the Grant Thornton suits, which were originally filed in Illinois state court in 2004 and 2005.

Accounting Standards: Rules or Principles? Lessons From the UBS Dress Code [Re:Balance]
Jim Peterson takes on red undies and avoiding garlic.

Deadlines Missed on Financial-Overhaul Rules [WSJ]
Regulators have missed or postponed several deadlines to write rules needed to implement the financial overhaul triggered by the Dodd- Frank law. The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are straining to keep up with the workload of turning the language in last summer’s law into regulations in time to begin enforcing some of the new rules this summer. SEC officials postponed at least seven of the agency’s self-imposed deadlines related to the law, including revising the definition of an “accredited investor” to whom higher-risk investments can be sold.

Risks to watch in 2011 [Marks on Governance]
Norman Marks has a top ten list that “[is] not nearly as exciting as floods and famine,” but thought-provoking, nonetheless.

Crisis? What Crisis? Don’t Blame The Accounting [Forbes]
Francine McKenna sets a few things straight for the MSM when it comes to their coverage of “accounting” and “accountants.”

SageOne opens new Cloud front [AWUK]
From our British sister, “Two years after its first failed SageLive experiment, Sage UK has returned to the Cloud accounting battleground with SageOne, a three-stage web application catering for microbusinesses and their accountants.”

Calling the IRS? Expect to wait 10 minutes [Federal Eye/WaPo]
A record! “The IRS is keeping taxpayers calling for information about their tax accounts on hold for an average of 10 minutes — the longest wait time in five years, according to a new Government Accountability Office report on the agency’s performance during tax season, which runs from Jan. 1 to mid-April.”

Arizona Joins Corporate Tax Cut Parade [Tax Foundation]
A different approach than Illinois.

Atlanta accounting firms merge [AJC]
In case you hadn’t gotten enough from the M&A beat, “Windham Brannon and Tarpley & Underwood have merged and the combined company will be known as Windham Brannon P.C. CPAs.”

BlumShapiro Merges with Needel, Welch & Stone [PR]
And even more accounting firm fornication, “BlumShapiro, New England’s largest regional accounting, tax and business consulting firm based in Connecticut, has expanded and strengthened its capabilities through the announced merger with the Rockland, MA-based accounting, tax and business consulting firm Needel, Welch & Stone, P.C. (NWS). The merger became official on January 1, 2011.”