Category: ANR

Accounting News Roundup: A&F Worker Outlook Improves; LarsonAllen Joins the M&A Game; Big 4 Work-Life Redux | 01.18.11

Mergis Group A&F Worker Confidence Rises; Nearly Half of A&F Workers Looking to Make a Job Change [PR Newswire]
The Accounting and Finance Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. accounting and finance workers, edged up 2.2 points to 56.1 in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to a recent survey commissioned by The Mergis Group®, the professional placement division of SFN Group, Inc. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive®, indicates that an increased population of the workforce believes it is likely they will make a job change in the next 12 months.

Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System [WSJ]
The President wants to get rid of regulations across the spectrum of government “that conflict, that are not worth the cost, or that are just plain dumb.”

Swiss bank UBS to change much-mocked dress code [AP]
Red undies may now be allowed!

Kennewick accounting firm Hansen NvO sells to LarsonAllen [TCH]
LarsonAllen gets into the M&A act.


For Work-Life Balance, Be an Accountant [The Juggle/WSJ]
The Journal picks up the Times’s story on work-life balance. Or lack thereof.

Rothstein Kass Issues New White Paper on Fair Value Accounting [PR Newswire]
International professional services firm Rothstein Kass today announced that the company has published a new reference manual pertaining to Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820).

Accounting News Roundup: Grant Thornton Names New Chief Legal Officer; A Reminder for the PCAOB; Repo Loopholes Remain | 01.17.11

~ We’ll be taking it easy today to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We’ll be back to a full slate tomorrow.

Senators seek end to prisoners’ bogus tax refunds [WSJ]
Sens. Charles Schumer of New York, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Internal Revenue Service have failed to cooperate and comply with a 2008 law aimed at stopping the practice in federal and state prisons nationwide. Prisoners use their own names or the names of friends and associates to submit false claims to receive and cash refund checks. “It is outrageous to think that convicted felons areayers from a jail cell,” Schumer told The Associated Press. He said the federal agencies’ “failure to share information has not only allowed this fraud to continue to occur, but has allowed it to more than double since 2004.”

Latest career move ‘was a no-lose choice’ [WaPo]
Deloitte alum and current LaSalle Hotel Properties Bruce Riggins participated in the Post’s “New at the Top” series.

The Robot in the Next Cubicle [BBW]
At just five feet tall and 86 pounds, the HRP-4 may be the office grunt of tomorrow. The humanoid robot, developed by Tokyo-based Kawada Industries and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Sciences and Technology, is programmed to deliver mail, pour coffee, and recognize its co-workers’ faces. On Jan. 28, Kawada will begin selling it to research institutions and universities around the world for about $350,000. While that price may seem steep, consider that the HRP-4 doesn’t goof around on Facebook, spend hours tweaking its fantasy football roster, or require a lunch break. Noriyuki Kanehira, the robotic systems manager at Kawada, believes the HRP-4 could easily take on a “secretarial role…in the near future.” Sooner or later, he says, “humanoid robots can move [into] the office field.”

Ken Cunningham Named Grant Thornton LLP Chief Legal Officer [Business Wire]
Ken Cunningham has been named the new Grant Thornton LLP Chief Legal Officer effective February 1, 2011. Ken succeeds Peggy Zagel as Chief Legal Officer, who will be retiring from the firm July 31, 2011. “We are pleased to have an individual of Ken’s ability leading this critical function at the firm,” said Grant Thornton LLP CEO Stephen Chipman. “Ken is an outstanding legal thinker and an exceptional colleague, and we are confident that he will continue to be an enormous asset to Grant Thornton as the firm sets out on our bold five-year strategy for growth serving dynamic organizations around the globe.”

Deloitte: Choir to perform in festival [Big 4]
John Kerr, Talent partner at Deloitte was understandably thrilled. “Having a Deloitte Choir is a real asset,” he said. “It creates new networks within our firm, and builds relationships with our clients. Our choir members clearly love participating. Deloitte’s reputation rests on quality and excellence. I’d say winning the Office Choir of the Year is a great new way to signal just how far that emphasis on great performance goes at Deloitte.”

Dear PCAOB Board: Your Job Is To Serve And Protect Investors [RTA]
Francine McKenna refreshes your memory.


The FASB’s Proposed Repo Accounting: Loopholes Still Abound? [Accounting Onion]
The short answer is: Yes. Tom Selling has the long answer over at his blog.

Donald Trump & the Deadbeats [Tax Watchdog]
A sordid tax history for many of the the new Trump celebrity contestants.

Filing Your Tax Return is a Snap with New Turbo Tax App [Tax Docket]
Memo to Tim Geithner.

Accounting News Roundup: Talking Corporate Tax Reform; PwC’s Audit Committee Questions; Swipe That Refund | 01.14.11

Groupon Talks IPO [WSJ]
Investment bankers have been making proposals to online deals site Groupon Inc. about a proposed initial public offering for the past week through an informal “bake-off,” people familiar with the matter said. Groupon, which turned down a $6 billion takeover offer from Google Inc. last year and said it would raise $950 million in funding, has been planning its public debut for later this year, these people said. An IPO is likely “sooner rather than later,” and most likely to be this fall, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

E&Y named most gay-friendly accountancy firmAccountancy Age]
E&Y ranked third on the UK national list of 100; Deloitte came in at 90. PwC and KPMG were MIA.

Talks on Corporate-Tax Revisions Set to Start [WSJ]
The drive to revamp corporate tax rules kicks off in earnest on Friday, when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sits down with executives of more than a dozen major U.S. companies. One likely focus of the discussions will be finding ways to use an overhaul to encourage more investment in the U.S. “We have to create stronger incentives for investment in the United States, both by American and by foreign companies,” Mr. Geithner said in a speech this week.

For Same-Sex Couples, a Tax Victory That Doesn’t Feel Like One [NYT]
A decision in May by the Internal Revenue Service that was hailed as a step toward equality for same-sex couples has instead become a headache for tens of thousands of gay and lesbian families in California. Same-sex couples who are registered domestic partners — or who married during the brief legal window — are facing a new, more complicated tax status, one that has raised a litany of expensive concerns. Many of these families will now have to pay for professional help to file by April 15.

PwC provides top 10 questions for audit committees [AW]
PwC US’s Center for Board Governance has announced its annual list of questions and insights to help audit committees oversee their companies’ 2010 year-end financial reporting process. Topics covered include: accounting and disclosure matters, the impacts of the proposed SEC rule for a whistleblower bounty program, antitrust and anticorruption compliance, tax reform, and ongoing standard setting, and regulatory matters, among others.

IRS to Offer Tax Refunds on Visa Debit Cards [TaxProf Blog]
Spend away!

Former ’30 Rock’ accountant charged with embezzling from NBC [NYP]
Matthew Rudolph was awaiting arraignment in criminal court Thursday on 22 counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records and possession of a forged instrument. Queens district attorney Richard Brown says Rudolph forged two checks made out to himself and used his company credit card for personal use, stealing a total of about $14,000.

AT&T Takes $17 Billion Charge for Pension Change [Bloomberg]
The company will deduct $2.7 billion, or 28 cents a share, in non-cash expenses in the fourth quarter, Dallas-based AT&T said in a regulatory filing today. AT&T is changing how it recognizes gains and losses for funds that pay for pension and other post-retirement benefits. “Investors shouldn’t lose sight of the real economics just because of the accounting,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. who rates AT&T shares “neutral” and doesn’t own them. “The real economics are based on the size of the liability regardless of how it’s accounted for, and this is a massive liability.”

Ways and Means schedules first tax reform hearing [On the Money/The Hill]
January 20th. 9 am. Be there.

Accounting News Roundup: AllianceBernstein CFO Bolts; An Audit with Value; BDO Knows Kosovo | 01.13.11

AllianceBernstein’s CFO Howard to Leave After Less Than a Year [BBW]
AllianceBerstein Holding LP, a New York-based asset-management firm, said Chief Financial Officer John Howard will leave the company in February after less than a year on the job. Howard will return to his former employer, Greenwich, Connecticut-based AQR Capital Management, in his previous role as chief operating officer, AllianceBernstein said today in a statement. AQR runs one of the world’s biggest hedge funds.

BlackBerry Playbook: awesome fail [AccMan]
Once again, Dennis Howlett fails to show any restraint. We’re so thankful for that.

Bankers’ bumper bonuses are the ‘mistake’ of flawed accounting rules [Telegraph]
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, which is investigating the role of auditors in the financial crisis, was told that the controversial International Financial Accounting Standards (IFRS) had allowed banks to hide risks so that profits and bonuses were inflated. The devastating assessment of the accounting rules was articulated for the first time by some of Britain’s biggest institutional investors. Iain Richards, of Aviva Investors, told the Lords that the IFRS system of auditing the banks had had “a material cost to the taxpayer and to shareholders” because “as a result dividend distributions have been made and bonuses have been paid that were imprudent.”

Acela Bob, Meet Acela Jim: Kelley Drye Managing Partner Conducts Confidential Conversation on Packed Train [ATL]
FYI for the loud talkers.

Tsingtao hopes to ditch foreign auditors [FT]
So a brewing company is going to fire its Hong Kong (i.e. foreign auditors) in exchange for a mainland (i.e. pinkos) auditor.

Audits Add Shine to Firms [WSJ]
When do audits really have value? When they’re done for small businesses, “Based on data from more than 10,000 closely held companies—about half of which have less than 500 employees—a study by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business found audited businesses save an average of $6,900 for every $1 million in outstanding debt every year as a result of lower interest rates, which were more than half a percentage point below rates paid by nonaudited businesses. For a loan of $3.3 million, the average size of loans analyzed in the study, the savings was about $23,000.”


PwC Announces Top Ten Questions for Audit Committees Credit Quality Disclosures, Loss Contingencies, Whistleblower Bounty Program and Tax Reform Top List [PR Newswire]
Jesus, that’s a mouthful. And we love rambling headlines.

BDO expands into Kosovo [Accountancy Age]
Your dream international rotation is now a reality.

IRS Oversight Board Releases Latest Taxpayer Attitude Survey Results [JofA]
87% say it’s not acceptable AT ALL to cheat on your taxes, which is a 6% increase from 2003. When you consider the tax policy positions of who was president then and who is president now, it doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.

Accounting News Roundup: Demand Media Ballparks IPO; Can Accounting Networks Rival the Big 4?; Are You Willing to Swing the Axe? | 01.12.11

US Supreme Court Upholds IRS Tax On Medical Residents [Dow Jones]
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an Internal Revenue Service requirement that medical residents pay Social Security taxes. The ruling would appear to settle a long fight between the IRS and teaching hospitals including Mayo Clinic, and deprives the hospitals of millions they had hoped not to have to pay the government in the future.

Analysis: Goldman’s accounting still hazy, investors say [Reuters]
Goldman Sachs Group Inc is partially pulling back the curtain on a balance sheet some have criticized as opaque, but the change is unlikely to provide all the answers some investors want. On Tuesday, the investment bank — after a review initiated by Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein at the company’s 2010 annual meeting — released a 63-page report with 39 recommendations from its business committee for improving transparency for investors.

Demand Media Gives Price Range for I.P.O. [DealBook]
Much to the chagrin of some, Demand appears to be moving towards an offering, “Demand Media, the controversial online content publisher, disclosed on Wednesday that it hopes to raise a maximum of $138 million in its planned initial public offering. In an amended prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Demand’s set the price range for its I.P.O. at $14 to $16 per share.”

Will Obama Call for Tax Reform in the State of the Union? [TaxVox]
If you don’t hear a peep from the President on this issue in the next couple weeks, writes Howard Gleckman, you can forget anything meaningful happening before 2013.

Accounting networks could take on the Big Four [Accountancy Age]
Guy Jubb, head of corporate governance at Standard Life, told a Lords inquiry into the audit market that eight was a “comfortable number” of competition from which clients should be able to choose an auditor from. Other major accounting networks, which are effectively loose associations of firms across the globe, could be organised to take on the Big Four in running the audits of the biggest companies.


Would You Be the Axe-Man? Sign or Decline [FINS]
Would you fire subordinate to get your dream job? That is, would you sit across from them and give them the Trump treatment yourself?

MetLife Seeks Treasurer After Moving Steven Goulart to Investment Position [Bloomberg]
Get your résumé in now.

Accounting News Roundup: PwC Alum Will Be FASB Technical Director; Accounting Firms Excited for Cross-Atlantic Probing; AMD CFO Gets Unexpected Promotion | 01.12.11

SEC Inspector General Probes Khuzami’s Role in Citi Settlement [Bloomberg]
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s internal watchdog is reviewing an allegation that Robert Khuzami, the agency’s top enforcement official, gave preferential treatment to Citigroup Inc. executives in the agency’s $75 million settlement with the firm in July. Inspector General H. David Kotz opened the probe after a request from U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, who forwarded an unsigned letter making the allegation. Khuzami told his staff to soften claims against two executives after conferring with a lawyer reprecording to the letter.

U.S. accounting board names technical director [Reuters]
The board that sets accounting rules for U.S. companies said it has named a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP partner as technical director to oversee staff work on new accounting standards. Susan Cosper will start at the Financial Accounting Standards Board on Feb 1. She succeeds Russell Golden, who was named to the board in September, FASB said in a statement on Monday.

Goldman Opens Up to Mollify Its Critics [WSJ]
In a 63-page report released Tuesday, Goldman says that for the first time in its 142-year-history, it will start disclosing how much revenue comes from the firm’s own trading and investing. The reporting change, which comes after an eight-month review and a bruising lawsuit against the firm by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will begin with Goldman’s fourth-quarter results later this month. The firm’s power and motives have been repeatedly questioned since the financial crisis erupted, in part because Goldman weathered the mess far better than most banks and securities firms.

Rosen Seymour Shapss Martin & Co. expands operations through merger [AW]
It was a busy merger Monday.

Accounting and Consulting Firms Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC And ERE, LLP Join Forces [MBAF]
Annnndd it continues.

Top six firms welcome US and UK audit co-operation [Accountancy Age]
International chiefs of PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, BDO and Grant Thornton, have produced a joint statement in which they say the agreement between the watchdogs will aid market confidence in the auditors’ work. Yesterday the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and Professional Oversight Board (POB) in the UK agreed that they will co-operate in regulating audit firms.

The Audit Model Is Broken — “Re:Balance” Has Its Third Birthday — And The Message Hasn’t Changed [Re:Balance]
Happy Birthday to Re:Balance.

Amateur Fraud Fighters Who Do the SEC’s Job For Them Can’t Be SEC Whistleblowers, Sorry [JDA]
The Sam Antars of the world aren’t eligible for the glitz and glamour that so many SEC whistleblowers enjoy.


AT&T Preps iPhone Plan [WSJ]
On Tuesday, Verizon Wireless is expected to announce that it is getting the Apple Inc. phone around the end of the month, people familiar with the matter have said, ending AT&T’s three-and-a-half-year exclusive run with the iconic device. The announcement will kick off a battle as the two carriers fight to lure defectors and win over new customers. AT&T is expected to run new ads that will highlight what the carrier says are the iPhone’s greater speed and better functioning on its network, a person familiar with the matter said.

AMD CEO resigns, CFO named interim chief [Reuters]
Advanced Micro Devices Inc Inc’s chief executive resigned on Monday as the world’s No. 2 maker of PC microprocessor chips said it was seeking a new CEO to boost the company’s growth, sending shares down nearly 4 percent in after-hours trading. AMD said the resignation of Dirk Meyer was the result of a “mutual agreement” with the board of directors and that Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert will become interim CEO, effective immediately, as the company looks for a permanent replacement.

Accounting News Roundup: PCAOB Gets UK Clearance; Accounting Will Remain a Hot Career; Tax Reform Won’t Happen Overnight | 01.10.11

Political Heavy Hitters Take on College Bowls [NYT]
Playoff PAC gets the Times treatment, “They are not just producing attack adng after the bowls’ finances. In complaints to the Internal Revenue Service, they have raised questions involving three of the four bowls that make up the five-game Bowl Championship Series about interest-free loans, high salaries, lobbying payments and lavish perks for some bowl executives. They have also made accusations about illegal campaign contributions.”

Lehman’s Repo-105 Auditors in U.K. Lose Shield From U.S. Accounting Probe [Bloomberg]
U.S. inspectors blocked from examining whether British auditors of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. improperly cleared questionable accounting will get access to the books under an agreement set to be announced today. Authorities in the U.S. and U.K. have settled a jurisdictional dispute that since 2008 has prevented the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from reviewing British auditors of U.S. companies, according to a person familiar with the agreement and documents obtained by Bloomberg News.

Verizon Finally Lands the iPhone [WSJ]
The largest U.S. wireless carrier will make the long-awaited announcement at an event Tuesday in New York City, people familiar with the matter said. The phone will make its way to Verizon Wireless stores around the end of January, a person familiar with the matter said. The move will for the first time let U.S. consumers choose the network that carries their iPhone and perhaps give them additional pricing options that could affect their monthly bills.

PTINs a Pain for Some CPAs [JofA]
All paid tax return preparers, including CPAs, now must use a PTIN when signing all tax returns, forms or claims for refund (except for certain specified returns and forms—see Notice 2011-6), and must have obtained or renewed an existing PTIN to prepare returns after Dec. 31, 2010. In addition, persons who exercise discretion or independent judgment to prepare all or substantially all of a tax return, form or claim for refund (again, apart from certain specified ones) must likewise obtain or renew a PTIN, whether or not they sign the return, form or claim for refund. The PTIN requirement is part of the IRS’ broader effort to establish minimum standards for all paid tax preparers that will eventually include, for preparers who are not CPAs, attorneys or enrolled agents, testing and continuing education.

Gulbis confirms Johnson relationship [Fox Sports]
Sorry, guys.

Clifton Gunderson buys N.M. accounting firm [MJS]
Seventh merger for CG since May 2010.

China may launch first-ever property tax in Q1 [Reuters]
China is set to further clamp down on the country’s buoyant housing market by imposing a long-debated property tax for the first time in the southwestern city of Chongqing, domestic media reported on Monday. Chongqing has “in principle” won approval from the Ministry of Finance and may introduce the property tax as early as this quarter, the China Securities Journal cited the city’s government as saying.

Accountant accused of stealing from Libertyville Boys Club [LCNS]
Nots-so-pro-bono.

Hot job for the next decade? Try ‘accountant’ [CPA Success]
Great. More MSM articles about accounting being a hot career. Bright side: more GC readers!

My Top 10 Priorities for Improving Internal Auditing [IIA/Marks on Governance]
Aka: internal audit resolutions.


Public Offering Said to Be Unlikely for Zynga This Year [DealBook]
The company that brought you Farmville will remain focused on have people spend their investing dollars on their games rather than their stock. For now.

Playboy Agrees to Hefner’s Offer to Go Private at $6.15 a Share [Bloomberg]
Playboy Enterprises Inc., the owner of the namesake adult magazine and online properties, said it agreed to be taken private by founder Hugh M. Hefner for $6.15 per share. Hefner’s offer to buy the Class A stock and Class B shares he doesn’t own represents an 18 percent premium over the Class B closing price of $5.20 a share on Jan. 7, the company said in a statement today. Hefner said in July he would pay $5.50 a share in cash for the stock he doesn’t already own.

Kyl: Tax reform could take time [On the Money/The Hill]
Newsflash.

Accounting News Roundup: PwC In Pari Delicto Case Dismissed in Delaware; How to Bomb an Interview; Profs Living on Campus | 01.07.11

Facebook Sets Stage for IPO Next Year [WSJ]
Facebook Inc., one of the world’s hottest technology companies, gave the clearest sign yet that it is preparing to take itself public sometime next year, as it revealed new details in a 100-page document sent to a select group of potential investors. Facebook, of Palo Alto, Calif., said it plans to increase its number of shareholders above 500 this year, according to the private-placement document, forcing the social-networking company to begin disclosing reams of financial information or go public by April 2012.

U.S. Adds 103,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment at 9.4%Bloomberg]
Employers added fewer jobs than forecast in December and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent, a sign a labor-market recovery will take time to develop. Payrolls increased 103,000, compared with the median forecast of 150,000 in a Bloomberg News survey, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. Employment the previous two months increased more than previously estimated. The jobless rate fell to the lowest level since May 2009, reflecting gains in jobs and fewer people in the labor force.

PwC Prevails In Decision On AIG “In Pari Delicto” Case [Re:The Auditors]
Delaware follows New York’s lead.

New top tax man [FT]
Andrew Hodge takes over for David Sproul as partner in charge of tax in the UK. Sproul was announced mid-last year as the new CEO of the UK firm, and Hodge is definitely aware of the timing telling the FT, “He gets six months [to prepare] and I got six days over Christmas.” Reportedly, Hodge was joking but seriously, how could you not be annoyed.

Top Ten Ways to Blow a Job Interview [FINS]
Since you don’t want the job in the first place.

Should Faculty Live With Their Students? [TaxProf Blog]
Tim Pearson, an associate professor of accounting and chair of that department, has been the resident faculty leader at West Virginia’s Brooke Tower for 11 years. He and his wife, Lori, (who serves as co-faculty leader with Pearson), along with their children and dog, live in a townhouse about 100 feet from Brooke in exchange for a lighter teaching load, reduced service commitments and a $15,000 stipend. Pearson, now 53, said he initially became intrigued by the idea of living on campus after he received tenure, and he and a colleague were lamenting the motivation of their students.


IRS Raises Alarm Over Complexity Of The Tax Code [Forbes]
TaxVox’s Howard Gleckman over at Forbes, “Each year for the past decade, Nina Olsen, the National Taxpayer Advocate at the Internal Revenue Service, has issued a report to Congress on the most serious problems facing taxpayers. She usually focuses on individual provisions of the code, such as the Alternative Minimum Tax, or vexing tax administration problems. This year, Nina reached a quite different conclusion: The most serious problem encountered by taxpayers is … the Tax Code. The whole damn thing.”

IRS takes interest in sex industry plus cabbies linked to it [LVRJ]
Pimps need to pay their fair share too.

Judge postpones Allen Stanford’s trial [Reuters]
A federal judge on Thursday postponed Allen Stanford’s criminal trial because the accused swindler needs to be weaned off an anti-anxiety drug prescribed for him in prison and undergo more tests to determine competency. The trial was originally due to start January 24, but Stanford’s lawyers argued their client could not adequately prepare because he suffers from depression and is addicted to a powerful anti-anxiety drug that has left him mentally foggy.

Accounting News Roundup: Connecticut’s New GAAP Gov; LinkedIn IPO Coming Soon; Accountant Says Aloha to Prison | 01.06.11

Goldman Flooded With Facebook Orders [WSJ]
Inundated with demand, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to stop taking orders for shares of Facebook Inc. on Thursday, and has told some would-be investors to expect just a small fraction of the shares they requested, according to people familiar with the situation.

Malloy signs order calling for GAAP accounting principles [Norwich Bulletin]
This guy means business, “As his first official act, Gov. Dan Malloy signed three executive orders this afrder instructs all state agencies adopt GAAP accounting principles from this point on.”

Momentum Builds for Corporate-Tax Overhaul [WSJ]
The White House and congressional Republicans are moving from different directions toward a consensus that the U.S. corporate tax code needs a fundamental overhaul, a goal high on corporate leaders’ agenda. Specific proposals for retooling the complex corporate-tax system aren’t on the table and the debate over the issue is sure to be lengthy and difficult. But President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders are separately sounding the same broad theme that corporate tax rates should be lower. “Tax reform could be a significant boost to our competitiveness,” Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.), the new House majority leader, said this week. “I’m hopeful and expect the president to put some action behind his statements.”

LivingSocial: Groupon’s Not The Only Company That Can Hire A CFO [TechCrunch]
John Bax, an E&Y alum and most recently the CFO of RecycleBank, is in now in the big chair at LivingSocial.

Aronson & Company Changes its Name to Aronson LLC [PR Newswire]
Effective last Saturday.


LinkedIn Plans to Pursue an IPO [WSJ]
No Goldman needed, “Social-networking company LinkedIn Corp. intends to file for an initial public offering within months, another sign that the market for high-tech companies is heating up. The Mountain View, Calif., company, whose members include more than 85 million business professionals, will likely file its S-1 registration statement during the first quarter, according to a person familiar with the matter. The three underwriters are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, this person said.”

Wise, Blue accounting firms merge [Business First]
Douglas R. Wise & Co. PSC, a Louisville-based public accounting practice, has merged with Blue & Co. LLC, an accounting and advisory firm based in Carmel, Ind.

Deaths, Disasters and Diseases Make For Satisfying Career [FINS]
Or debit and credit mavens, which comes in at #12.

Ponzi scheme sends Maui accountant to prison [Hawaii News Now]
Maui accountant Lloyd Kimura pleaded guilty Wednesday to nine counts of bank and mail fraud and theft in an elaborate ponzi scheme. Kimura, 61, admitted to defrauding more than 50 clients who invested in his business, the Maui Industrial Land and Finance Company. His crime may have amounted to as much as $20 million.

Accounting News Roundup: Ex-AIG Employee Sues Board, PwC; Beating the Estate Tax with Time to Spare; Hoping for Tax Reform | 01.05.11

Facebook Deal Spurs Inquiry [WSJ]
The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun examining whether disclosure rules for privately held firms need to be rewritten as a result of recent deals allowing investors to buy shares in Internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., according to people familiar with the situation. The review is at an early stage, these people cautioned, and SEC officials looking at the recent deals haven’t concluded that any of them run afoul of the 47-year-old rules governing private companies. The rules require firms with 500 or more shareholders of record in a given type of stock to puain financial information. The requirement is designed to protect investors from risking money on companies that say little about their operations and performance.

Fed May Keep Easing at `Full Throttle’ Until Jobless Rate Falls [Bloomberg]
Federal Reserve officials signaled they’ll probably push ahead with unprecedented stimulus until the recovery strengthens and many of the 15 million unemployed Americans find work. The jobless rate hasn’t fallen below 9.4 percent since May 2009 and will probably average that figure this year, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Unemployment probably declined to 9.7 percent last month from 9.8 percent in November, according to the average estimate of a Bloomberg poll prior to a Labor Department employment report on Jan. 7.

Former AIG employee sues PwC, board over audits [Reuters]
A former employee of American International Group has filed a lawsuit claiming that PricewaterhouseCoopers was negligent in its audits of AIG and that the board of the bailed-out insurer failed to pursue a claim against the accountants. The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday by Wanda Mimms, was brought as a derivative action on behalf of the AIG Incentive Savings Plan. PwC and AIG’s board are named as defendants.

Deloitte a Leader Among SAP ERP Implementation Service Providers in North America [PR Newswire]
You can ask Marin County about it.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: Calling a Bean, a Bean [White Collar Fraud]
Counting beans. Well! That’s a whole other matter entirely.

No Accountability: Goldman Sachs Wants You To Invest In Facebook [Forbes]
Francine McKenna’s latest, “Facebook wants the public’s money – and their trust – with none of the disclosure and none of the regulatory scrutiny of a public company. Goldman Sachs strategy to raise $1.5 billion for Facebook from ‘sophisticated investors’ and invest another $450 million of their own money is an example of wanton disregard for accountability to the securities markets. But it’s more a function of Facebook’s ‘have your cake and eat it too’ attitude towards the markets than any subterfuge on Goldman’s part. The investment bank and Facebook’s lawyers get paid to make their client happy.”

Roger Milliken Died on Dec. 30, Beat Estate Tax on $1 Billion Fortune by 48 Hours [TaxProf Blog]
Close call!


Cantor hopes Obama moves forward on tax reform [OTM/The Hill]
It only took Eric Cantor three years to get on the hope train.

Tax Vox’s Fearless Predictions for 2011 [TaxVox]
You can probably sum it up with: lots of talk.

Accounting, Computer Science Among Most Desirable Majors [HuffPo]
FYI.

Accounting News Roundup: Jerry Brown Is Bringing the Pain; Who Resolved to Improve Time Management?; Pet Airways Names CFO | 01.04.11

Brown Says Calif. Budget He Proposes Next Week Will Be `Painful’ [Bloomberg]
Jerry Brown said the budget he’ll propose as California’s new governor, 36 years after he first stepped into the job, will be “painful.” Brown, 72, a Democrat who served two terms as governor from 1975 to 1983, faces a self-described “day of reckoning” over a $28 billion budget gap that promises battles with lawmakers, unions and investors threatening to shun the bonds of the most- indebted state. “The budget I present next week will be painful but it will be an honest budget,” Brown said at his inauguration today in Sacramento, the state capital. “It is a tough budget for tough times.”

Loud Noise Likely Caused Birds’ Deaths in Arkansas [WSJ]
Can we get an auditor up in this mofo? The Times had the number of red-winged blackbirds at “more than 4,000” but now the Journal reports, “Between 1,000 and 5,000 birds died during the incident, which happened in Beebe, a town northeast of Little Rock.” Is there not a single human capable of getting a hard number of dead avians in all of the Natural State. We realize it involves counting but come on.

Time Management for Young Professionals [AW]
Admit it, this was your resolution, wasn’t it?

Coast Guard CFO takes blame for $138M in misspending [FCW]
Awfully big of you boss, “The Coast Guard’s chief financial officer is taking sole responsibility for the apparent misuse of $138 million despite federal auditors’ assertion that other Coast Guard officers and executives also ought to be considered responsible, according to a report.”

Skype 5 beta is horrible [AccMan]
An unmitigated review.

IRS pursues ‘Little Fockers’ star Teri Polo [Tax Watchdog/Detroit News]
Paying the $450k owed should be a snap now.

IRS forced to put some tax filings on hold [On the Money/The Hill]
Attention homeowners: “The Internal Revenue Service announced in December that it needed to reprogram some of its processing systems after a few provisions were extended during the recent lame-duck session — meaning that some taxpayers will have to wait until mid- to late February to file their returns. Taxpayers who itemize their deductions on a Schedule A form are among those who will have to bide their time before filing. (Itemized deductions include, among other things, charitable deductions and mortgage interests.)”

Pet Airways Appoints Andrew Warner as President and Chief Financial Officer [PR Newswire]
Yes, the company does what you think it does.

Accounting News Roundup: Facebook’s New Friend; Financial Reporting 2011 Outlook; Reflecting on Mistakes of 2010 | 01.03.11

~ Happy New Year Capital Market Servants. Like many of you, we’re easing into 2011 like Warren Buffett eases into a hot bath. Accordingly, we’ll be on an abbreviated publishing schedule today, returning to a full slate tomorrow. If you’ve come back to some pleasant news (e.g. boss orders you to take the day day off) or something less welcome (busy season hours start now!) we’ll be around, so feel free to email us.

Goldman Invests in Facebook at $50 Billion Valuation [DealBook]
This could be considered a ‘Like,’ “The new money will give Facebook more firepower to smployees, develop new products and possibly pursue acquisitions — all without being a publicly traded company. The investment may also allow earlier shareholders, including Facebook employees, to cash out at least some of their stakes.”

Congress Targets Spending [WSJ]
But first, they are going waste everyone’s time, “The incoming House majority will start by offering two measures this week that carry more symbolism than substance. One will be a motion to repeal the health bill that President Barack Obama signed last year, and the second will be a measure to trim the cost of running the House itself. The health-care repeal isn’t expected to go anywhere in the Senate, where Democrats retain the majority, and the package of cuts to the House budget will only save about $25 million from a federal budget that exceeds $3 trillion.”

What’s Going to Happen to Financial Reporting in 2011? [Accounting Onion]
Tom Selling says you shouldn’t get your hopes up, “I predict that 2011 will be a year full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing to advance the cause of high quality financial reporting. You can take it to the bank – by which I mean any one of the banks fighting accounting reform tooth and nail.”

Did Orange Bowl Abuse its Tax Exemption With Caribbean Cruise? [TaxProf Blog]
Man, these Playoff PAC people really hate the bowl system.

Welcome to tax season. Let’s get busy! [CPA Success]
Unlike us, they’re bright-eyed and bushy-tailed over in Maryland for this year’s tax season.


Five New Year’s Resolutions That Will Help You Avoid the Mistakes of 2010 [FINS]
Before tearing off into the 2011 horizon, maybe do a little reflecting on 2010 first.

Orbitz names new CFO [Crain’s]
Former Crocs (yes, those Crocs) CFO Russ Hammer officially took the big seat on January 1.