Category: ANR

Jury Rules SAP Owes Oracle $1.3 Billion [WSJ]
SAP AG must pay $1.3 billion to rival Oracle Corp. for copyright infringement, a federal jury ruled Tuesday, following a high-profile court battle between the business-software makers.

The eight-person jury reached the verdict a day after it adjourned to deliberate. The companies presented closing arguments Monday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif.

Oracle Co-President Safra Catz said “this is the largest amount ever awarded for software piracy.”

Why Do Bank Results Slump in the Fourth Quarter? [Floyd Norris/NYT]
Is it because auditors are giving them the stink-eye?

9th Cir.: Minor Child (Secondary Beneficiary of Father’s Retirement Account) Liable for Tax on Distribution After Mother (Primary Beneficiary) Kills Father [TaxProf Blog]
This is probably the least of the child’s problems.

Panel Poised to Recommend Separate Board, U.S. GAAP Exceptions for Private Companies [JofA]
The blue-ribbon panel on private company financial reporting is poised to recommend that the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), FASB’s parent organization, move to U.S. GAAP with exceptions for private companies and that those standards should be set not by FASB but by a separate board under FAF’s oversight.

Big Business Has Its Greatest Quarter EVER?! [JDA]
From our esteemed colleague, “Filed under: totally unbelievable headlines that are even less believable once you actually dig into the truth behind the big fancy headline.”

Happy 25th Birthday to Microsoft Windows [CPA Trendlines]
Clippy would enjoy this.

South Carolina’s gun sales tax holiday kicks off on Black Friday, Nov. 26 [DMWT]
Presumably sales will be weaker this year now that every single gun in the country is safe, thanks to the GOP overtaking the House.

BAE Admits Guilt in Accounting Case, Faces December Sentencing [Bloomberg]
BAE Systems Plc, Europe’s biggest defense company, said it failed to keep proper accounting records of payments in a case that tests U.K. fraud prosecutors’ ability to negotiate plea deals.

BAE lawyer David Perry said today at a hearing at a Magistrates Court in London that the company will enter a guilty plea at a higher court next month. The company has entered into a plea deal, Louis Mably, a lawyer for the Serious Fraud Office, which is prosecuting the case, told the judge.

Cowen Tries to Placate Opposition, Rebels [WSJ]
Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen pressed opposition parties and independents to back a financial aid package for the country and hold off from seeking an immediate election, even as he found himself on the defensive against rebels within his Fianna Fail ruling party on Tuesday.

The opposition parties and independents are struggling to decide if they should support Mr. Cowen’s government in the upcoming budget, which is crucial to securing a bailout worth tens of billions from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Their other option is to push for an immediate election that could delay a rescue package.

Forget About Touching Junk, You’re Going To Piss Yourself When You Hear This [JDA]
The terrorists have won.

SEC Staff Report on IFRS Roadmap: The Public Deserves to Know More [Accounting Onion]
Tom Selling isn’t impressed so far, “It’s appalling how little the SEC staff has accomplished over the ensuing eight months. If I were the SEC’s ‘thesis adviser’, I would be torn between two painful conclusions: this progress report was a rush job from a student with an attitude problem; and/or, she is just not capable of getting the job done.”

Welcome to the Tax Blogosphere: Tax Tips for Poker Players [TaxProf Blog]
For those considering it.

Bush tax cuts: What happens if Congress punts [CNN]
Punch and pie for everyone!

Questions You Should – and Shouldn’t – Ask in an Interview [FINS]
A perfect opportunity to showcase your knowledge about quantitative easing.

Watchdog abandons Hogan chase [Sydney Morning Herald]
Victory for Mick Dundee.

Cuba Gooding Jr’s Dad sued, allegedly didnt pay his accountant [NYP]
Celebrity parents should really know better.

Ireland Is Second Euro Nation to Seek Aid as Banks Wobble [Bloomberg]
Ireland became the second euro country to seek a rescue as the cost of saving its banks threatened a rerun of the Greek debt crisis that destabilized the currency.

The euro erased gains and Irish bonds pared an early advance after Moody’s Investors Service said a “ multi-notch” downgrade in Ireland’s Aa2 credit rating was “most likely.” The prospect of January elections loomed as the Green Party said it would pull out of Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s coalition.

Deloitte, Delphi, and GM: Duped or Duplicitous? [<auditors.com/2010/11/21/deloitte-delphi-and-gm-duped-or-duplicitous/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ReTheAuditors+(re:+The+Auditors)">RTA]
Francine McKenna takes a peak at underbelly of one part of the GM situation.

Authorities may be close to filing insider trader cases [Reuters]
Federal authorities may file a series of insider trading cases against hedge fund traders, consultants and Wall Street bankers within weeks, several lawyers familiar with the situation said.

Prosecutors and securities regulators are likely to file a number of cases targeting the $1.7 trillion hedge fund industry rather than a single spectacular case, said the lawyers, who have knowledge of the investigations but did not want to be identified since details have not been made public.

SaaS players still outperforming on-premise vendors [AccMan]
Dennis Howlett: “In the past it was possible to ignore or critique this kind of assessment on the grounds the SaaS vendors operate on a fraction of the revenue the on-premise vendors enjoy and are in growth mode. Therefore you would expect to see high growth percentage based on the total size of the market. That’s changing.”

Cultures Clash in Combination of Bank Regulators [FINS]
The bigger concern is bridging the gap in culture. Consumer protection advocates have criticized both agencies for failing to police financial institutions adequately during the crisis.

“[The merger] could exacerbate problems at the two agencies, but it won’t make them better,” said Travis Plunkett, legislative director at the Consumer Federation of America. “A severe house-cleaning from the top down, focused on changing the culture and improving regulatory oversight, is necessary.”

BAE to Face Accounting Charge as Prosecutors Test Plea Powers [Bloomberg]
BAE Systems Plc, Europe’s biggest defense company, will be charged with failing to keep proper records of payments at a London court tomorrow, testing U.K. fraud prosecutors’ ability to negotiate plea deals.

BAE will plead guilty to accounting irregularities regarding its business dealings in Tanzania and may pay 30 million pounds ($48 million) under a proposed settlement with the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, said Sam Jaffa, a spokesman for the SFO. BAE was under investigation in the U.K. since November 2004 for allegedly paying bribes to win deals in six countries including Tanzania and the Czech Republic.

In Pictures: 10 Highest State Income Tax Rates For 2011 [Forbes via TaxProf]
Damn you Hawaii, with your bait and switch tactics.

Google CFO Pichette Says Social Networking a Part of Strategy [Bloomberg]
The quest for world domination will be disguised as fun!

FASB, GASB Standards to Undergo New Review Process [JofA]
The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), the oversight body for the two standard setters, announced a review process it described as independent of the standard-setting process of FASB and GASB. FAF Chairman John J. Brennan called it a “mechanism for obtaining ‘real world’ feedback and analysis” of standards.

Bernanke Takes Aim at China [WSJ]
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke fired back amid criticism at home and abroad of the Fed’s easy-money policies, arguing that China and others are causing global problems by preventing their currencies from strengthening as their economies boom.

Rino Int’l admits to accounting fraud – auditors [Reuters]
Chinese clean-technology firm Rino International Corp (RINO.O) admitted to accounting malpractice, according to a letter from its auditors filed with U.S. securities regulators, a week after research firm Muddy Waters first made the allegations.

According to the letter, Rino’s Chief Executive Zou Dejunas said the company did not enter two of the six Rino customer contracts discussed in the Muddy Waters report, while a third was “explainable.”

When asked about the company’s other contracts, CEO Zou said “there might be problems with 20-40 percent of them,” according to the letter from auditors Frazer Frost LLP that was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

KeyCorp Says Mooney to Be First Woman Chief Exeutive at a Top 20 U.S. Bank [Bloomberg]
KeyCorp, Ohio’s second-largest bank, said Beth Mooney will take over as chairman and chief executive officer when Henry L. Meyer retires in May, making her the first woman to lead one of the 20 biggest U.S. banks.

Mooney, 55, vice chairman of the bank and head of community banking, was named president and chief operating officer effective immediately, the Cleveland-based lender said yesterday in a statement. She was named a member of the board and takes over as CEO on May 1.

COSO Launches Project To Modernize 1992 Internal Control Framework [FEI Blog]
From Edith Orenstein, “the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) announced it has launched a project to moderize its landmark Internal Control-Integrated Framework.

The framework, first published in 1992, has been supplemented by various publications since that time, including publications geared toward small public companies, and on monitoring of internal controls.”

Reid, Senate Dems go hardball on taxes [OTM/The Hill]
After the election of course, “Reid will force a vote on extending tax cuts for families earning below $250,000 and individuals below $200,000 that would allow tax rates on the wealthy to expire. But it’s not clear whether that vote will be on a permanent or temporary extension because of a split in the Democratic caucus, a notable change since the election.”

Genuine remorse from Sachdeva? Laughable. [Fraud Files]
Tracy Coenen is not impressed with the judge’s reasoning behind Sue’s 11 year sentence, “How remorseful can she be when almost her entire 25 page sentencing memo is full of excuses for why she shouldn’t be held (as) responsible?”

GAO: Compliance Costs of ObamaCare’s 1099 Reporting Requirement Are Low [TaxProf Blog]
So any talk of the financial burden on small businesses is just political rhetoric? Get out!

GM Is Low-Key About Return to Stock Market [WSJ]
General Motors Co., though eager to shed the “government motors” stigma, will take a low-key approach to touting its return to the public markets.

GM’s $18.1 billion IPO is its biggest step yet away from being owned by the U.S. government, which rescued the auto maker and became its largest shareholder with last year’s government bailout. The offering will reduce U.S. Treasury’s stake from 61% to around 26%.

The Bipartisan Policy Center’s Bold, Controversial Stab at the Deficit and Tax Reform [Re:Balance]
Jim Peterson writes, “Having taken M Barnier to task, I was rightly challenged by readers to stop complaining and be constructive.” Accordingly, he has presented the message.

Leftish Think Tank: Film Credits Stink [Tax Update Blog]
Bipartisan opposition! Who knew it was possible?

FinReg May Hamper Job Growth [FINS]
New York’s Comptroller took a swing at D.C.’s financial reform measures in a report on the securities industry released this morning.

The office noted that measures to hamstring Wall Street compensation, prop trading and derivatives trading would crimp growth in the state’s overall workforce. Each securities job in New York creates two other jobs in the city and one position outside of the city, according to the comptroller.

Mark-to-Make-Believe Perfumes Rotten Loans [Jonathan Weil/Bloomberg]
Banks exploiting loopholes in fair value reporting rules? Get out!

2 Former Madoff Aides Are Arrested [DealBook]
Annette Bongiorno was arrested at her home in Boca Raton, Fla., and Joann Crupi was arrested at her residence in Westfield, N.J., the spokesman said. Both women worked for Mr. Madoff for more than 25 years. Ms. Bongiorno served as Mr. Madoff’s longtime personal secretary; Ms. Crupi, among other responsibilities, handled Madoff’s daily cash balances.

Qantas A380 suffered “cascade of failures”: report [Reuters]
The last thing you’re looking for when a plane is in the air is a ‘cascade’ of things going wrong.

FAF, FASB’s Parent Organization, Names Its First CEO [JofA]
Teresa S. (Terri) Polley gets the honor as well as keeping her old job as president.

Another Deficit Plan Targets Taxes [WSJ]
A panel of Democrats, Republicans, economists and other experts is set to say Wedne overhaul of the U.S. tax code is the best way to address the nation’s fiscal problems—a new and likely controversial idea aimed at tackling the growing deficit.

The report, co-authored by Democratic budget veteran Alice Rivlin and former Sen. Pete Domenici (R., N.M.), follows a separate proposal last week by the two chairmen of President Barack Obama’s deficit commission. The many similarities between the two offer a window into the types of proposals that might win backing as Washington launches into what is likely to be a protracted debate on deficit cutting.

Pretty Good for Government Work [NYT]
A “Grateful Nephew” sends a thank you note to his uncle, “Uncle Sam, you delivered. People will second-guess your specific decisions; you can always count on that. But just as there is a fog of war, there is a fog of panic — and, overall, your actions were remarkably effective.”

Facebook’s messaging: would you like a rectal probe with that? [AccMan]
Dennis Howlett reacts to the reactionary.

Eloquence in an Interview Is Better Than Accuracy, Says Study [FINS]
If you’re stumped by a question in an interview, fake it. That’s the advice coming out of a new study from Harvard.

You’ll have a better chance of making a good impression if you respond eloquently and slightly irrelevantly than if you answer truthfully but with a dozen “uhs” and “ums” thrown in, according to the study.

Politicking Hinders U.S. Recovery [CFO Blog]
Sayeth Zanny Minton-Beddoes, an economics editor at the…Economist.

AICPA Urges Repeal of Expanded 1099 Reporting Requirements [JofA]
The House and the Senate each got their own letter.

City Could Extend No. 7 to New Jersey [WSJ]
Hizzoner is exploring the idea.

Shorter Agenda for Convergence [CFO]
Chief financial officers and controllers can breathe a little easier now that accounting rule makers have decided to scale back their aggressive schedule and focus on completing five priority projects by next year. The announcement was made on Monday by Leslie Seidman, acting chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, at a financial-reporting conference sponsored by Financial Executives International. She was reiterating decisions made by the board earlier this month.

Do all your audit activities add value? [Marks on Governance/IIA]
Well?

GM Raises Sights for IPO [WSJ]
General Motors says it is raising the price range for its initial public offering of common stock to $32 to $33 per share. The new price range is about 14% higher than originally expected.

The share and price expansion are the result of strong investor demand for shares in the U.S. auto maker, which now is generating solid profits after shedding costs under a 2009 bankruptcy reorganization.

A Little Extra on the Road [NYT]
Corporate accountants have long known that otherwise law-abidinel expense fraud.

And while new software programs help detect fraud, businesses report that travel fraud increased in the last few years as the distressed economy put more financial pressure on both employees and employers.

“I don’t think people always take the view that falsifying expense claims is a criminal act,” said John Verver, vice president for services and product strategy at ACL Services, a provider of financial monitoring software and expertise.

IRS Throws in Towel on Closely Watched International Tax Case [TaxProf Blog]
Transfer pricing nerds will like this one.

Litigation Disclosure: What They Don’t Know Can Hurt You [Forbes]
Francine’s latest at Forbes discusses the progress on a new litigation standard. Or lack thereof, “Everyone – the lawyers, the auditors and company executives – has been fighting the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) proposals for expanded disclosures over loss contingencies for more than two years. For shareholders, this means, everyone who is supposed to be working for you is fighting additional disclosures that would help you – the investor – know if a legal bomb was about to drop on your investment.”

Dudley Says QE2 Critics Don’t `Understand’ Fed’s Exit Plan [Bloomberg]
Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said critics of the expansion of monetary stimulus are underestimating the central bank’s ability to raise interest rates when necessary.

“People do not understand clearly” that “we can have an enlarged balance sheet and not have a long-term inflation problem,” Dudley said in an interview with CNBC. “We are very confident of our ability to exit when the time comes.”

Jason Blumer: Don’t Believe the Lies [CPA Trendlines]
Blumer is thinking about the future, “It seems the end of a public accountant’s career is steeped in misery, being “worn out” and adverse to change. Not a very exciting picture for those entering universities deciding what to major in! Is this what the younger generation has to look forward to when they retire?”

Meet the New Small-Business Owners in Congress [You’re the Boss/NYT]
Last Tuesday’s elections will send 33 small-business owners and entrepreneurs to Washington, according to The Agenda’s exhaustive (and exhausting) search. All are Republicans. Two are women.

Jack Link wins national Ernst & Young award [MBJ]
The beef jerky company that does ads like this:

White House: No Permanent Tax Cut on Rich [WSJ]
Senior White House adviser David Axelrod said Sunday the president wouldn’t support a permanent extension of tax cuts for wealthy Americans but declined to say whether the White House would support a temporary extension.

Mr. Axelrod also reaffirmed President Barack Obama’s commitment to securing an extension of tax cuts for the middle class, saying this group of Americans has “taken a terrible beating.”

After several days in which U.S. lawmakers have attempted to gauge the White House’s willingness to compromise on tax-cut extensions, Mr. Axelrod said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that there would be “no bend” on the president’s opposition to permanent cuts for couples making more than $250,000 a year and individuals making more than $200,000.

Rangel’s Hearing Set to Begin, but Details Are Few [NYT]
After two years of investigations and political recriminations, Mr. Rangel is scheduled to appear before a hearing of the House ethics committee on Monday to formally rebut charges that his fund-raising and personal finances violated Congressional rules.

Congress holds public ethics hearings so rarely — the last was in 2002 for Representative James A. Traficant, an Ohio Democrat who had been convicted of criminal charges — that the proceedings will open amid an air of novelty and uncertainty. Neither committee investigators nor Mr. Rangel will discuss who or how many people are on their witness lists, so it is unclear whether the case will end quickly or drag on for days.

What Are the Odds of an Obama Compromise on Bush Rates? [Tax Update Blog]
It’s not Vegas but this should help you get a feel for what the tax rates will be next year.

Accounting for Grant Thornton’s Accountants [China RealTime Report/WSJ]
The Journal takes another stab at the BDO/Grant Thornton jumble in Hong Kong and appears to have straightened things out.

Baucus will introduce legislation to repeal 1099 requirement [On the Money/The Hill]
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Friday that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal requirements that businesses file 1099 forms for purchases of $600 or more made from suppliers.

“I have heard small businesses loud and clear, and I am responding to their concerns,” Baucus said in a statement.

Veterans Day – November 11 [DVA]
Remember those who served.

Deficit Panel Pushes Cuts [WSJ]
A White House c sweeping proposal to cut the federal budget deficit by hundreds of billions a year by targeting sacrosanct areas of U.S. tax and spending policy, such as Social Security benefits, middle-class tax breaks and defense spending.

The preliminary plan in its current form would end or cap a wide range of breaks relied on by the middle class—including the deduction for home-mortgage interest. It would tax capital gains and dividends at the higher rates now levied on wage income. To compensate, one version of the plan would dramatically lower and simplify individual rates, to 9%, 15% and 24%.

Deficit Panel Co-Chair Plan Is Tough, Creative, and Credible, But What Next? [TaxVox]
The Fiscal Commission gets a thumbs-up from The Tax Policy Center, “The co-chairs of President Obama’s much-maligned bipartisan fiscal commission have proposed a remarkable plan for both reducing the federal deficit and reforming the tax code. It is remarkable because it’s tough, specific, credible, and even creative. On the spending side, it carefully spreads the pain throughout government. And on the tax side, it makes a strong case for reform and presents no less than three ways to get there.”

Incorrigible: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Must Go [Forbes]
Francine McKenna’s latest at Forbes takes on the GSEs.

2010 Tax Filing Season Statistics [TaxProf Blog]
70% of 141.5 million tax returns were e-filed; average refund of $3,189.

Scaled back mortgage-interest deduction raises concerns [On the Money/The Hill]
Michael Berman, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association voiced concern over the plan to limit mortgage deduction to exclude second residences, home equity loans and mortgages over $500,000.

“Given the fragile state of the nation’s housing market, now is not the time to be scaling back incentives for homeownership,” he said today in a statement. “The mortgage interest deduction is one of the pillars of our national housing policy, and limiting its use will have negative repercussions for consumers and home values up and down the housing chain.”

Spreadsheets: Why Pivot Tables Won’t Sum [CFO]
Your dilemma – solved!

The Daily Docket: Ambac, IRS Strike Deal [Bankruptcy Beat/WSJ]
“Ambac Financial Group Inc. struck a deal with the Internal Revenue Service Tuesday that requires the IRS to notify the bond insurer before taking any actions involving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax refunds.”

A Strategic Plan for Internal Audit [Marks on Governance/IIA]
News you can use.

IRS looking for help [Bristol Press]
Calling all Connecticut residents who are feeling charitable – VITA/TCE volunteers are needed.

A Female Wall St. Financial Chief Avoids Pitfalls That Stymied Others [NYT]
Ruth Porat, the CFO at Morgan Stanley, gets a write-up in the Times which doesn’t hesitate to point out all the women CFOs that have failed before her, “In Ms. Porat’s case, she is often reminded about recent Wall Street history. ‘Be careful in everything you do, because we all know how this ended before,’ another stock analyst told her at a cocktail party earlier this year on the 41st floor of Morgan’s Stanley’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, according to attendees.

The comment was a not so subtle reference to the last two female chief financial officers on Wall Streehman Brothers and Sallie L. Krawcheck at Citigroup. Ms. Callan resigned from Lehman just months before it filed for bankruptcy and is now under investigation by regulators. Ms. Krawcheck struggled as chief financial officer at Citigroup and was publicly demoted in early 2007.”

But the boys’ club might be able to relax on this one, as Ruthie sounds committed, “In 1992, during the birth of her first son, she was on the phone in the delivery room making client calls.” Oh, and there was this time that she threw her back out finished a presentation on the boardroom table. Legendary!

Ambac Has Stipulation With IRS Over Tax Dispute [Bloomberg]
Ambac Financial Group Inc., the bankrupt holding company for a failed bond insurer, has a stipulation with the Internal Revenue Service over a dispute about whether the agency can seize at least $700 million in tax refunds, an Ambac lawyer said in bankruptcy court today.

Under the stipulation, the IRS has agreed not to take enforcement action against Ambac or its subsidiaries without giving five days’ notice. The agreement will remain in place until Ambac holds a hearing to decide whether it can get a judgment to decide the issue.

Google to Give Staff 10% Raise [WSJ]
Chief Executive Eric Schmidt disclosed the raise in an email to employees, saying the company wants to lift morale. “We want to make sure that you feel rewarded for your hard work,” Mr. Schmidt wrote. “We want to continue to attract the best people to Google.”

The S.E.C., Whistle-Blowers and Sarbanes-Oxley [DealBook]
The S.E.C., led by Mary L. Schapiro, released its proposal last week. Unfortunately for businesses, the S.E.C. must comply with the Congressional directive that puts the interest of attracting tips about corporate wrongdoing ahead of the internal compliance programs that most corporations set up under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which passed eight years ago. For businesses, it looks like Congress may be willing to use the new whistle-blower programs to undermine Sarbanes-Oxley.

Lamar Odom Seeks Tax Deduction For NBA Fines and Fitness Fees [Forbes]
Odom is going pro se before a U.S. Tax Court to get back “$12,000 in sports fines and another $178,000 spent getting himself in shape.” His wife, no stranger to tax-related fiascos, must have told him that it was the smart move.

Does the GOP Really Want to Slash Spending in a Weak Economy? [TaxVox]
No doubt the GOP wants to shrink government. And there isn’t much doubt that some voters agree with them. But is this the time? Will voters be quite so enthusiastic once they realize spending cuts mean more than eliminating ever-popular waste, fraud, and abuse? Will they embrace actual reductions to those government services and benefits that they have grown to love? And, most important, will they accept these government spending cuts in the teeth of a still-sluggish economy?

The Big Four: Too Few to Fail [Accounting Onion]
We need at least a fifth firm, but preferably lots more, that are capable of taking on the largest corporations as clients. Surely, the public has learned more than they wanted to know about the concept of moral hazard from the too-big-to-fail banks. And just as surely, the Big Four are too few for financial regulators to let fail. This version of moral hazard is that each of the firms knows the position the financial regulators are in, and they take on more risk as a result.

IRS Announces 2011 VITA Grant Recipients [TaxProf Blog]
Glenn Beck can rest easy, ACORN isn’t on the list.

Annual Bean Counters Contest [The Summa]
Jump over to the The Summa for the chance to win fabulous prizes!

Kissing up Like a Pro: A New Study Says How to Do It Right [FINS]
Brown-nosing is just as much about science as it is about art, says a study on the matter.

Sex Tops Salary in Quest to Unravel Last Taboo [Bloomberg]
Matthew Lynn would like to know how much you make. And while we’re at it, you might as well throw your credit card debt balances in there too, “In reality, we’d all be better off if we revealed our finances. We would get a fairer deal, feel more secure, and be less likely to run up crazy debts. If we’re comfortable talking about sex or death with everyone, we should be able to talk about money.”

Corn Mafia Henchmen at Cargill Gobble Up Crap Bank Assets [JDA]
Maize, and the companies that are getting filthy rich from it, are quickly becoming Adrienne’s new obsession.

36% of Clients Are Dissatisfied and Already Shopping for Another Accounting Firm [CPA Trendlines]
A CCH report suggests you best put those aforementioned brown-nosing (aka client service) skills to work.

Former Ernst & Young XBRL leader joins Deloitte [Accountancy Age]
Josef Macdonald joins as a director from E&Y. Macdonald was previously XBRL leader for E&Y – a computer language for tagging tax information on reports. He also led the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) XBRL team from 2003 – 2007. Macdonald continues to sit on the IASB’s advisory panel and the XBRL International Steering Committee.

Mobile phone kits to diagnose STDs [Guardian]
An app for the clap.

Two senators eye gas tax hike to pay for highways and bridges [On the Money]
Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio) have written to the chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform advocating for a 25-cent per gallon tax increase.

“We suggest that the commission include an increase in the federal tax on gasoline and diesel as part of your report to the president,” they wrote. “We suggest that the taxes be increased by one cent per month for 25 months — a total of 25 cents over a three-year period.”