• Cadbury and Kraft turn sweet on deal – Kraft finally put up a number that wasn’t an insult. [FT]
• Senator Wants Explanation on AIG Severance Deal – Chuck Grassley would like Ken Feinberg to explain why the AIG general counsel got a severance package. Yes, he’s up for re-election. [WSJ]
• Market Concentration of the Big Four Audit Firms: The Feasibility of a Suggested Trade — Divestiture for Liability Limitations – “[I]s there a credible case to incentivize their exchange of market dominance for liability limitations?” [Re:Balance]
• What a Phishing Scam E-mail Looks Like – An exclamation point in an email from the IRS should be your first clue. [Tax Update Blog]

• Paulson, Friedman Asked to Testify on AIG Bailout – Whether HP complies with the request is another matter completely. [Bloomberg]
• Groups Seek Presidential Pardon for UBS Tax Whistleblower – Looks like the 60 Minutes appearance didn’t quite do the trick. [TaxProf Blog]
• JPMorgan Chase Earns $11.7 Billion in Year – $26.9 billion is earmarked for employees, much of which will be bonuses. Somewhere torches are being lit. [NYT]
• Indian-American fired over $20 mn embezzlement charge – The Economic Times of India says that Sue is claiming to be a shop-aholic, the first we’ve heard of that particular diagnosis. Nothing about her claiming to be a thief though. [The Economic Times]

• Regulators Call for Tougher Policies at Hearing – Sheila Bair and Mary Schapiro got their turn today to make pledges, promises, etc. [WSJ]
• Are You Gonna Make My Day? The Auditors And SEC Enforcement – Didn’t you hear? They’re on this. [Re: The Auditors]
• Geithner to testify on AIG – Don’t make plans on January 27th. [Reuters]
• Bernanke Fights to Keep Bank Powers in Senate Letter – Beard to Chris Dodd: Just retire already so I don’t have to listen to your crap anymore. [Bloomberg]

• Shooting the Naked Messengers – The Observer tells us that Michael Miliken and DB BFF Steve Cohen are Patrick Byrne’s Sith Lords. Who knew? [NYO via Garry Weiss]
• In Case You Missed It…Virtually Out And About – Francine really likes Twitter. Us too. [Re: The Auditors]
• Questions and Answers with Robert Khuzami – Speaking of FM, she and a few others got some time with Bob today. [Compliance Building/Doug Cornelius]
• Banks Admit Missteps Amid Grilling – Some might say “missteps” others might say “big f*#(^ing mistakes”. [WSJ]
• Interview Tips: Six Questions Accounting Job Seekers Should Ask – Not on the list: “Do you require a drug test?” [FINS]
• Willie Aames Becomes a Financial Planner – Apparently he was on “Eight is Enough”, “Charles in Charge,” and the movies “Paradise” and “Zapped,”. Oh, and he declared bankruptcy twice. [Web CPA]

• The SEC Whacks Ernst & Young Over Bally Total Fitness — Now for the Spoils of Victory – “it can be predicted – and the accounting profession should expect – that going forward, the SEC will aggressively aim its macho enforcement testosterone at the big firms’ individual personnel.” [Re: Balance/Jim Peterson]
• Choose Wisely! – Joe Kristan’s suggestions are better than the IRS’ [Tax Update Blog]
• Open Memo to Medifast Chief Executive and CFO Michael S. McDevitt – Sam is sticking up for his friend Barry Minkow. [White Collar Fraud/Sam Antar]
• Obama seems to have ignored Geithner’s advice on bank taxes – Yep. He’s fired. [CFOZone]
• Galleon’s Rajaratnam slams wiretaps, stays free – Cherry picked wire taps will not stand, says Raj’s attorney. [Reuters]

• H&R Block adds razzle-dazzle to tax prep in Times Square – So now tourists can get their tax returns done while they wait for their table at TGI Fridays. Just like at home! [NYDN]
• Can Goldman Sachs Bankers Deduct “Forced” Charitable Contributions? – Populist rancor will not subside until Team Jehovah is paying all our taxes every year for the rest of our lives. That’s the only fair solution here. [TaxProf Blog]
• SEC Won’t Seek Civil Charges for BofA Executives, Directors – But they are seeking new charges so let’s not get too excited Charlotte. [WSJ]
• Moss Adams Chair to Lead Private Companies Panel – Rick Anderson will chair the blue ribbon panel on private company GAAP. [Web CPA]

• Tim Geithner Will Be Fired After The November Elections – Some say sooner. Takers? [Clusterstock/John Carney]
• Accounting Loses 2,600 Jobs in December – “Off 42,200 since recession began, according to today’s BLS estimates.” [CPA Trendlines]
• Steve Schwarzman Will Cut A Bitch Who Gets In Between Him And His Rom-Coms – SS would not be denied from perfect seating for It’s Complicated. [DB]
• NYC Stuyvesant Town complex misses payment – Doomed. [Reuters]

• KPMG Lists Top 10 Priorities for Audit Committees – Fire Grant Thornton and hire KPMG? [Web CPA]
• Kumar Pleads Guilty in Galleon Case – Anil Kumar says he got $1.75 million for his inside dish from Raj. [WSJ]
• FASB Finalizes Changes on Consolidation, Equity – Subtopic 810-10 updates FAS 160, Noncontrolling Interests in…oh to hell with it. [Compliance Week]
• Cell Phones are Good for Your Brain – Gab away. [The Atlantic]

• U.S. regulators undecided on Ticketmaster deal: sources – Maybe because they’ve been turned to the Dark Side. [Reuters]
• Yes, that morale problem is as bad as you think – Snap out of it people. [CFOZone]
• New Clarity on Contingent Liabilities – Crystal. [CFO]
• Kansas May Need 16 Weeks to Refund Paper Tax Filings – Remember what we said about expectations. [Web CPA]
• Schwarzenegger Asks for More Funding – Arnie is blaming the Feds for the state’s $20 billion budget shortfall. [WSJ]

• GMAC sees $5 billion Q4 loss after latest bailout – Nice work guys. [Reuters]
• Deloitte Wins Major Round Re: Alleged Inside Trader Flanagan – “This litigation has forced them to reveal their woefully inadequate policies and procedures regarding independence compliance.” [Re: The Auditors]
• CPA Poll: Are You Securities Licensed? – TPTB have not been appeased. Vote before we’re held against our will. [GC]
• Is Preventing Tax Evasion The Same As Raising Taxes? – Yes? [The Atlantic]

• Turbotax Timmy? Dancing Helio? Let’s Pick the 2009 Taxpayer of the Year! – There’s also the guy that said hookers were medical expenses. [Tax Update Blog]
• Tax Consequences of Extreme Philanthropy – Rick Warren’s reverse tithing sounds confusing. [TaxProf Blog]
• Levin apologises for $164bn AOL deal – It was just arguably the worst merger ever, it’s not like it brought down the entire economy or anything. [FT]
• CBIZ, Mayer Hoffman McCann buy South Florida firm – MHM functions as the audit arm of CBIZ and took the attest portion of Goldstein Lewin & Co. while CBIZ took the non-attest portion. [Kansas City Business Journal]
• Open Letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission: Conflicting Disclosures by Overstock.com Reveal Improper Audit Opinion Shopping – Sam Antar points out the gory details behind the Overstock.com/Grant Thornton blamestorming. Guess whose pants are on fire? [White Collar Fraud]
• H&R Block settles nationwide IRA lawsuit – Not such a good day for H&RB. [Reuters]

• Subsequent Events Proposal Issued By FASB – Someone please tell Norwalk to take a break. [FEI Financial Reporting Blog]
• Are Taxes the Root of Unhappiness? – Of course! [WSJ]
• Die Now – “If your estate totals between $1.3 million and $3.5 million, it’s cheaper–from a tax perspective–to die this year.” Time is running out! [Tax Vox]
• Here’s what’s not gonna happen in the new year – Tiger Woods giving marital advice. [NYP]
• 2010: Walking away will gain cachet – From your house that’s under water, that is. [Rolfe Winkler/Reuters]
• Jets Ban Alcohol at Giants Stadium for Final Game – GASP [Bloomberg]
• CFOs Prefer Restaurants for Meetings – According to a survey. Was that really necessary? [Web CPA]
That’s it for us today. Happy New Year! Go out tonight and make a scene (safely). We’ll see you on Monday!

• Turbotax Tweaks for Timmy – Problem solved! [Tax Update Blog]
• Rich Cling to Life to Beat Tax Man – 31ish hours to go. Hang in there withering rich people! [WSJ]
• IRS Outlines Hot Topics for Tax-Exempt Organizations to Watch in 2010 [Not-for-Profit Blog]
• Affluent investors turn bearish on tax, reform worries – If you have more than $500k in investable assets, apparently you’re not happy with what’s going on in DC according to Spectrum Group’s affluent investor index. Is death the best option (starting Saturday of course)? [Reuters]
• Bernie Madoff returned to jail cell after stay at North Carolina hospital – Home sweet home. [NYDN]
• On a completely unrelated note, It’s Tiger Woods Birthday. [Dlisted]
• Lawsuit of the Day: Mike Leach v. Texas Tech University – For the Texas Tech readers out there and whoever likes college football. [ATL]

• AT&T Resumes Online iPhone Sales – You can step away from the window. [WSJ]
• Best of 2009: Careers – Strategery, layoffs, and that shifty bunch in HR. [CFO]
• TaxProf Blog Named Best Law Professor Blog of 2009 – Congrats to the Tax Prof! [TaxProf Blog]
• Reality board game craze hits Argentina – One game is entitled Eternal Debt aka The Game of Life in the U.S. [FT]
• Over 15 PwC tax professionals quit; to join rival KPMG – Relax, it was in India. Seems as though the Satyscam is causing a mini Exodus from P. Dubs in India. [Business Standard]
• Fewer People Were Murdered in New York This Year Than Any Year on Record – See? 2009 wasn’t so bad. [Daily Intel]

• Fannie, Freddie Disclose Big Jump in CEOs’ Pay – It wouldn’t be a joyous holiday season without baiting the populists. [WSJ]
• Schwarzenegger Seeks Obama’s Help for Deficit Relief – A last minute gift idea? [Bloomberg]
• IRS Odds of Getting Audited Increase with Income – Get right out of town. [Web CPA]
• Best of 2009: Accounting – If you’re so anxious for St. Nick that you can’t sleep tonight, these topics should help. [CFO]
• Bernie Madoff Gets Sh*t Beat Out Of Him – Took long enough. [DB]
That’s it for us today. We’ll be back next week on a light schedule unless the Big 4 apocalypse occurs. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, et al.

• How big of a problem is cybertheft from banks? – One thing is for sure, everyone is lying. [Felix Salmon]
• IRS Has 70% Error Rate in Issuance of Taxpayer ID Numbers, Resulting in Fraudulent Tax Refunds – Seems about right. [TaxProf Blog]
• U.S. retailers open past midnight in holiday push – One strategy…[Reuters]
• Yahoo to shut down for a week to cut costs – …and another. [Los Angeles Times]
• That’s it for us today. Travel plans and all. We’ll be back tomorrow to get you through your half day. In the meantime, occupy yourselves with this:

• The Goldman Sachs Coffee Conspiracy – Worse than Flavia? [Gawker]
• CIT’s CFO follows CEO in retiring – Submit your resumé now. [Reuters]
• How to choose a hedge fund manager – Probably works just as well as any other strategy. [Felix Salmon]
• SEC Charges Austin-Based Investment Adviser in Fraudulent Scheme Utilizing Football Stars – So go with talk shows, avoid jocks. Got it? [SEC Press Release]

• BKD CEO elected to second term at helm – BKD had a much easier time than BofA. [Springfield Business Journal]
• Last Laugh for Late Tax Lawyer – Only death applies here. [Web CPA]
• Teed-Off Facebook Dumps Patrick Byrne Accounts, Issues Stern Warning – Took long enough. [Gary Weiss]
• Voting now open for worst footnote of 2009! – A company purchasing antique maps for $12 mil? A $1.95 signing bonus? A worthless yacht? [Footnoted]
• Accenture and Tiger Woods and Outsourcing – Accenture isn’t looking for the new face of the company. [CFOZone]
• And for the Christmas music lovers:

• Rangel Introduces Mutual Fund Tax and Regulation Bill – Charlie Rangel. Working for you. [TaxProf Blog]
• SEC: Negative Equity Doesn’t Mean No Impairment – This implies that this rationale worked on someone at some point. [Compliance Week]
• Is Your NFP in Danger of Losing Tax-Exempt Status? – “The IRS requires that if an organization has not filed any version of the Form 990 for three consecutive years, it will automatically lose its tax-exempt status on the due date of the third year.” [CB&H Not-for-Profit Blog]
• Senate Panel Backs 2nd Bernanke Term – Much to the dismay of some. [WSJ]

• Swiss Report First Appeals Filed in UBS Tax Case – Two scofflaws from the pool of 500 want to talk this over some rocky nougat. [NYT]
• The Top Recession Lesson for 2010 – Plus, there’s a countdown clock to 4/15/10 already. [CPA Trendlines]
• Are We Asking for Future Problems? – “There are some wonderful masters programs in accounting. There are many, though, that don’t provide sufficient value for the extra buck being charged.” [The Summa]
• Tax Court Finds Thighmaster’s Tax Shelter Flabby – “[F]irm thighs only get you so far in Tax Court.” GTK. [Tax Update Blog]
• Fidelity fires four for playing fantasy football – You’ve been warned. [Star-Telegram]

• Why, Oh Why, Must Stimulus Come but Once a Year? – Namely, your tax withholding refund. Which you’re loaning to the government tax free for the rest of the year. [Tax Update Blog]
• Over 275,000 Federal Workers Are Tax Deadbeats – That seems about right. [TaxProf Blog]
• re: The Auditors Named One of 75 Best Business Blogs of 2009: Business Pundit – Congrats Francine! [RTA]
• The continuing Mary Kay Cosmetics con – “The reason why sites telling the “other side of the story” about May Kay is because the company’s success depends so heavily on half-truths, long-running myths, and outright deception.” [Fraud Files Blog]
• The Updated 990 – The Seminar Topic that won’t go Away (Thankfully!) [Nonprofit GPS]
• ‘Dreamliner’ Pilot: Composite Jet Is New, But ‘We Think We’re OK’ – Place your orders now. [NPR]

• Your Nominations for ‘Accountants of the Decade’ Are Now Being Accepted – Still accepting noms for the prestigious title to bestowed upon the top bean counter of the last ten years. Peter Olinto and TF are the current faves. [GC]
• Why Citi investors should never sleep – Um, because it was Vik’s idea to pay back TARP? [CFOZone]
• Christmas Gifts for that Special Tax Person – How about a 1040 from 1913? [TaxProf Blog]
• 2009 Year-end Money Moves: Taxes – Bone up, seventeen days and counting. [Don’t Mess With Taxes]

• House Passes Sweeping Financial Oversight Bill – “The package of regulatory changes would give regulators broad new authority to identify and respond to systemic risks, break up or wind down the riskiest firms, and crack down on abusive lending practices.” Or something like that. [WSJ]
• Blowing 0.09 Might Cost You Your License, but Maybe Not Your Casualty Loss – Something to keep in mind next time you’re considering getting behind the wheel after crushing some High Life (which we absolutely, 100%, do not condone). [Tax Update Blog]
• Tomkinson named managing partner of Grant Thornton LLP’s Southfield office – [GT Press Release]
• Apollo Group, Inc. Expands Board of Directors – They’re making room for Sam DiPiazza, former P. Dubs global chief. [Forbes/Press Release]
• Top Six Tips for Getting in the Door at BDO Seidman – Jay Duke of the BDO Dallas office gives you the lowdown. [FINS]
• Peter R. Scanlon, Who Led Coopers When Big 8 Ruled Auditing, Is Dead at 78 – “In the late 1980s, under Mr. Scanlon, Coopers & Lybrand often drew criticism for shunning the merger mania that engulfed the accounting profession.” [NYT]
• Obama wishes Jews happy Hanukkah – Ditto goes for us: Happy Hanukkah! [AFP]

• IRS & California Slap $1.9m Tax Liens Against Pamela Anderson – And her two friends. [TaxProf Blog]

• How to Keep Your Firm Out of Trouble in this Holiday Party Season – Not listed: Don’t let interns attend. [CPA Trendlines]

• Superstar Finance Blogger Week 3: Francine McKenna at re: The Auditors – Hey, we’ve heard of her! [Blogging Suits]

• House Approves 45 Percent Estate Tax Extension – So much for dying in 2010. [Web CPA]

• OTB Enters Bankruptcy Protection – Speaking of death. Will you miss the plight? [City Room/NYT]

• JDA rolls in with >75 tomorrow so if you’ve got any questions on the CPA Exam, send them to our tips mailbox.
• International Accounting Standards Board has “disgraced itself,” says critic – Can you say that about a knight? [CFOZone]
• Its Future in Limbo, the PCAOB Asks for More Money – Gotta pay those board members. [CFO]
• Hairy Issues: Are You Flaunting Your Heavage? – The Journal does it again. [DB]
• Judge ends Enron shareholder lawsuit against banks – Eight years after the E went down, investors have recovered approximately 30 cents on the dollar. [Reuters]
• Tax Court Allows Nurse to Deduct Cost of University of Phoenix MBA – ‘An MBA degree is different from a degree that serves as foundational qualification to attain a professional license. For instance, this Court had denied deductions for law school expenses, because a law degree qualifies a taxpayer for the new trade or business of being a lawyer.’ [TaxProf Blog]

• Internal auditor faces charges in Satyam scandal – India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also claims that have more evidence against PwC. [Accountancy Age]
• Does Sarbox Reduce Restatements? – One study suggests just that, “The study, from research firm Audit Analytics, suggests that companies that have not yet had their auditors review their internal-control reports are more likely to have a restatement than larger companies, even though they claimed to have effective controls.” [CFO]
• Stanford Offshore Investors Suspected of Cheating IRS – We realize this is hard to believe. [Bloomberg]
• Bank of America to Repay $45 Billion in TARP – Drinks are on Ken Lewis. [WSJ]
• SEC Obtains Asset Freeze Against Co-Founder of Canopy Financial in $75 Million Offering Fraud – Not to mention the stolen letterhead: “According to the SEC’s complaint, the fraud came to light when KPMG discovered that Canopy had been claiming that its financial statements for 2007 and 2008 were audited by KPMG. In fact, KPMG had never been retained by Canopy to audit its financial statements and had never opined on the financial condition of the company. KPMG issued a cease-and-desist letter to Canopy demanding that it stop the unauthorized use of KPMG’s name and the audit report purportedly issued by KPMG.” [SEC Press Release]

• Several blogs mentioned here are nominated for ABA Journal’s Top 100: TaxProf Blog (Legal Theory), Tax Girl (Practice), and our sister site Above the Law (News). You can view all the nominees ABA Journal but kindly vote for these. They’re good people. [ABA Journal]
• Recommended Reading for Accountants in a Job Search – Courtesy of Lou Grabowsky, GT’s soon-to-be COO. [FINS]
• Most asked questions of 2009 reveal our financial psyche – No, “Where’s my raise?” was not among them. [CFOZone]
• Daszkal Bolton Merges in Chaves & Armstrong – Marriage was effective today. Send them a red pencil. [Web CPA]
• The Donor Bill of Rights – Looking for some last minute charitable contributions? Consider these first. [Nonprofit GPS]
• AIG Uses Accounting Gimmick To Reduce Money It Owes Taxpayers By $25 Billion – Try to act surprised. [Clusterstock]

• Corporate America to workers: We’re not hiring, you’ll just have to work harder – Sound familiar? [NYDN]
• The Tax Code ENCOURAGES Leverage – Phase out the interest deduction? [Naked Capitalism]
• Year-end tax planning – Yes, it’s almost here. [The Fraud Files Blog]
• Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Surge – Business bankruptcies are up 52% for the same twelve month period from one year ago. [D&O Diary]
• Grant Thornton LLP Business Optimism Index reports little change with U.S. senior executives – The gist: few are hiring, they think the recession will last longer. [Press Release]

• Court: Parents Who Cash in IRA to Pay for Kid’s College Not Subject to 10% Penalty – They’re going to be working until they’re 90 anyway. [TaxProf Blog]
• 7 Audit Lessons (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IRS) – See? It’s possible. [Tax Girl]
• SEC Surpasses $2 Billion in Fair Fund Distributions in 2009 – Just think what they would have paid out if they were doing a good job. [SEC.gov]
• KPMG staff face Thai grilling on Lehman sales – Thailand has laws? [FT]
• Happy Thanksgiving! Please don’t work on Friday. We’ll be back on Monday. Unless of course, the humble servant writes another letter.

• AICPA Objects to ‘Reckless’ Behavior Bill – Barry Melancon, on the Hill, earning the dollar. [Web CPA]
• Accused Ponzi schemer Petters’ case goes to jury – The effectiveness of the cocker spaniel defense will live and die on this trial. [Reuters]
• Sarbanes-Oxley For Everyone: To Be Or Not To Be? (With Postscript) – One GC contributors point of view on small company SOX compliance. [RTA]
• Sarbanes Oxley Logic and the Paper Tiger – And another. [Accounting Nation]
• ‘Bought’ Isn’t the Same as ‘Place in Service’ – Section 179 and depreciation discussion. Go tax people! Go! [Tax Update Blog]

• Judge Allows CIT to Borrow Up to $500 Million – They promise not to mess it up this time. [DealBook]
• EADS Braces Itself for Insider-Trading Trial – Someone that isn’t you knew those Airbus A380s weren’t going to be ready. [WSJ]
• Being A Bank CEO Worked Out Pretty Well For Jim And Dick – Failure pays. [DB]
• Macy’s Promoting Blenders Signals Reluctant Consumer – Or maybe people really do want blenders. [Bloomberg]

• Rangel Says House Democrats Will Renew Tax Breaks – Renewal of Chuck’s leases on rent controlled apartments are another story. [Bloomberg]
• ‘Botax’ In Senate Health Bill Upsets Plastic Surgeons – An additional 5% tax on those calf implants. [NPR]
• Losing Altitude – CFO pay fell in ’08. Cue the trombone. [CFO]
• Bagel Company Owner Indicted for Stealing Withholding Taxes – This would never happen at David’s. [Web CPA]

• Don’t forget to submit your questions for our weekly CPA Exam post, >75.
• Pa. Woman Can’t Re-Sue Ernst & Young for $103M – Tragic conclusion. [ABC News]
• ‘Cheat’? I Don’t Think the Word Means What They Think It Means – Tragic ignorance.
[Tax Update Blog]
• Singer Aaron Carter Owes IRS Over $1 Million – Tragic boy. [Web CPA]
• Is Wall Street Comprised Of A Bunch Of Crackwhores Who Can’t Help Themselves, Crying Out For Help? John Mack Says Yes – Tragic whores. [DB]

• Petters, on witness stand, denies knowing of fraud – Swindler? Not guilty. Swashbuckling? Guilty as charged. [AP]
• Grant Thornton LLP offers 10 year-end tax planning tips – Just not for this guy. [Press Release]
• Hopes Rise for Cadbury Bidding War – “Hopes of a bidding war breaking out for Cadbury PLC rose, pushing up the company’s shares, after U.S. rival Hershey Co. and Italian-based Ferrero SpA said they might bid for the U.K. confectioner.” [WSJ]
• Is Google the Next AT&T?– “Google would let you make and receive Internet-based calls that ‘bypass the per-minute billing on your smartphone.'” [The Atlantic]
• CFOs High-five on 404 Rollback Bill – Because CFOs don’t do fist-bump blow ups. [CFO]
• Lots of voting to be done: NPOs/Govts, CPA Exam, and Craptacular Captions. Thanks for pulling the lever.

• IRS Hails ‘Historic’ Response To Amnesty For Offshore Bank Accounts – Scare tactics work. [NPR]
• SEC in talks with IRS about preserving tax breaks for LIFO – Wouldn’t be so good for the likes of ExxonMobil if the breaks went away. A study says it would increase XOM’s tax liability by $9 billion. Lobby much? [CFOZone]
• Sheep Dogs and Stewardship — Why Groom the Next Generation? – “The demands on the recruiting directors of the banks and law firms and accountants are not different. They manage their personnel pipelines because, as a senior Big Four partner put it in a moment of candor, ‘the only reason we hire new staff is so we can re-stock our need for managers.'” [Re:Balance]
• Bill Belichick, Moneyball Savant? – Pats fans, turns out Belichick knows what he’s doing. [TaxProf Blog]
• The Football Plays We Don’t See – No, he really does. [Tax Update Blog]
• President Obama Establishes Interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force – No less than 23 government agencies, offices, and departments will be involved. How’s that for a dense bureaucracy? [SEC.gov]
• Don’t forget to vote in our two polls from today: Non-profits/Govts and ditiching the bad boss for less scratch. Plus today is the last day to submit a caption for the water closet audit room.

• 15M+ taxpayers could unexpectedly owe taxes – That’s never good. [NYDN]
• GMAC Chief Resigns – The Board was sick of “just one more round of TARP and that’s it” routine. More fun facts here. [WSJ]
• The Return of Bell Bottoms – Homebuyer credits, bell bottoms, and drugs. [Tax Update Blog]
• Battle Lines Drawn Over Who Governs Accounting Rules – FASB…it’s…all…slipping…away… [Compliance Week]

• Fix the Tax Code Friday: Targeted Enforcement – Top three targets: 1) offshore accounts; 2) pass-through entities; 3) high wage earners [Tax Girl]
• Securities Regulators to Talk Financial Literacy With Students – And the regulators might learn something. [SEC.gov]
• 2 Programmers Are Charged With Aiding Madoff – Bor-ing. Family members next time please. [DealBook]
• BYU Sweeps 2009 Deloitte Tax Case Study Competition – See? Caffeine isn’t necessary. [TaxProf Blog]
• Hard Times and Bad Behavior – Are you shoplifiting? [Financial Armageddon]

• Porsche confirms big annual loss – So you file a stupid lawsuit against Crocs? They don’t have any money, you dolts. [BBC]
• More on The Tax Treatment of the Sale of Human Body Parts – There’s a market people. [TaxProf Blog]
• Balloon Boy Parents to Plead Guilty – “Our long, national, helium induced nightmare is almost over.” [ATL]
• The Goldman Sachs Foundation’s torrid 2008 – Team Jehovah’s foundation lost a lot scratch doing their share of the Almighty’s work. [Felix Salmon/Reuters]
• Economists See Fed Raising Rates Near Midterm Elections – Annnnd unemployment will still be near double digits. Enjoy, incumbents. [WSJ]

• Reminders: Kindly vote in our caption contest poll and take our short November survey ($50 AMEX gift card people, get on it).
• Tax Havens Suddenly Not All the Rage – Thanks IRS. Our dreams of having a Swiss bank account are totally dashed. What’s the point if we’re still paying taxes? [Tax Girl]
• Benmosche Says He Is ‘Totally Committed’ to A.I.G. – That thing this morning? Never happened. [DealBook]
• Citigroup stands by deferred tax asset valuation – Last we checked, banks are not in the habit of saying, “GD, you’re right. We totally jacked that valuation up. Thanks for letting us know.” [Reuters]

• Tax Code as Swiss Army Scalpel – “It’s hard enough for the IRS to just correctly determine and collect the tax. Pelosicare is one more step in the transfromation of the IRS from a tax collector to a super-agency that shoves aside the cabinet officers nominally in charge of public policy.” [Tax Update Blog]
• ‘Unreasonable’ IRS Demands Squash Bunnymen Tour – Those wankers at the IRS have ruined November. [Web CPA]
• Ex-Managers of Bear Fund Not Guilty – Took the jury less than two days, DOJ. Try harder on the next one. [WSJ]
• GM Chairman Says IPO Timing Uncertain; Paying Debt More Important – Patience. We’ll get back to losing money for everyone just as soon as we can. [WSJ]
• Don’t forget to take our latest survey and that it’s the last day to submit captions.

• Cadbury Sneers at Kraft’s Hostile Bid – Cadbury is not about to accept such a ‘derisory’ offer of $16 billion. [WSJ]
• Not Music to Most People’s Ears – Rats are invading your city. [Financial Armageddon]
• AIG Will Be Able to Repay Fed Loan, Moody’s Says – It’s fair to point out that Moody’s also said that AIG was AAA. [Bloomberg]
• Economists Seek to Fix a Defect in Data That Overstates the Nation’s Vigor – Federal data is bupkis? The horror. [NYT]

• SEC sees evolution in insider trading – “A top U.S. securities regulator said some funds may now view insider trading as a central tenet of their business models, rather than as a one-time opportunity for big rewards as sometimes happened in the 1980s.” [Reuters]
• The Bust that Worked – Thanks CIT! [CFO]
• Degradation of the Mind – Urban Dictionary has butchered accounting terms. [Accounting Nation]
• Accountants on Twitter? You Better Believe It! – We’re here. [CPA Examination Preparation Blog]
• More Celebrity Tax Woes – Including completely the most underrated actor of our time, Eric Roberts. Best of the Best 2? C’mon, people. [TaxProf Blog]

• 88% of senior financial executives believe positions of CEO and chairman of the board should be separate – The latest from the press release elves. [GT Press Release]
• California Dreaming in Congress – “California just jacked up its withholding rates to force people to overpay their taxes, because the State decided it needs the money more than the subjects do. Most people find this sleazy and outrageous, which means Congress finds it inspirational.” [Tax Update Blog]
• IAASB Alerts Auditors to Get Skeptical on Confirmations – Don’t worry, the PCAOB is on the case too. [Compliance Week]
• PwC off the hook over Satyam? Not so fast! – Dennis Howlett has questions about yesterday’s Satyam ruling. [AccMan]
• House Extends Jobless Benefits and Home Credits – Passed by 391 votes. Next stop: BO’s desk. [NYT]

• S.E.C. Likely to Charge More People in Galleon Case – Judge Rakoff wants the names by December 15th. Trial set for August 2, 2010. The legal system easily outpaces anything related to accounting rules. [DealBook]
• Warren Buffett: Tax Hypocrite? – The man is nothing if not thrifty. [TaxProf Blog]
• Breaking: Jones v. Minkin Dismissed!!! (Plaintiff voluntarily dismisses lawsuit against ATL.) [ATL]
• Investor Groups Stump for FASB Independence – FASB defenders. Yes, they exist. [Compliance Week]
• FASB Oversight Subject of Congressional Interest – Who knew so many people were interested in accounting rule-making? [FEI Financial Reporting Blog]

• Don’t forget to vote in our two polls from today.
• “Complexity of Tax Law” Not a Challenge for IRS? – Over budgeted modernization projects are numero uno. [Tax Girl]
• SEC Madoff exhibit list now available… – Got time? 536 exhibits. [Footnoted.org]
• Pratt: Deductibility of Fertility Treatment – “Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.) has posted Deducting the Costs of Fertility Treatment: Implications of Magdalin v. Commissioner for Opposite-Sex Couples, Gay and Lesbian Same-Sex Couples, and Single Women and Men” [TaxProg Blog]
• Accounting for Business Dummies – WSJ gives bad tips on accounting. [Accounting Nation]

• Ernst & Young acquires tech-consulting firm – “Capital City Technologies will become part of the government and public-sector group of Ernst & Young’s Advisory Practice.” [Washington Technology]
• Kroeker: Keep Converging With or Without Roadmap – Basically what the Chief Accountant is saying is, “Don’t wait up for us. Whatever you decide is fine, unless we don’t like it and then we reserve the right to torpedo it back to the Stone Age.” [Web CPA]
• What Are We – Laborers, Factories, or Spare Parts? The Tax Treatment of Transfers of Human Body Materials – “Of particular significance in this debate is whether human bodies can only provide services, or if their materials can constitute property of the person from whose body they come: whether the human body is exclusively a laborer, or if it can also be a factory or a collection of spare parts.” [Lisa Milot, University of Georgia Law via TaxProf Blog]
• A Growing Divide – Regarding personal debt per person to GDP per person: “[S]imple graphs that tell a powerful story.” [Financial Armageddon]
• Allen Stanford Is A ‘Sir’ No More – And you think life is unfair? [DB]
• IRS Claims 2 Out of 3 Taxpayers Now E-File – But as, TG points out, less returns. Nice try, IRS. [Tax Girl]

• Don’t forget to submit a caption for today’s contest. We’ll run the poll early next week.
• Are You Kidding Me? [Accounting Nation]
• Fuzzy Accounting Principles – Rules v. Principles[CFO Blog]
• SEC Office of the Chief Accountant Releases Staff Accounting Bulletin – Oil and gas people, get on it. [SEC.gov]
• BP Texas refinery hit with record safety fine $87 mil. [Reuters]
• In Transcripts, Madoff Called S.E.C. Exams ‘a Nightmare’ – “Mr. Madoff said that if the S.E.C. had asked for trading records or talked to the supposed counter-parties in his fake transactions, they would have found the fraud” [NYT]

• Fed should lose AIG-style bailout powers: Geithner – The past is the past, huh, Timmay? [Reuters]
• Chrysler to offer live TV service in vehicles up to 20 channels starting in December – Because we can’t squeeze in enough at home. [CT]
• Wall Street Journal closes Boston bureau – Dow Jones and Market Watch will stay for now. [Reuters]
• CFOs on the Move: Week Ending October 30 – Motorola, Nissan, Nokia all have new chiefs. [CFO]
• Not Good Enough – Gotta good job? Still need a second job? [Financial Armageddon]
• Citrin Cooperman to Merge in Carrow Doyle – Combined firm will have $80+ million in revenues and have offices in Philadelphia and New York looking to expand to Boston, and Washington. [Web CPA]

• Auditing Firms Should Pay Closer Attention to Spreadsheets – That’s according to a person who is no an auditor. [Web CPA]
• McKinsey Begins Internal Probe in Galleon Case – According to McK, this their first problemo with securities law violations. Traditions are meant to broken anyway. [WSJ]
• House Plans to Roll Out Its Health Care Bill on Thursday – Please end this. [Prescriptions/NYT]
• Picard says $21.2bn lost in Madoff schem – That’s not so bad. [FT]
• Sam Zell: ‘With some reasonable luck,’ Tribune Co. will exit bankruptcy in early 2010 – We’re disappointed, Sam. [CT]
• CIT Takes $4.5 Billion Loan, Shunning Icahn Offer – CIT “wasn’t confident in the solidity of Mr. Icahn’s proffering”. [DealBook]

• Hedge and private funds to register, open up books to SEC – Barney Frank, steering the ship: “The legislation would require fund managers to keep additional records and make new disclosures about their transactions to both the SEC and a proposed systemic risk regulator. The SEC would disclose additional information about trading to investors, creditors and other counterparties.” [Market Watch]
• Bank protesters descend on downtown Chicago – Angry people with signs, costumes. No Oprah though. [Chicago Breaking News]
• Only You Can Prevent White-Collar Crime: A Guest Post – Got it? [RTA]
• U.S. Revokes Licenses of Pilots Over Wrong-Way Flight – Solitaire is so damn distracting. [Bloomberg]
• Chicago Offers Bounties to Tax Whistleblowers – Protestors will now have something to do. [TaxProf Blog]

• Rajaratnam Changes His Defense Counsel – Raj is going to the bullpen early. [DealBook]

• Tannin ‘Blow Up’ E-Mail Won’t Be Seen by Fraud Jury – “U.S. District Judge Frederic Block in Brooklyn, New York, ruled that the government’s search warrant filed in July with Google Inc. to obtain access to the e-mail was overly broad and ‘did not comply with the Warrants Clause of the Fourth Amendment.'” [Bloomberg]

• McDonald’s closes in Iceland as currency collapse takes a bite out of Big Mac profits – Just doesn’t seem right. [AP via CT]

• Senate Health Bill Includes Public Option – …Annnnd there goes the filibuster. [WSJ]

• IRS Unit to Target High-Income Tax Evaders – The Global High Wealth Industry group will be your official government carriers of pitchforks and torches. [WSJ]

• Madoff Investor Said to Have Drowned [NYT]

• Green accounting? Gimme a break – Please consider the environment before putting forth crappy green initiatives. [AccMan]
• Alleged Informant Had History of Helping Galleon – Tipper A has prior convictions that related to tipping Galleon as far back as 1998. [WSJ]
• Nacchio re-sentencing date on hold – Apparently there’s no rush on these insider cases. [Denver Business Journal]
• FAS 157 Revisions: ‘There Does Not Appear To Be Any Benefit’ – That’s what one person thought anyway. The FASB received 109 comment letters on the proposed revisions. [Private Equity Beat/WSJ]
• Zoom cuts auditor UHY loose after merger – Goldman Parks Kurland Mohidin will take it from here. [Boston Business Journal]
• IASB recruits expert panel – “Board wants candidates to test cash flow model.” Maybe you? [Accountancy Age]

• The Code is 23! – Happy, happy. [Tax Update Blog]
• Accounting Firms Succeed Despite Economic Slump – “CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, surveyed 100 U.S. accounting firms and found that even in a contracted economy, none of the firms have lowered their rates.” [Web CPA]
• Microsoft Tries to Lose ‘PC Guy’ Image With Windows 7 – Hodgman. We warned you. [Bloomberg]
• Is $5,500 Golf Cart Credit Emblematic of “Tax Policy in the Age of Obama” – WSJ op-ed criticizing the President’s policy? The horror. [TaxProf Blog]
• Fraud Reported in Program to Help New Homebuyers – “Some claims were filed for children as young as 4 years old.” [NYT]

• Galleon to Begin Wind-Down of Funds – At least one person is optimistic. [DealBook]
• Tax (Return) Stories: F. Scott Fitzgerald – Apparently FSF was not so spendy. [TaxProf Blog]
• Pay Czar to Slash Compensation at Seven Firms – “Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s special master for compensation, will lower total compensation for 175 employees by an average of 50%, these people said. As expected, the biggest cut will be to salaries, which will drop 90% on average.” Special master? [WSJ]
• The Top Five Twitter Feeds for Job Hunters in Accounting – Use it. And follow us while you’re at it. [FINS]

• UBS Accidentally Leaks Names to Post Office – One day UBS will do something right. [Web CPA]
• Patricia Cornwell’s Latest Mystery – Suing her accountants and business advisors for allegedly losing $40 mil. [TDB]
• Wall Street on edge as SEC top cop gets aggressive – Khuzami seems to be doing fine and even has a sidekick. [Reuters]
• PwC’s Lehmans fees top £154m [Accountancy Age]
• Denham Receives AICPA Medal of Honor – Highest award given by CPAs to a non-CPA. [TaxProf Blog]
• Some Internal Audit Staffs Cut in Recession — But Not All – Good news: 2009 is the peak of layoffs! Bad news: They will still continue in 2010. [Compliance Week]

• Billionaire investor Carl Icahn offers CIT Group $6B lifeline as it faces potential collapse – What the hell, go for it. [Chicago Tribune]
• Build It With Tax Incentives, and Hollywood Will Come – Lots of coverage on the Iowa film tax credit mess at Tax Update Blog. [WSJ]
• IRS Employees Took Unauthorized First-Class Flights – Can you blame them? [Web CPA]
• Colleagues Finger Billionaire – No matter how you read that, it’s not good for Raj. [WSJ]
• KPMG hires new local managing partner – You don’t say? [Washington Business Journal]

• Who knew it was National Bosses Day? ATL did. Happy day to all the chiefs out there!
• IRS rolls out 2010 tax rates [Denver Business Journal]
• “I’ll be like Martha ……. Stewart” – FBI cracks alleged Rajaratnam ring – Heads are going to roll on this one. Check out DB’s coverage as well. [FT Alphaville]
• Actor Nicolas Cage sues business manager Samuel Levin for $20M claiming ‘financial ruin’ – It’s the American way. [NYDN]
• Obama Administration Pushes Back at Bank Lobbying on Regulation – “The issue, according to administration officials, is the industry is generally on sound footing because of government help and lobbying against Obama’s regulatory plans goes against the nation’s long-term interest.” [Bloomberg]

• Is your boss honest? Hec no, say most Americans, according to Adecco Group survey – Thoughts? [NYDN]
• More Goldman Lies – Goldman Sachs: social crusader. [Naked Capitalism]
• Outgoing BofA CEO Ken Lewis to Receive No Salary, Bonus for 2009 – Our suggestion: grow the beard back Ken. [WSJ]
• Europe must stop its meddling, says FASB chief – We wish he talked that way. C’mon Accountancy Age, he’s not out of a Scooby Doo cartoon. [Accountancy Age]
And some sickos like this (click to enlarge):

• Blue Chips Breach 10000 – OHHHH BOY. We heard something about a cake and Maria Bartiromo but that could be a rumor. [WSJ]
• IRS Steps Up Offshore Money Hunt as 7,500 Disclose – Believe it when we tell you that if you’ve got an offshore account and you haven’t declared by midnight tomorrow, armed men in masks will be storming your home and you will be made an example. [Bloomberg]
• Your dog may soon be able to fetch you a nice big rebate on your federal taxes – Up to $3,500 in Washington. [NYDN]
• FASB Links GAAP with XBRL through Codification – That should help. [Compliance Week]
• Survey. Last time. Swear.

• Don’t forget to take our survey. Again, it’s harmless.
• Heller Creditors to Go After Partners and Accountants? – One more lawsuit won’t hurt, E&Y. [AM Law Daily]
• IRS: Infant Formula Not Deductible by Mother With Double Mastectomy – Oh, that’s nice. [TaxProf Blog]
• High Court To Hear Ex-Enron CEO’s Criminal Appeal – Too bad Ken Lay kicked the bucket. He’s missing the SCOTUS and possibly Broadway. [AP via NPR]
• Judge in Bear Stearns trial rejects jurors for bias – Nice way to start things. [Reuters]
• Senate Finance Panel Approves Health Bill, 14-9 – God, if only this was the end of it. [WSJ]

• Washington: First in War, Peace — and Accounting – Father of the Country apparently knew his debits and credits. He even documented his gambling losses to keep the those filthy bookies off his back. [Washington Post]
• Chicago Cubs file Ch. 11 bankruptcy – Just to move things along. [Chicago Tribune]
• National Association of Business Economists: ‘Great recession is over’ – How many times is this thing going to get called? [Denver Business Journal]
• Wesley gets ‘Sniped’ – Tax problems simply aren’t enough. Let’s throw some Ponzi related victimization. It may be time to seriously consider White Men Can’t Jump 2. [NYP]
• SEC Adds to KB Home’s Troubles – “In a quarterly filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, KB said the SEC staff has issued a ‘formal order of investigation…regarding possible accounting and disclosure issues.'” – Never good. [WSJ]

• GC October Survey – A chance for a $100 AMEX gift certificate people. Get on it.
• $100 million settlement for bankrupt Phila. lender – American Business Financial Services is bankrupt. Now the trustee wants BDO to pay $962 million. Ouch. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
• Internal Audit Staff Hit Hard by Recession [Web CPA]
• Corporate bully of the day: Hertz – Audit Integrity called out Hertz. Hertz sues Audit Integrity. That’s mature. [Felix Salmon/Reuters]
• FASB Finalizes New Revenue Recognition Rules – Yes, the wait is over. [Compliance Week]
• Tax Consequences of President Obama’s Nobel Prize [TaxProf Blog]

• LandAmerica: The final days appeared like a Ponzi scheme – Adrienne’s opus on LandAmerica’s shiesty last days. [The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter]
• Ethics Committee Expands Rangel Investigation – You might have a rent-controlled apartment if it wasn’t for this guy hoarding them all. [NYT]
• Obama Has Lunch With Bezos, Business Leaders – C’mon Bam, no JT? [WSJ]
• IFRS Returns to the Front Burner – Tweedie says they’re working hard, working weekends and ordering in to get this done. [CFO]

• Democrats Block G.O.P. Move on Rangel – Rangs is still in charge of Ways & Means, thanks to him and his a couple hundred of his friends telling the Republicans to suck it. [The Caucus/NYT]
• Wells Fargo Will Raise Credit-Card Rates Ahead of Law – ” Wells Fargo & Co. plans to raise interest rates on a majority of credit-card customers by 3 percentage points before new rules limiting such increases take effect, according to a company executive.” Get pissed people. [Bloomberg]
• Feds sue Colorado tax preparer, alleging $55M in bogus refund claims – No criminal charges yet but Curtis Morris and his company, Numbers and Beyond, are looking at an injunction getting slapped on their asses. [Denver Business Journal]
• Dell to Build Android Phone for AT&T – Because Ma Bell has done so well handling the iPhone bandwidth sucking problem. [WSJ]

• Are Most CEOs ‘Wusses’? – Discuss your favorite. [WSJ]
• Panzner on Goldman Sachs’ “Smart” Money – Thanks to the folks over Goldman Sachs 666 for the plug on AG’s two-part interview of Michael Panzner [Goldman Sachs 666]
• Coke in US family doctors alliance – Since it’s the soft drink they’re talking about it’s even weirder. [FT]
• FASB Gets Practical on a Fair Value Problem – “FASB’s Accounting Standards Update 2009-12 amends ASC 820-10 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures to clear up uncertainty about how to measure fair value of investments in certain entities that calculate net asset value per share. The guidance is intended to shore up diversity in how investors estimate the fair value of alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds, real estate funds, offshore fund vehicles, and funds of funds.” [Compliance Week]

• U.S. bill exempts firms from derivatives rules – Barney Frank. On it. [Reuters]
• For Whom Do The 47% Who Pay No Income Tax Vote? – One guess. [TaxProf Blog]
• The social media guru – Headphones. NSFW if you like to crank the volume. Or just risk it. Whatever. [AccMan]
• The AICPA is Drinking Ben Bernanke’s Kool Aid – C’mon the recession is basically over people. Name change! [JDA]
• Phishing attack targets Hotmail – Commence panic. [BBC]
• Bernanke Pressures Big Banks, But Are More Bailouts Coming? – Sure, why not? [NPR]

• The New CPA Exam, Layoffs, and the Top Twitter Feeds in Accounting – Get caught up. [FINS]
• Trustee Sues Four Madoff Relatives, Seeking $199 Million – For stupidity, mind you. [NYT]
• Jobs Vanish – Government numbers? Wrong? [Floyd Norris/NYT]
• Deadline for Small Co. 404 Audit Reports: June 15 – Why not? [CFO]
• The Fed Fighter: DealBook’s Ron Paul Interview – Fight all you want Doc. [DealBook]
• Anheuser-Busch InBev Nears Parks Deal – Whales to be let go? [WSJ]

• Woods Becomes First Athlete to Earn $1 Billion, Forbes Says – Does that mean he can upgrade from a Buick? [Bloomberg]
• Global Convergence of Accounting Standards? In Whose Lifetime? – Jim Peterson’s take on the cat herding that is accounting rule convergence. [Re: Balance]
• Survey: Investors Want Enforcement, Not New Regulators – Oh? We thought vengeance was what they were looking for. [Compliance Week]
• Guess the Ken Lewis beard – Again, we picture the ZZ Top for KL. [FT Alphaville]
• Auditor-Small Issuer Controls Spats Seen – “Will smaller companies get along with their auditors when their internal controls get reviewed for the first time?” In short: No. [CFO]

• Fired! It had to happen – Accountants giving you a hard time about your software? Fire ’em. [AccMan]
• GM to Wind Down Saturn Brand, Dealerships on Penske Decision – “GM described the collapse as ‘disappointing.’ People familiar with the situation said the closing of the sale was due to be announced as soon as Thursday, and Penske had already distributed new franchise agreements to dealers.” [WSJ]
• US pay czar Feinberg expecting heat for rulings – Let’s not jump to conclusions, bank CEOs might be totally on board for someone telling them what they get to earn. [Reuters]
• DOJ Asks Court to Bar CPA from Preparing Returns – DOJ honing in on IRS turf? [Web CPA]

• Hong Kong Police Raid Ernst & Young Office in Akai Audit Probe – Seems that they were to arrest individuals taking home office supplies for personal use. [Bloomberg]
• SEC told to aggressively assess tips after Madoff – As opposed to passively assessing them, which has been standard operating procedure at the Commission for years. [Reuters]
• Tax Court: CPA’s Google Search Does Not Constitute Reasonable Cause to Avoid Penalty – The Internet does not trump the IRC. [TaxProf Blog]
• Senate Committee Rejects Public Option for Health Overhaul – You’re either thrilled or completely pissed. [WSJ]
• Reznick Group Launches New SAS 70 Website – For you serious types. [Press Release]
• Stanford fails in bid to access insurance – Unfortunately for Stan, there’s no exchange rate for Lucky Strikes. [FT]

• Last day for our poll on the Year Ahead and be sure to submit your captions for the Emmys.
• Allen Stanford Can Take A Punch – Probably a small disagreement over some Lucky Strikes. [DB]
• Ex-Enron Broadband Co-CEO Sentenced for Wire Fraud – Does this mean that Enron on the stage will have to do a re-write before coming to the States? [Bloomberg]
• Treasury Department to Examine ACORN’s Compliance With Tax Laws – Surely this isn’t as bad as it sounds. [TaxProf Blog]
• SEC Charges Detroit-Area Stock Broker Who Lured Elderly into $250 Million Ponzi Scheme – Fundamentally disrespecting the elderly. In Detroit no less. This is some special kind of Ponzi Scum. [SEC.gov]
• Axa chief attacks accounting rules switch – Says accounting rules are ‘too important to be left to accountants’. Right. Because insurance companies and governments have such kick ass track records on the subject. [FT]

• Don’t forget to submit your captions and vote in the ‘Year Ahead’ poll
• Area Man Has One Month To Prove Why Bank Of America Owes Him 1,784 Billion, Trillion Dollars – Is this the ‘American Taxpayer’ we keep hearing about? [DB]
• BofA Formally Answers SEC Complaint – Deny ’til you die. [WSJ]
• AT&T Asks FCC to Investigate Google Voice – Ma Bell a snitch? [WSJ]
• Crowe Horwath Expands in Brazil and China [Web CPA]

• IRS Extends Grace Period On Small Business Penalties – “The IRS announced in July it would suspend efforts to collect those penalties through Sept. 30, in order to give Congress time to pass legislation shielding business owners from some of the penalties.” [WSJ]
• Twitter Lines Up New Financing – Get it over with. Follow us. [WSJ]
• “Wait! I Was Just Getting Started…” – A Response From Professor Kelly Pope – Of DePaul University in Chicago [RTA]
• 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index (Seventh Edition) – Some Dakota is #1, Dick Cheney Land is #2; CA #48; New York #49; New Jersey #50. [The Tax Foundation]
• Twitter, the new Reuters witness – Whatever works. [FT Alphaville]
• How Safe Is Your College? [The Daily Beast]

• Audit by Ernst & Young says RSK MiG worth only 3.5 cents – Someone remind us why the Cold War such a big deal? [Russia Times via Alert 5]
• Celebrity Tax News: Floyd Mayweather, Jim Thorpe – Floyd paid over $5 mil, Thorpe’s looking at two years. Nice work fellas. Hire an accountant you dolts. [TaxProf Blog]
• Under The Right Conditions, Imagine How Masterfully This Guy Could Massacre A Food Eating Challenge – Hizzoner can put the wieners away but is a calories counter. No word on any refunding. [DB]
• Palin Addresses Asian Investors – What “investors” are listening to her? Let’s pretend that this didn’t really happen. Great. [WSJ]
• How to Answer an SEC Comment Letter – Submit your suggestions in the comments. Cap it at three words you chatty Cathys. No more, no less. [CFO]

• SEC warns swaps may evade White House reform – It’s not like they were totally responsible for the crisis. [Reuters]
• Minnesota Ends Tax Reciprocity with Wisconsin – WI can’t pay MN fast enough so IT’S OVER. [Web CPA]
• FDIC May Ask Banks to Prepay Fees – You may have noticed there’s a bit of a problem. So SheBair is probably going to do this but thanks for asking. [WSJ]
• Freddie Names Kari as CFO – You didn’t want that job anyway. [WSJ]
• Wall Street Firms Fined Over Bad IPO Information – $420k. Meh. [AP via NYT]

• BofA fails to meet congressional deadline – In a move that is either ballsy or just plan stupid, KL and his merry band of mates decided that the deadline wasn’t a real deadline. [Reuters]
• Did Wells Fargo’s Auditors Miss Repurchase Risk? (WFC) – Our contributor, Francine McKenna’s, take on WFC and KPMG and the parallels to New Century. [Clusterstock]
• Congressional Report Says A.I.G. Has Stabilized – Whether or not they pay back the gazillion dollars they owe the Treasury is another matter entirely. [NYT]
• High-Yield Bond Buying Starting to Get ‘Ridiculous’ – That’s more like it. [Bloomberg]

• L’shana tovah to all our friends celebrating!
• Thain Says He Should Have Furnished Merrill at Ikea – Don’t laugh, those Swedes know what they’re doing. JT wouldn’t probably know what to do with the allen wrench though. [Bloomberg]
• The End of the World Is Upon Us – In Dubai you fools. [Daily Intel]
• Wall St. vs. Sports: a Look at the Top Paychecks – Think of it as motivation. For what, we’re not exactly sure. [DealBook]
• Going Concern Audit Opinions: Why So Few Warning Flares? Seriously. Bad news is the best news. [RTA]

• KPMG Corporate Finance Chief Steps Down – To get to know his family better. That’s nice. [PEHub]
• Deloitte Adds Hedge Fund Heavyweights Schubert, Iler – Deloitte making a strong move into HF biz? [Press Release]
• Grant Thornton LLP collects more than 110,000 cans of food for needy – That’s good. [GT Press Release]
• The Faces of RBI Presented by KPMG to premiere on ESPN2 – Also good. [MLB]
• Forty percent of U.S. junk bonds to default by 2013: BofA – Not so good. [Reuters]

• Why Are We Working Late? – Leave your terrible excuses in the comments. Shake Shack or In ‘n’ Out better be involved. [The Onion]
• New Revenue-Recognition Rules: the Apple of Apple’s Eye? – Revenue recognition for iPhones. If you want the geek Steve Jobs fanboy version, that tries miserably to make fun of accounting, go here. [CFO]
• Where can you curse at your boss and not get fired? In another country: Spain – If you’ve tried and failed Stateside, leave the transcript in the comments. [NYDN]
• ACL Services Releases AuditExchange 2.0 – Don’t say we never tell you about anything useful. [it.tmcnet]
• Cuomo subpoenas 5 Bank of America directors – Someone make this thing stop. If we force Ken Lewis and John Thain to go toe to toe in a KY wrestling match, will everyone let it go? [Reuters]
• Citi to pay back U.S. when recovery more evident – But we could. We just don’t want to. Timing is everything, you know. [Reuters]

• Will Allen Stanford Wind Up Calling Allen Stanford To The Stand? – We’re totally pulling for Stan to defend himself. That would up the circus rating on this thing to just below O.J. status. [DB]
• Bernanke Says U.S. Recession ‘Very Likely’ Has Ended – Except it won’t feel that way, sayeth Obi-wan Benobi. [Bloomberg]
• The Devil’s Dictionary — Financial Edition – Mark-to-market didn’t make this list so we’re not sure how credible this dictionary is. If you’ve got additions of your own, leave them in the comments. [WSJ]
• CFOs Put on a Happy Face – If you’re not a CFO, maybe not so happy. [CFO]
• Where People Die – Our initial response is: Everywhere. But for FN’s post, West Virginia has the most, which isn’t so surprising and Utah leads in births, which is even less surprising. [Floyd Norris/NYT]

• On Wall St., Obama Pushes Stricter Finance Rules – Nothing like getting lectured in your own bank yard. [NYT]
• Judge Rejects SEC-BofA Settlement Over Merrill – “The AG’s office has also questioned whether Bank of America failed to tell shareholders about its consideration of backing out of the deal and mounting write-downs at one of Merrill’s mortgage lending subsidiaries.” He might be calling Ken Lewis a liar, we’re not sure. [NPR]
• Tax evaders rush to beat amnesty deadline – September 23rd bitches. Repent! [Reuters]
• Update: Do NOT Bid On Lenny Dykstra’s Balls – Fans of Nails, proceed cautiously. [DB]

• Remembering the Horror of a Bright Blue Morning – Take another moment for those we lost. [NYT]
• Ex-KPMG exec Greg Baroni nabs $50M in BearingPoint deals Nice work man. [Washington Business Journal]
• Deloitte consumer spending index up – Nice work everybody. [Denver Business Journal]
• Leibovitz Buys Back Control of Photos, Real Estate – Nice work Annie. We don’t know how you did it. [Bloomberg]

• SEC contrite over failure to uncover Madoff – The victims, we understand you want to let them know. The rest of us? WE GET IT. [Reuters]
• AICPA Proposes Clarification on Sharing Client Information – In a word: Don’t. [Compliance Week]
• Geithner: Banks To Repay $50 Billion In Rescue Funds – Is someone still tracking this? [NPR]
• Recession Takes Heavy Toll on U.S. – There’s this…[WSJ]
• Stocks Rally to New 2009 Peaks – …then there is this. [WSJ]

• Geithner Still Pushing For Major Financial Reforms – Wait…There is still a problem? [NPR]
• Obama Says New Tax on Sugary Drinks Worth ‘Exploring’ – You thought the soda was expensive before? [Bloomberg]
• Golden couple refuse to shoulder blame – These people. [FT]
• US economic outlook ‘optimistic’ – Just like every football fan feels about their respective team. Right, Sooners? [BBC]
• The Cassandra effect – What if you can predict the future but no one believes you? [AccMan]
• IRS to Focus on Filling Vacancies – Take note people… [Web CPA]

• Obama’s Advice to Aspiring Politicians: Be Careful on Facebook – This is what some parents were worried about? [Bloomberg]
• Accounting firms – Have maintained their reputation? [FT]
• Madoff feeder fund settles with Massachusetts – $8 mil from a $7.2 billion fund? [Reuters]
• Danger! Jobs most likely to kill you – Instantly. Not after a grueling, tortuous 30+ years, thus accountants are not on the list. [NYDN]
• PCAOB Backs FASB Codification – But if you’re ignoring it, that’s fine too. [Web CPA]

• H&R Block will convert 500 company offices to franchises – Sort of a Tax Prep McDonalds? [DBJ]
• IFRS Adoption in the US: One Year Later – No rush. [JDA]
• #48 Free Wi-Fi [Stuff Accountants Like]
• Lamest Accountant Video “Winners” – Shout out from Paul Caron on his blog. Thanks Paul! [TaxProf Blog]
That’s it for us today and we’re off on Monday. Have a great holiday weekend and try not to spend it working.

• Madoff ‘Astonished’ SEC Failed to Act After Interview – And the guy must tell a helluva yarn. [Bloomberg]
• Yahoo accounting chief searching for a new job – This could be you. [Accountancy Age]
• Retailers Show Best Results in a Year – “Still, a quick recovery isn’t expected; half of retailers missed projections.” Dead? Alive? WTFK? [WSJ]
• Triumph of Consumerism – Naming children after your favorite brands. Who needs a drink? [Floyd Norris/NYT]

• Google’s Gmail knocked offline for ‘majority’ of users – Which was the cause of all the Tarantino-esque stand offs yesterday. [NYDN]
• Economy Sheds 298,000 Private-Sector Jobs, ADP Says – Unfortunately, some of you are in that number. [WSJ]
• Geithner Says Too Early to Start Withdrawing Stimulus Measures – Just in case you were worried. [Bloomberg]
• Goodell: NFL Teams Could Face TV Blackouts – For some of you, this is worse than Gmail going down. [NPR]
• The Great Recession – September 19th. NYC. Check it out. [Blackout Film Festival]

• College Football Coach Follows Lead of Ponzi Kings – Go Blue. [DB]
• Canadian Deloitte Partner Fined $235k for ‘Shoddy Accounting’ [JDA]
• Mormons Become Victims in $50 Million Scam to Sell Gold Bullion – Mitt Romney was NOT involved. [Bloomberg]
• Wells Fargo Expects to Repay TARP Soon Without New Share Sale – We still haven’t seen a dividend check [Bloomberg]
• Buffett Helped AIG, XL – at a Price – “Both insurers signed so-called cut-through endorsements with a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to offer some policy holders a guarantee that if the insurers couldn’t pay claims, Berkshire Hathaway would.” The man is nothing if he’s not good with money. [WSJ]

• Allen Stanford to undergo heart tests: lawyer – What lengths is this guy willing to go to in order to get released from prison? [Reuters]
• Disney Buys Marvel In $4B Deal – The trickiest thing we foresee is reconciling comics sex with Disney sex. [NPR]
• Least Informative Announcement – Citi isn’t too concerned with telling you what they sold, who they sold it to, for how much, or what they made or lost on the deal. They just thought they would do us all the courtesy of letting us know that something happened. [Floyd Norris/NYT]
• Women, Testosterone, and Finance – “If they discriminate based on testosterone levels, isn’t that the same thing as discriminating based on gender (obvious extreme examples aside…i.e. Vera de Milo types)??” [Accounting Nation]
• AIG’s New CEO Will Do Unspeakable Things To Andrew Cuomo. You Don’t Even Want To Know. [DB]

• Michael Jackson’s Death Ruled a Homicide – Thank the Maker. We’re in need of a circus. [Reuters via NYT]
• MADOFF VICTIMS FIGHT PICARD OVER PROFITS – Yes, because he’s working against you people. [NYP]
• Tech Firms Drowning in Their Options Worthless paper. [CFO]
• FASB Stakes A Claim On Disclosure Of Litigation Contingencies – Let’s just go back to cash basis. Thoughts? [FEI Blog]

• Sir Allen Is Down – And his CFO/Number-maker-upper pleaded guilty. Not what you would call a good day. [DB]
• Swiss Negotiator for UBS Says IRS May Seek More Data – Not satisfied by a measly 5,000 someodd names, the IRS is going back for more. MORE. MORE. [Bloomberg]
• Boeing hopes to fly 787 by year-end – Ten says it doesn’t happen. Takers? [Chicago Tribune]
• US ‘problem’ bank list hits 15-year high – Plenty of time to break more historical marks. [FT]
• IFRS could well fail in the US [AccMan]