Category: Review Comments

• 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]