Law firms to abolish accountant’s reports As part of its “wide-ranging programme of work to improve the regulation of solicitors and firms” and to cut costs, the SRA wants to end the requirements for accountants' reports on client accounts. The move could save smaller firms £800 annually, with the savings rising substantially for larger firms, according to the SRA. Menzies LLP, which estimates it could save law firms over £20m a year in total, said the move “is something the profession clearly needs”. [Economia]
Federal Lawsuit Questions if Washington Can Tax Marijuana That's Washington state — where they can smoke the weed — not Washington, DC [AP]
Colorado Congressman Jared Polis is now accepting campaign contributions in Bitcoin [DealBook]
KPMG is running a "Where is the Blue Hat Taking You?" contest [PR]
Helpful life hint for those with stinky shoes: you can use cheap vodka to freshen 'em up [Lifehacker]
PwC Miami has just signed a new lease on some swank digs [South Florida Business Journal]
SEC Agrees to Hear Audit Appeal of 'Big Four' Accounting Firms' China Affiliates The Securities and Exchange Commission agreed Friday to hear an appeal by the Chinese affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms of a ruling penalizing them for refusing to give the SEC documents about their audit clients. The firms are appealing a January decision in which an SEC administrative judge said the Chinese affiliates of the four firms—PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, KPMG and Ernst & Young—should be suspended from auditing U.S.-traded companies for six months because of their refusal. [WSJ]
From the Sam Antar Wisdom file [Twitter]
Memo to Michael Johnson: Better that the money is in your pockets, than your victim's pockets. ~ Felons for Herbalife http://t.co/wAMNJGOvMB
— Sam E. Antar (@SamAntar) May 9, 2014
Holding Auditors Accountable on Reports Rolls-Royce — the jet engine maker, not the car company — used estimates and assumptions in its financial results that resulted in “mildly cautious profit recognition” in an important part of its business. On the other hand, the company was “mildly optimistic” in other assumptions, “resulting in a somewhat lower liability being recorded than might otherwise have been the case.” Coming from almost anyone else, such observations might not be particularly notable. But those comments came from Jimmy Daboo, the lead audit partner on the Rolls-Royce account at KPMG, and are included in the company’s new annual report. [NYT]
Federal employees should be thanked, say federal employees [Federal Eye via WaPo]
A California city may start handing out misdemeanors to kindergarteners caught bullying The Carson City Council gave preliminary approval this week to an ordinance aimed at persons, including other youths, who cause anyone from kindergarten to age 25 to feel terrorized, harassed or threatened with no legitimate purpose. [Daily Mail]
