Longing for the Days of the Big Eight [Reuters]
[A]s corporations become more global, the need for economies of scale may require fewer larger firms. Still, the right number is probably more than four.

A firewall to stop Europe’s crisis spreading [FT]
BO: “Given the scope of the challenge and the threat to the global economy, it is important for all of us that this strategy be implemented successfully – including building a credible firewall that prevents the crisis from spreaduropean banks, charting a sustainable path for Greece and tackling the structural issues at the heart of the current crisis. The European Union is America’s single largest economic partner and a critical anchor of the global economy. I am confident that Europe has the financial and economic capacity to meet this challenge, and the US will continue to support our European partners as they work to resolve this crisis.”

Taxes Remain Stumbling Block For Deficit Panel [WSJ]
House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) acknowledged that the 12-member House-Senate Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was still far from reaching an agreement, but he said he was keeping up the pressure on the panel not to give up. “I expect that it’s going to be very difficult to get to an outcome, but I am committed to getting to an outcome,” he said. “We’re into the really tough time and it is going to take a lot more work.”

Republicans put faith in radical tax plans [FT]
The US budget may be drowning in red ink, but that has only spurred Republican candidates to propose cuts in tax rates for individuals and companies as they compete for the right to challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. Three candidates – Rick Perry, the Texas governor, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker, and Herman Cain, a businessman and radio host – have put forward radical plans for flat taxes. In the Reaganite tradition of supply-side economics, these candidates see their flatter tax proposals as both their main growth engines and a potential route to a balanced budget.

Consultant gets 10 years in massive accounting fraud at western Pa.’s defunct Le-Nature’s [AP]
Fifty-five-year-old Andrew Murin, of McMurray, was sentenced Thursday based on a June guilty plea to mail fraud in the scam that cost lenders, investors and vendors more than $650 million.

Exposing Auditors’ Work [Fraud Files]
Lately, there has been talk of more requirements for auditors: more disclosures, more discussion, more information on who is doing the audits. Would a narrative by the auditors add more meaning to audit reports?

Overstock’s “Likely” Breach of Debt Covenants [WCF]
Make no mistake, Sam Antar is enjoying this.

Zetas drug cartel ‘accountant’ detained [Telegraph]
Mexican marines detained alleged Zetas “accountant” Carmen del Consuelo Saenz two days ago in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, along 10 other alleged Zetas members. Saenz, 29, was allegedly in charge of receiving proceeds from drug sales, pirated goods, kidnappings and extortions in five southern states of Mexico, said Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara. Saenz used the illicit proceeds to bribe authorities and meet the drug gang’s payroll, he said.

PwC appoints global head of tax [Accountancy Age]
Richard Stamm is your man.

EU Forges Greek Bond Deal [WSJ]
European leaders said they secured a deal to reduce Greece’s debt after they labored overnight and into Thursday morning to find agreement on what they had billed as a blockbuster package to stem the Continent’s debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said after the marathon negotiating session that the leaders had reached agreement with private banks on a “voluntary” 50% reduction of Greece’s debt in the hands of private investors. He also said they had agreed to expand the firepower of the euro zone’s bailout vehicle, known as the European Financial Stability Facility, by four- or five-fold—suggesting it could provide guarantees for around €1 trillion, or about $1.4 trillion, of bonds issued by countries such as Spain and Italy.

Ruth Madoff Says Couple Tried Suicide in 2008 [NYT]
Mrs. Madoff said in an interview with The New York Times: “I don’t know whose idea it was, but we were both so saddened by everything that had happened. It was unthinkable to me: hate mail, phone calls, lawyers.” The situation was “just horrific,” she continued. “And I thought, ‘I just can’t, I can’t take this. I don’t know how I’ll ever get through this, nor do I want to.’ So we decided to do it.”

Decade-Old Accounting Regulation Becomes Popular Target on 2012 Campaign Trail [FoxNews]
Because some people just can’t let it go.

State Tax Haul Jumps 10.8% [WSJ]
States beset by budget travails and high national unemployment notched a double-digit rise in tax revenue in the second quarter, thanks in part to recession-era tax increases and the slowly recovering economy. State tax revenue climbed 10.8% during the quarter ended in June from the year-ago period, according to a report released Wednesday by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York. Preliminary data, also not adjusted for inflation, show growth continued in July and August, though at a slower pace, the Institute said. In 41 states that have reported for those two months, tax revenue was up 6.8% compared with the same two months in 2010. The growth was led by 9.8% gains in income taxes and 3.6% in sales taxes.

Bankers, Beware of Auditors Who Blow Off Their Regulator [Francine McKenna/Bank Think]
*cough*Deloitte*cough*

On the Job, Beauty Is More Than Skin-Deep [WSJ]
Don’t be ugly.

Eight Questions the WSJ Could Have Asked KPMG China [Silicon Hutong]
Including: “What does your “risk management” department do, exactly? In layman’s terms?”