Sights Set on Grand Debt Deal [WSJ]
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders agreed Thursday to strive for a blockbuster deficit-reduction deal and will spend the weekend determining whether political support is possible for a sweeping plan to curb entitlements and make major tax-code changes. The package to reduce the federal deficit by $4 trillion or more over 10 years is much more ambitious than negotiators envisioned just two weeks ago, and represents the most far-reaching of three options Mr. Obama presented to lawmakers Thursday in a closed-door meeting in the White House Cabinet Room.

I.R.Slitical Donors [NYT]
The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday abandoned its effort to force five big-ticket donors to pay gift taxes on contributions they made to nonprofit advocacy groups that are playing an increasing role in American politics. “Until further notice, examination resources should not be expended on this issue,” Steven T. Miller, deputy commissioner for services and enforcement, wrote in a memo posted on the I.R.S. Web site. “This is a difficult area,” Mr. Miller wrote, “with significant legal, administrative and policy implications with respect to which we have little enforcement history.”

Accounting That Comes in Flavors [NYT]
[I]t appears increasingly likely that for a substantial period of time there will be two sets of accounting rules in the United States, with companies able to choose between American or global rules. And while most countries, including the United States, will say they embrace international accounting standards, there may be numerous flavors of them, with investors perhaps having trouble figuring out just how comparable financial statements really are.

Caterpillar Accused of Demoting Executive Discovering Tax Dodge [Bloomberg]
The company, the world’s largest construction-equipment maker, sold and shipped spare parts globally from an Illinois warehouse while improperly attributing at least $5.6 billion of profits from those sales to a unit in Geneva, according to the suit filed by Daniel J. Schlicksup. He was a global tax strategy manager for Caterpillar from 2005 to 2008. Schlicksup, 49, sued in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Illinois, in 2009, claiming he was moved to a job that limits his career opportunities because he complained to superiors that the “Swiss Structure” ran afoul of U.S. tax rules.

Being Goldman Sachs’s Brains May Make Viniar Irreplaceable CFO [Bloomberg]
David A. Viniar, the finance and risk-management overseer who some investors deem more essential to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) than Lloyd C. Blankfein, may not be replaceable. At least not by one person. The longest-serving chief financial officer of any major Wall Street firm may find his multiple roles distributed among two or even three deputies when he eventually steps down, according to two people with knowledge of the firm’s internal deliberations.

BofA’s Deal Has Other Player—IRS [WSJ]
Any deal has tax implications. That is especially the case for Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement related to mortgage securities sold to investors. The Internal Revenue Service will play a particularly important role. BofA has said the settlement won’t be final until the IRS signs off on it.

SEC urged to go slow on global accounting move [Reuters]
The United States should move towards use of international accounting standards but must not rush the process, business representatives and accountants told the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. If the United States does not shift to a global accounting regime, it will cut itself off from the rest of the world and lose influence over international standard-setting, participants at an SEC roundtable said. “I don’t think anybody disagrees with the ultimate goal” of a single set of high-quality global accounting standards, said Mark LaMonte, managing director at Moody’s Investors Service. In practice that may difficult to achieve, “but it doesn’t mean we should stop working toward this goal,” he said.

PwC Appoints Christina Dutch Managing Partner in Albany [PwC]
Christina Dutch succeeds Richard Grant.

U.S.-China audit talks seen making only modest progress [Reuters]
U.S. and Chinese securities regulators may soon strike a deal that would allow the Americans some access to Chinese auditors, but it is likely to be more superficial than Washington wants. A string of accounting scandals at U.S.-listed Chinese companies has increased pressure on regulators in both nations to toughen oversight of Chinese auditors. But a full-fledged agreement that allows the U.S. auditor watchdog, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), to review the work and papers of China-based auditors through formal inspections would be difficult to achiestrong>Obama to Push for Wider Deal With G.O.P. on Deficit Cuts [NYT]
Heading into a crucial negotiating session on a budget deal on Thursday, President Obama has raised his sights and wants to strike a far-reaching agreement on cutting the federal deficit as Speaker John A. Boehner has signaled new willingness to bargain on revenues.

New Accounting Rule Would Favor Hedgers [CFOJ]
The proposed rule, International Financial Reporting Standard 9, greatly expands the kinds of transactions that qualify for hedge accounting under the current rule, International Accounting Standard 39, and the SEC is debating when, and under what conditions, U.S. companies would have to report their results in IFRS instead of U.S. GAAP. Hedge accounting is one area where the two regimes currently stand far apart.

Glass Lewis Faults RIM Governance Stance [Bloomberg]
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)’s decision to study the overhaul of its management structure to avoid a shareholder vote next week indicates it’s avoiding a commitment to appoint an independent chair, Glass Lewis & Co. said. “The appointment of independent board leadership does not require further study, but rather concrete action,” Dimitri Zagoroff and Marian Macindoe, analysts with the San Francisco- based proxy adviser firm, wrote in a report. Glass Lewis advises investors that manage more than $15 trillion on proxy voting.

In Minnesota shutdown, workers who calculate the cost are laid off [WaPo]
Now more than six days old, the shutdown has continued to shutter parks and toll booths and to leave thousands of government workers at home. The state’s Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers continued to wrangle, without resolution, over a $5 billion budget gap Wednesday. The talks were continuing without clarity on the shutdown’s cost. The staff members who would calculate those figures are “currently laid off,” said John Pollard, a spokesman for Minnesota Management and Budget.

Another Reason to Insist on the Ring [Tax Update]
Cohabitation has its tax consequences.

House, Senate Tax Panels to Hear Ideas for Tax Overhaul at Joint Session [WSJ]
House and Senate tax-writing committees will hold a rare joint hearing to examine potential ideas for a tax overhaul. It’s reportedly the first joint hearing by the two panels on a tax issue since 1940, according to a press release issued late Wednesday. The hearing next Wednesday in the Capitol Visitor Center could signal a greater degree of cooperation over tax changes in the future, as the panels gear up for what could be an intensive effort to overhaul the federal tax code.

IASB’s New Pension Accounting Will Mean Big Changes [Institutional Investor]
A bunch of foreign corporations likely are starting to reevaluate their pension plans’ asset allocations, thanks to the International Accounting Standards Board. In June the IASB, whose accounting rules are used by about 120 countries that include all European Union members, published its amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits, which cover how defined benefit plan sponsors handle pensions in their financial statements.

Madam admits tax fraud in Denver brothel case [9News]
The madam of a high-end prostitution business that allegedly catered to some of Denver’s most famous and successful residents admits she’s guilty of owing the IRS tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes and of tax evasion. Brenda Stewart, owner of Denver Sugar/Players changed her plea in federal court Wednesday afternoon from not guilty to guilty to one count of tax evasion. The government moved to dismiss the other 69 counts against her.