Strauss-Kahn Quits IMF, Kicking Off Succession Contest [Bloomberg]
Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as the 10th leader of the International Monetary Fund, kicking off a contest for his successor as Europeans seek to retain the job amid a lack of unity among emerging-market nations. “I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence,” Strauss-Kahn said in a statement released by the Washington-based IMF four days after his arrest on sexual-assault charges. The fund said it will comment “in the near future” on the succession. Strauss-Kahn, 62, had beeFrance’s 2012 presidential election.

U.S. watchdog sees cross-border audit deal with China this year [Reuters]
James Doty, chairman of the PCAOB told Reuters, the breakthrough came during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue that took place in Washington last week. “Both sides have agreed to accelerate efforts, including undertaking a process for negotiations and engaging in technical assistance activities, to reach a bilateral agreement governing cross-border audit oversight,” Doty said in an emailed statement.

Beyond the Balance Sheet: Redefining the Role of Today’s CFO [CFO Journal]
The role of the CFO is not what it used to be. Traditional control, financing and compliance are still important aspects of the job. But in a hypercompetitive world, the best CFOs have a much broader set of skills, insights and experiences.

In defense of Gen – Y (aka the millennials) [CPA Success]
Tom Hood is here for you.

Baby Names for Accountants [The Summa]
After the “Baby Like” craze, Dave Albrecht has taken things a step further.

The Quandary of Coburn’s Exit [WSJ]
The remaining members of the Gang of Six met without Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and agreed to press on in their effort to craft a long-term pact that could include controversial proposals to raise revenues and curb Social Security. But the departure of Mr. Coburn, a conservative known as a deficit hawk, could prove a fatal blow to hopes that an ad hoc set of senators could crack the code of deficit-reduction politics and find a compromise that has escaped party leaders.

California Court Compels Overstock.com to Turn Over Contact Information of Former Employees to District Attorney Investigating Consumer Fraud [WCF]
You can practically see Sam Antar wringing his hands in glee (like a convicted criminal would do) over this.

G.O.P. Senators Question I.R.S. Scrutiny of Donors [NYT]
A group of Republican senators wrote to the head of the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday seeking internal correspondence and other information about the agency’s heightened scrutiny of donations to some nonprofit advocacy groups that are playing a growing role in political campaigns.

McDonald’s Under Pressure to Fire Ronald [WSJ]
More than 550 health professionals and organizations have signed a letter to McDonald’s Corp. asking the maker of Happy Meals to stop marketing junk food to kids and retire Ronald McDonald. The letter, slated to run in the form of full-page ads in six metropolitan newspapers around the country on Wednesday, acknowledges that “the contributors to today’s (health) epidemic are manifold and a broad societal response is required. But marketing can no longer be ignored as a significant part of this massive problem.”

Madoff liquor cabinet sells for $41,500 [CNN]
Among other items, a bottle of “mysterious brown liquid” went for $950.

Senate Refuses to End Tax Breaks for Big Oil [NYT]
The Senate on Tuesday blocked a Democratic proposal to strip the five leading oil companies of tax breaks that backers of the measure said were unfairly padding industry profits while consumers were struggling with high gas prices. Despite falling eight votes short of the 60 needed to move ahead with the bill, top Democrats said they would insist that eliminating the tax breaks to generate billions of dollars in revenue must be part of any future agreement to raise the federal debt limit.

Hooray for More Restatements? [CFO Journal]
Financial restatements rose 7.6% last year, according to a new study. And that’s a good thing, says Audit Analytics about its findings. The trouble is, one could also reach the opposite conclusion from the same study. […] Its counter-intuitive to conclude that more accounting do-overs are a good thing, of course, but the research firm says it’s the latest sign that SarbOx is working by improving companies’ internal financial controls.

States Pass New Laws Governing the Accounting Profession [AT]
California accountants are grappling with a series of legislative proposals designed to address concerns sparked by a recent series of high-profile cases of fiscal malfeasance by municipal governments throughout the state. In addition to bills authorizing the state controller to audit the financial records of local governments, the legislature is considering the creation of a “multi-disciplinary fiscal ‘SWAT team’” of auditors and law enforcement personnel to investigate municipal waste and corruption.

“Next tier” outline benefits from OFT audit inquiry [Accountancy Age]
The tier of firms that could most benefit from the OFT’s inquiry into audit market competition have outlined some of their wishes from the investigation. Grant Thornton partner Steve Maslin […] said there were a number of measures that could be taken that would open the market to reduce FTSE 350 audit concentration away from the Big Four.

Kroger CFO: Supermarkets Acting Rationally In Price Hikes [Dow Jones]
Retailers are acting rationally in passing along higher prices to consumers, Kroger Co. (KR) Chief Financial Officer Mike Schlotman said Tuesday, with supermarkets unwilling to keep prices low in the face of inflation. “We’re seeing everybody being fairly rational and realistic about the need to pass that inflation along,” Schlotman said at a BMO Capital Markets conference.

Schwarzenegger’s love child raises child support, marital money & tax questions [DMWT]
How did Arnie hide all that diaper money?