U.S. Audit Watchdog to Ramp Up Enforcement, New Chairman Says [Bloomberg]
James R. Doty, the new head of the board that oversees auditors of U.S.-registered companies, said he expects the panel to ramp up the scale and number of its enforcement actions. Doty, 70, who took over as the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board last week, said that the board — which was established eight years ago — has been building its capacity to scrutinize auditors certifying companies’ books. “We’re going to be litigating bigger cases, and there are going to be more cases litigated, because we have a bigger pipelinn interview today. “We’re now further along in the process of developing inspection and enforcement.”

Happy Valentine’s Day: Itemizers can finally file taxes [CNN]
On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service will begin accepting itemized tax returns, after having pushed back the process due to Congress’ delay finalizing the tax code this year. That delay — during which the IRS reprogrammed its processing systems — meant that if you itemize deductions on Form 1040 Schedule A, you weren’t able to file your taxes earlier than Feb. 14.

Maule: The Tax Consequences of Congressional Sleepovers [TaxProf Blog]
Do Congressmen Who Sleep in Their Offices Receive a Taxable Fringe Benefit?. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington thinks so. In a press release summarizing a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics, CREW concludes, “[U]nder the Internal Revenue Code, members who sleep in their offices are receiving a taxable benefit.”

The FASB Could Rescue the Financial System – But It Won’t [Accounting Onion]
Memo to Leslie Seidman.

How many years should you get out of PC’s? [AW]
Software drives hardware….or, is it the other way around? It changes in terms of which one is the driver. Regardless, it seems advances in both are slowing down a bit. Useful life on computers seems to be getting longer, which is good for CPA firm budgets. While users may want a new, sleeker, thinner laptop, the fact is a 3-4 year old machine should serve most accountants very well.

Attention, Virginia: Your tax deadline is still April 15 [CPA Success]
Apparently there’s no Emancipation Day in Virginia.

House Members Create Bipartisan CPA Caucus [JofA]
Reps. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., and Michael Conaway, R-Texas, the caucus’s inaugural co-chairs, announced the group’s creation on Wednesday. The representatives said another main goal of the caucus is to provide input on issues being debated by Congress on which CPAs have particular expertise, including budgeting and fiscal issues.

Nokia Siemens Networks Names Marco Schroter CFO [Dow Jones]
Telecom equipment maker Nokia Siemens Networks Monday named Marco Schroter as its new financial chief, succeeding Luca Maestri who will join Xerox Corp (XRX). Schroter, a 47-year-old German, was previously chief financial officer at logistics company Schenker AG and at German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG (IFX.XE). His appointment is effective March 14.

Fiesta Bowl hires criminal defense lawyer [AP]
Officials at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl have retained a high-profile Southern California attorney specializing in representing individuals and organizations involved in state and federal criminal investigations. The hiring of Nathan J. Hochman comes as federal and state investigators continue looking into the bowl group’s financial and political dealings.

Energy Drink Ingredients May Pose Risk to Children, Study Says [Bloomberg]
Energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster Energy have levels of caffeine that may be harmful to children who consume them often, a study showed. Some of the ingredients in the drinks are understudied and not regulated, according to a review of previous research and surveys in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics. Children with diabetes, mood disorders and heart, kidney or liver diseases may have reactions including heart palpitations, seizures, cardiac arrest or even death, the authors said.

Nokia, Microsoft Join Forces to Challenge Apple, Google [Bloomberg]
Nokia Oyj, the world’s biggest maker of mobile phones, said it’s forming a software partnership with Microsoft Corp., betting that together the two companies can challenge Google Inc. and Apple Inc. Nokia fell as much asgest drop in a almost 10 months, after its plan to make Microsoft’s Windows its primary software was seen as a sign of the extent of its troubles taking on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. “It’s a clear admission that Nokia’s own platform strategy has faltered,” said Ben Wood, a London-based analyst with CCS Insight. “Microsoft is the big winner in this deal, but there are no silver bullets for either company given strength of iPhone and Android.”

Seven Networking Event No-Nos [FINS]
Large-scale job-search networking events can help you bolster your rolodex and make connections that can land you a job. Coming across as both professional and engaging to those new contacts, however, isn’t as simple as it may seem.

Obama’s Fannie, Freddie plan may boost mortgage rates [WaPo]
The Obama administration proposed raising fees for borrowers and requiring large down-payments for home loans as part of a long-term effort to reduce the government’s outsized footprint in the housing market, but warned that these moves could increase mortgage rates and potentially reduce the availability of the 30-year fixed rate mortgage, a mainstay of American housing for decades.

End of the road for ‘American Idol’ CPA [CPA Success]
I’m devastated. On the bright side, I don’t have to worry about listening to Steven Tyler feign insults about lackluster performances anymore. As for Steve, he’ll always have auditing.

Excel FAQs: Hours and minutes [AWUK]
News you can use.

Upload Data to Aid Form [WSJ]
And a little more, for any of you filling out a FAFSA.

British Pubs Argue for Freeze in Beer Duty [Tax Foundation]
Brits don’t like their pints taxed. Just like us!

A Wells Fargo Exit Puzzles [WSJ]
The circumstances surrounding Mr. Atkins’s Tuesday departure were as puzzling to employees and regulators as they were for analysts and investors. In a news release about Mr. Atkins’s exit, the company said only that it had nothing to do with the company’s “financial condition or financial reporting.” The full details were kept in a very small circle at the top echelon of the company, people familiar with the matter said. On Tuesday afternoon, some of the bank’s senior executives seemed unaware that Mr. Atkins was preparing to leave, according to people familiar with the matter. Industry regulators and some of the bank’s top advisers also were taken by surprise, these people said.

‘Audit must change’ – Barnier [Accountancy Age]
Internal markets commissoner Michel Barnier […] left the audit profession in no doubt that reform was on the way when he spoke at a Brussels conference on the subject and said: “One can no longer say ‘Move on, there is nothing to see’ on audit issues.”
Speaking yesterday he added: “The status quo is not an option for the auditing world. It’s not about changing for the sake of change, but to reply to very real needs which we can no longer ignore.”