Americans in Poll Want Deficit Cut With Entitlements Secured [Bloomberg]
If anyone has a problem with the following, please speak up: “Americans want Congress to bring down a federal budget deficit that many believe is “dangerously out of control,” only under two conditions: minimize the pain and make the rich pay.

The public wants Congress to keep its hands off entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. They oppose cuts in most other major domestic programs and defense. They want to maintain subsidies for farmers and tax breaks like the mortgage-interesy’re against an increase in the gasoline tax.”

Will the Auditors’ Real Clients Please Stand Up? You’re Lost Among the Mixed Messages [Re:Balance]
Who does auditor number 2 work for?

CFOs Expect to Hire Finance Staff in Q1 2011 [FINS]
Financial staff and accountants will be in demand in the first quarter of 2011, according to Bank of America’s annual CFO Outlook and a recent hiring index report from Robert Half.

PwC Announces $500,000 Contribution to Michigan State University Accounting Program in Memory of Al Arens [PR Newswire]
PwC US is contributing $500,000 over five years to the Michigan State University Accounting and Information Systems department in the Eli Broad College of Business. The gift to the Al Arens Teaching Excellence Fund will help provide teaching assistants and other resources for introductory accounting classes. Arens, the former PwC Endowed Professor at Michigan State, taught such classes for 40 years and dedicated his professional life to helping students.

When to Ask for a Raise in a Downturn [Bucks/NYT]
Try to resist the urge to ask right after layoffs.

Accounting for Public Pensions [Floyd Norris/NYT]
A generation ago, when Ronald Reagan was president, the accounting rule makers forced American companies to come clean on the cost of the pension plans they were promising to employees. That decision, perhaps more than any other, heralded the eventual demise of defined-benefit pensions for employees of American companies.

Now something very similar may be in store for public sector employees, thanks in part to the Republican victories in last month’s Congressional elections.

Marcum LLP and Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP Merge China Practice [PR Newsire]
Marcum and Bernstein & Pinchuk have merged their China practices, effective January 1st.

Auditors Should Be Able to Do Consulting, Tax Work, U.K. Says [Bloomberg]
A ban on such non-audit services, proposed in October by the 27-nation EU, would upset investors and fail to address problems behind the crisis, the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council said today on its website. The watchdog said it supports a “tightening of the rules” on such services.

“There is no evidence that the provision of non-audit services by auditors was a factor in the financial crisis,” the FRC said in the paper. “There is no support from any group of stakeholders for such a prohibition” and investors “were generally hostile to the idea.”

IRS Considers Taxpayer Amnesty Program [WSJ]
U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman Thursday said the IRS is considering another amnesty program for taxpayers who voluntarily reveal their previously undisclosed offshore bank accounts. “We are seriously considering another special offshore Voluntary Disclosure program,” he said in a speech in Washington.

Accounting Students Can Apply Online for Illinois CPA Society Scholarships [PR Newswire]
For students pursuing an accounting degree with plans to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), financial help is available through the Illinois CPA Society. Scholarships of up to $4,000 are funded by the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois. Eligible students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents currently living in Illinois and enrolled in an Illinois College or University.

David Sproul named new chief executive of accountants Deloitte [Telegraph]
David Sproul, who was appointed UK head of tax at the Big Four firm in 2006 and is a member of the executive board, will succeed John Connolly in June next year.

Mr Connolly has been as the firm’s top accountant for more than a decade and his tenure has seen Deloitte rise up the ranks to become second only to PricewaterhouseCoopers in terms of revenue. Mr Connolly is credited with having transformed the group, with profits tripling during his time.

Estate-Tax Passage Is Likely [WSJ]
It’s a Festivus miracle! “The estate tax has emerged as a focus of Democrats’ anguish over the tax deal hashed out between President Barack Obama and Republicans. But the protests appear unlikely to derail the compromise in Congress.

Notably, Democratic support for the estate-tax provision appeared stronger in the Senate, particularly among incumbents facing re-election in 2012, than in the House.”

Modesti, PCAOB Director of Enforcement and Investigations, Calls For More Transparency [RTA]
Francine highlights the, er, highlights of Modesti’s remarks from yesterday.

Majority of Americans Say Fed Should Be Reined In or Abolished, Poll Shows [Bloomberg]
“The Fed had to do extraordinary things to keep us from going into a great depression, and the public doesn’t see it this way,” said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed governor who is now senior adviser at Potomac Research Group in Washington. “The last time we had any really severe criticism of the Fed was in the early-1980s, when the Fed was pursuing this brutally tight policy to keep inflation under control.”

Howard Stern Changes Tune on Sirius CFO: ‘David Frear is OK With Me’ [The Wrap]
After some reactionary measures, the King of All Media actually read the transcript of the remarks and decided that the Sirius CFO isn’t a bad guy.

Gov.-elect Snyder talks up accounting credentials [CT]
If a CPA can fix Michigan, look out. Presidency next! “Wayne State University’s School of Business Administration and Department of Accounting will host the Ann Arbor executive, entrepreneur and first certified-public accountant to be elected governor of Michigan.

Snyder’s talk Thursday afternoon is expected to focus on how his accounting skills will be important as he works to improve the state’s struggling economy. He’s also scheduled to recount his journey from the private sector to the precipice of the state Capitol.”

ParenteBeard Merges with Local Philly Firm [AT]
ParenteBeard picks up Huntingdon Valley-based Pressman Ciocca Smith in a deal that was effective December 1.

Obama Woos Wary Party on Tax Deal [WSJ]
President Barack Obama’s tax-cut compromise with Republicans was greeted with anger from fellow Democrats in Congress Tuesday, but many seemed resigned to accepting it as the best deal they could get and a step toward reviving the weakened economy.

Democrats criticized the broad tax package for cutting taxes on high earners and setting tax rates too low on large inheritances, as well as for its effect on the country’s budget deficit. But Democrats also said they didn’t yet see a revolt spreading so far that it would derail the agreement in the Senate. Prospects for passage are more uncertain in the House, where many liberal members are balking at planned changes to the estate tax.

Did Deloitte Compromise Independence in McClellan Insider Trading Scandal? [Forbes]
Francine untangles the web.

Greenberg: Does Green Mountain News Pass Sniff Test? [CNBC]
CNBC’s Herb Greenberg is curious about Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ earnings call that is slated for Thursday after the markets close.

BDO’s global fee income jumps 5% [Accountancy Age]
Global accounting network BDO has reported a growth in fee income of 4.92% across its member firms after a strong performance in the Asia Pacific region. For the year ended 30 September 2010, BDO’s fee income was €3.89bn (£3.27bn). Asia Pacific was the fastest growing region, which saw its revenues rise 32%. This success was attributed to the expansion of its operations in China, which saw growth of 65% to €149m over the last year.

Obama-GOP Tax Deal: Winners and Losers [TaxVox]
Biggest loser: fiscal responsibility!

Wesley Snipes Talks Taxes on Larry King [TaxProf Blog]