Going Concern

Iowa Sets the Bar on Film Tax Credit Inefficiency

Caleb Newquist
October 28, 2010

From known tax credit antagonist, Joe Kristan:

Before the Iowa Film Tax Credit program exploded in scandal in September 2009, the state had granted $31,967,641 in transferable tax credits to filmmakers. Yesterday the State Auditor reported that $25,576,301 were issued improperly — a full 80% of the credits granted.

Quite the field of dreams. Read more over at Tax Update Blog.

Also see:
What Are Your Taxes Buying Hollywood?

Ernst & Young Employee Shared Sue Sachdeva’s Taste in Loot, Lacked Her Fraudulent Self-control

Caleb Newquist
October 28, 2010

If you work for a partner who likes shamelessly showing off their money, it’s likely that you will think to yourself one of two things: 1) “What a flashy douchebag.” OR 2) “How do I get to be that flashy douchebag?”

For Lily Aspillera, her thinking was more along the lines of the latter, as she made off with $1.7 million from 2002 to 2008 by writing checks to herself that drew on an account of an E&Y client. She used the cash to buy your run-of-the-mill embezzler items: German cars, jewels, vacations, a nice home, etc.

An executive assistant at the giant accounting firm Ernst & Young has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for a $1.7 million embezzlement scheme that helped finance a posh San Francisco home, two BMWs, jewelry and stays at luxury resorts, authorities said Wednesday.

Lily Aspillera, 65, of San Francisco was ordered Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to serve 30 months behind bars for mail fraud and tax evasion.

Impressive. Not necessarily by Sue Sachdeva’s standards but impressive nonetheless. However, Lil’s little scam only last a measly 6 years compared to Sachdeva’s twelve year scam because yes, her own greed got the best of her:

“Like so many who commit fraud, over time she increased the amount of money she embezzled, apparently emboldened by not getting caught,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Sprague wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Defense attorney Donald Bergerson wrote in court papers that his client “has been punished by her own conscience as much as she can be punished by any term of imprisonment.”

The personal guilt over getting caught – after managing to steal money for only six years – would be pretty overwhelming.

Ernst & Young employee gets prison in embezzlement [SFC]

Are Millennials a Bunch of Indifferent Brats?

GoingConcern
October 27, 2010

The following post is republished from AccountingWEB, a source of accounting news, information, tips, tools, resources and insight–everything you need to help you prosper and enjoy the accounting profession.

Recently I was asked by a reporter to comment on some research studies concluding that Gen Y/Millennials (people approximately 31 and younger now) are much less empathetic to others than the generations coming before them. The studies were done with college students since 1979, and the big change showed up after 2000.

My personal experience with the college students I know and/or mentor is not the same as gs, but my pool is much smaller, so I have no scientific basis upon which to refute the findings. As a workplace inter-generational relations expert, I mostly deal with Gen Yers already out of school. I think many of them get an undeserved negative reputation. I have found them to be eager to learn, open, hardworking, ambitious, and fun, in general.

My speculation concerning the lack of empathy shown would be a sort of numbness from the trauma of 9/11 at an impressionable age and being served a constant menu of violence in media of all sorts. I would say these factors influence the younger Gen Xers, say, under age 35, as well. Also, the pressure in school and to get into schools, and to deal with constant messaging from many sources has left many of them with little time to reflect outside of themselves. Yet, Gen Yers are big into community service and concern for social problems, which indicates empathy.

The study findings lead me to ask these questions:

• What does this lack of empathy finding mean for their relations with colleagues in the workplace?

• Will they be willing to pitch in and compensate for colleagues who need flexible time off (for a fair exchange)?

• Will they continue to collaborate if they don’t get as much recognition as they want and somebody else does get the recognition?

•Will they have the necessary empathy for clients and customers to provide the outstanding service that is demanded in these competitive times to succeed in business?

These are crucial business questions, and we need to instill the importance of empathy. Empathy is a very important quality to have for life and business. And here is a link to a very interesting article on the subject.

BONUS: Bite on empathy and relationships

Charles M. Blow, New York Times op-ed columnist, wrote about whether we know our neighbors or even care in Friends, Neighbors, and Facebook (June 12, 2010). A Pew Research Center report issued in early June found that only 42 percent of U.S. adults know all or most of their neighbors* by name.

Segmented, the greatest percentage of respondents who know all or most of their neighbors are: females, non-Hispanic whites, age 50 or older, college graduates, and annual household income over $75,000. However, most of the demographic differences are not huge.

Blow admits to only knowing one person on his block (a Times colleague). At the same time, he has a very large number of friends and followers on social networking sites, which he actively participates on.

Two thoughts Blow offers speculating on why so few know their neighbors: 1) “Social networks are rewiring our relationships and affecting the attachments to our actual ones;” and 2) “Users of social networking services are 26 percent less likely to use their neighbors as a source of companionship,” according to a Pew report released in November 2009.

Your thoughts? I want to hear them – please share.

*I live in a New York co-op apartment building, and know by name all the neighbors on our floor and many others in the building. My husband, not a dog owner, knows the name of every dog in the building, but only a few of the pet owners’ names. Interpret that as you choose!

PCAOB

Get to Know Your PCAOB Standing Advisory Group Members

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

The PCAOB managed to roll out some news at a time other than 4 pm on Friday, announcing new appointments and reappointments to their Standing Advisory Group.

All the major firms are represented as well as some regionals (BKD, EKS&H), academics, industry pros, and others. We haven’t had the pleasure of knowing any of these fine folks (minus Lynn Turner – probably the biggest pot-stirrer on the list) but we’ve got it on good authority that everyone can get audit wonky (e.g. broker dealer auditing, the audit report model, FASB changes affecting auditing). The ushe. So you can rest soundly knowing your audit rules are in good hands.

Standing rs

New Appointments
• Stephen J. Homza, Managing Director of Internal Audit, Legg Mason, Inc.
• Lisa Lindsley, Director of Capital Strategies, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
• William T. Platt, Deputy Managing Partner, Professional Practice, and Deputy Chief Quality Officer – Attest, Deloitte & Touche, LLP
• D. Scott Showalter, Professor of Practice, Department of Accounting, College of Management, North Carolina State University
•Dan M. Slack, Chief Executive Officer, Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado

Reappointments
• Joseph V. Carcello, Ernst & Young and Business Alumni Professor, Department of Accounting and Information Management, and Co-Founder and Director of Research, Corporate Governance Center, University of Tennessee
• James D. Cox, Brainerd Currie Professor of Law, School of Law, Duke University
• Elizabeth S. Gantnier, Director of Quality Control, Stegman & Company
• Arnold C. Hanish, Vice President of Finance, Chief Accounting Officer, Eli Lilly & Company
• Gail L. Hanson, Deputy Executive Director, State of Wisconsin Investment Board
• Jamie S. Miller, Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer, General Electric Company
• Steven B. Rafferty, Professional Practices Partner, BKD, LLP
•Samuel J. Ranzilla, Audit Partner and National Managing Partner, Audit Quality and Professional Practice, KPMG LLP
• Lynn E. Turner, Senior Advisor and Managing Director, LECG

Continuing Members
• John L. (Arch) Archambault, Senior Partner, Professional Standards and Global Public Policy, Grant Thornton LLP
• Dennis R. Beresford, Ernst & Young Executive Professor of Accounting, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia
• Neri Bukspan, Executive Managing Director, Chief Quality Officer, and Chief Accountant, Credit Market Services, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC
• Douglas R. Carmichael, Claire and Eli Mason Professor of Accountancy, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College
• Margaret M. Foran, Chief Governance Officer, Vice President, and Corporate Secretary, Prudential Financial, Inc.
• Michael J. Gallagher, Assurance Partner and U.S. Assurance National Office Leader, PwC
• Gaylen R. Hansen, Audit Partner and Director of Accounting and Auditing Quality Assurance, Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC
•Patricia Ann K. (Kiko) Harvey, Vice President, Corporate Audit and Enterprise Risk Management, Delta Air Lines
•Gary R. Kabureck, Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Xerox Corporation
•Anthony S. Kendall, Chief Executive Officer, Mitchell & Titus LLP
•Wayne A. Kolins, Partner and National Director of Assurance, BDO USA, LLP; Global Head of Audit and Accounting, BDO International Limited
•Jeffrey P. Mahoney, General Counsel, Council of Institutional Investors
•Mary Hartman Morris, Investment Officer, Global Equity, California Public Employees’ Retirement System
•Kevin B. Reilly, Americas Vice Chair, Professional Practice and Risk Management, Ernst & Young LLP
•Barbara L. Roper, Director of Investor Protection, Consumer Federation of America
•Lawrence J. Salva, Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller, Comcast Corporation
•Kurt N. Schacht, Managing Director, CFA Institute
•Damon A. Silvers, Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO
•John W. White, Partner, Corporate Department, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

If you’re completely raptured with anyone listed, you can check out there bios over at the PCAOB’s website.

PCAOB Announces Standing Advisory Group Members [PCAOB]

Unfounded Rumor of the Afternoon: PwC Making Mid-year Salary Adjustments?

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

From the mailbag:

There are rumors that pwc is planning on doing something similar [to Deloitte]. In one of the meetings with an audit team, Tim Ryan [one of your Thanksgiving Day hosts] mentioned that there would be bonuses and salary adjustments sometime in December.

What in the name of superficial corporate gratitude is going on here? First, iPhones and holiday ho-downs but now rumors of MID-YEAR RAISES? Is the new logo making that big of a difference already?

What Does the IRS Have Against Boobs?

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

We’re asking this question in a collective sense. Call it a hunch but we’re pretty sure that Doug Shulman votes “T” on the T&A question.

To clarify, we’re talking about breast feeding. More specifically about breast pumps for nursing mothers.

You see, the IRS isn’t convinced that breast-feeding has enough health benefits to qualify as a form of medical care, thus, the pumps are not covered. From a tax/health policy standpoint, the Service is more concerned with teeth (false), skin (clear) and noses (not stuffy).

Denture wearers will get a tax break on the cost of adhesives to keep their false teeth in place. So will acne sufferers who buy pimple creams.

People whose children have severe allergies might even be allowed the break for replacing grass with artificial turf since it could be considered a medical expense.

But nursing mothers will not be allowed to use their tax-sheltered health care accounts to pay for breast pumps and other supplies.

That is because the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that breast-feeding does not have enough health benefits to quality as a form of medical care.

The Times explains that under the healthcare overhaul, “preventive procedures” were going to be encouraged to control costs. Despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, the IRS isn’t budging on the issue:

I.R.S. officials say they consider breast milk a food that can promote good health, the same way that eating citrus fruit can prevent scurvy. But because the I.R.S. code considers nutrition a necessity rather than a medical condition, the agency’s analysts view the cost of breast pumps, bottles and pads as no more deserving of a tax break than an orange juicer.

Because tools that will help a mother feed a new-born human being natural food is exactly the same thing as the Omega 4000. Got it.

Acne Cream? Tax-Sheltered. Breast Pump? No. [NYT]

Career Center

The Role of a CPA in an IPO: Open Thread

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

Back with another edition of “Accounting Career Couch” a undergrad senior wants to hear about some experiences the working stiffs of accounting world have had with initial public offerings.

Need advice on your next career move? Want to educate some rubes without coming off like a total jerk? Looking for a way to broach your co-workers body odor problem while not making it too personal? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll help you let everyone done gently.

Meanwhile, back on campus:

Hello Caleb,

I am an undergraduate senior, and I have a presenta Special Financial Reporting Topics course. My group chose “The Role of a CPA in an IPO”, and I was wondering if this topic has been discussed on your site before, if not, could you make a post so I can gather related information, issues, success/failure stories, and personal experiences in order to complement my research? It seems this topic does not get a lot of coverage, and I believe it would be interesting and beneficial to all your readers.

To our recollection, this is a topic that has not been discussed on GC, so our reader’s inquiry makes for a good jumping off point.

If you’re not familiar with initial public offerings, then you can get the wiki cliff notes here and the SEC’s own fast answers under “I.”

Form S-1 outlines (check out the gory details below) everything a company needs to submit in order to register its securities and there are plenty of ways a CPA can assist a smooth and pleasant experience. ~~If you’re client has less than $25 million in revenues and isn’t registering more than $10 million in securities, Form SB-1 can be used in lieu of the big boy.~~

Generally, when a company files its S-1, the SEC usually has lots of questions about the financial statements and the accompanying information. The back and forth can be grueling and if your client isn’t organized or financially savvy the temptation to strangle someone and everyone can be high. But hey, if you manage to stick it out with them to the filing date, there’s usually a pretty good party and your client should be grateful for your service.

So at our reader’s request, anyone with recent (or not so recent) experience working on IPOs is invited to share their war stories – the good, the bad, etc.

S-1

Accounting News Roundup: FASB, IASB Delay Financial Statement Presentation; Young Buck Auction – CANCELLED!; IRS Silent on 1099 Rule Guidance | 10.27.10

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

Fed Gears Up for Stimulus [WSJ]
The central bank is likely to unveil a program of U.S. Treasury bond purchases worth a few hundred billion dollars over seured approach in contrast to purchases of nearly $2 trillion it unveiled during the financial crisis. The announcement is expected to be made at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of its policy-making committee next Wednesday.

FASB, IASB Pull Up on Financial Statement Presentation [A&A Update/Compliance Week]
The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board met in a joint session last week to make progress on a number of major initiatives to revise both U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. They agreed they’ve stretched their respective staffs to capacity and can’t proceed any further on a long-running effort to revise the overall presentation of financial statements, nor with a project to better define how to treat financial instruments that look and feel a lot like equity.

Clifton Gunderson hiring more than 40 in Timonium [Baltimore Business Journal]
CG is looking to hire 40 professionals – both audit and tax pros – by January 1st.

CIT Profit Beats Estimates Amid Accounting Revisions [Bloomberg]
Third-quarter results were boosted by $265.9 million in “fresh-start accounting,” or FSA, adjustments related to changes the company made to balance-sheet values when it exited bankruptcy protection, according to the statement. Earnings aren’t comparable with the year-ago quarter before CIT’s bankruptcy.

IRS cancels auction of rapper Young Buck’s property [Tennessean]
No Ms. Pac Man. No Scarface poster. And sure as hell, no LV holster. YB’s lawyer filed suit to stop the auction and he’s selling $600k+ in real estate to settle up. Hmm. Selling real estate to keep jewels, 2Pac posters et al. Yeah, that actually seems about right.

Accounting Firm M&As: A Market Update [JofA]
Abruptly in the fall of 2008, organic growth stopped. Since many growth-oriented firms require ongoing expansion as a key part of their culture, they started looking at M&As again as a way to grow the top line. This has led to more flexible criteria for M&A candidates in many cases and a significant increase in M&A activity in many markets.

Lobbyists Court Potential Stars Of House Panels [NYT]
Ernst & Young, the global accounting firm, hosted a fund-raising breakfast late last month for Representative Dave Camp that drew so many donors the firm’s lobbyists had to pull extra chairs into their largest conference room.

IRS continues to dodge questions on 1099 rule [On the Money/The Hill]
Despite repeated requests from House Small Business Committee ranking member Sam Graves (R-Mo.) for how the IRS intends to implement the 1099 reporting rule, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman continues to decline to provide him the information.

“I am extremely disappointed by the IRS’s ongoing refusal to help employers understand the impact of this hefty requirement,” Graves said in prepared remarks. “The questions and confusion surrounding the 1099 reporting rule have stalled small business growth in America.”

IRS examines Build America Bonds, compliance [Reuters]
The Internal Revenue Service is reviewing several taxable Build America Bonds issued in 2009 and 2010 to make sure they complied with tax law, according to a notice on the agency’s website.

The IRS is also seeking to understand “practices in the relatively new market for BABs,” the notice said.

Build America Bonds were created in last year’s economic stimulus plan to spur investment in infrastructure. The bonds have become popular with cities and local governments because they pay a federal rebate equal to 35 percent of interest costs.

Quote of the Day

A Non-Discriminatory Faith Tax

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

“Whether you believe in L. Ron Hubbard, Jesus, a tree, Mother Earth or Allah, it is time for the tax man to cometh.”

~ William K. Wolfrum wants everyone to chip in.

KPMG

What’s With This AADB Investigation of KPMG?

Caleb Newquist
October 27, 2010

Yesterday, the Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board (AADB) in the UK announced that they would be reviewing a decade’s worth of audits performed by KPMG for BAE Systems, the British Defense Contractor.

You see, the defense industry revels in some dark corners of the business world and BAE is no exception. The company plead guilty back in February that involved some “commissions” (some may call them “bribes”) paid to “third party agents” (some may call them “arms dealers”) to secure some business in various countries. Even though this was all settled recently the company was probably hopinforgotten about the whole thing:

The accounting probe threatens to reopen a damaging chapter in BAE’s history, eight months after the company paid almost $450m to settle a high-profile, transatlantic bribery investigation by the US Department of Justice and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

Right. So now, presumably because they thought it would be fun, the AADB is curious about what KPMG knew about these “commissions” and “third parties”:

AADB said it would investigate KPMG’s advice to BAE on the operations of three of its offshore companies, Red Diamond Trading, Poseidon Trading Investments and Novelmight.

“The regulator is looking specifically at the audit of commissions paid by BAE to outside agents, any tax advice given by KPMG on commission payments and the status of three offshore companies linked to BAE … penalties could include an unlimited fine for KPMG,” said Credit Agricole analyst Thomas Mesmin.

Well! The prospect for unlimited fine is interesting, to say the least. For their part, KPMG is cooperating with the investigation because, well, what else are they going to do? A spokesman told Reuters, “[T]he firm does not believe there has been any act of misconduct [and that] it will be cooperating fully with the AADB to ensure that the matter is brought to a swift conclusion,” which, as we all know, runs on an audio loop on the firm’s automated press inquiries line.

Meanwhile, some people are just tickled pink with these developments:

Campaign Against the Arms Trade spokeswoman Kaye Stearman told the Star: “We are delighted to see that the AADB is investigating KPMG audits of BAE, even so belatedly. These subsidiary companies were crucial in channelling so-called commission payments. It is vital that this investigation is done thoroughly and well and that any fraud and collusion uncovered is severely punished.”

The thing is, KPMG’s (or any accounting firm) involvement with BAE (or any defense contractor) has to be one of mixed feelings.

On the one hand, you’ve got extremely profitable international businesses that build all these cool toys that fly, blow things up and go into space.

On the other, a lot of their customers are the shifty type, they probably keep lots of secrets and – OH YEAH – their products are designed to kill people.

But once you get passed all that, you realize it’s simply a business needing professional services and who better to provide it than a Big 4 firm, amiright?

KPMG in UK probe over BAE accounts [FT]
KPMG to be investigated over BAE Systems audits [Reuters]
Warm response for KPMG investigation [Morning Star]

Max Baucus Promises to Monitor the IRS Until the Tax Gap Is Closed ‘Once and For All’

Caleb Newquist
October 26, 2010

As soon as you catch your breath from laughing hysterically, feel free to continue.

Max Baucus turns 59 69 on December 11th, so even if you assume that he will have the life expectancy of Robert Byrd that means he’s got 32 22 years of watching the IRS’s every move. Sure, we’re making the assumption that the IRS has a snowflake’s chance in Hell of closing the tax gap but that’s an assumption we’re comfortable making.

The General Accounting Office recently stated that the IRS was using “antiquated techniques” to fight tax evasion and Baucus feels compelled to be on top of the situation until the tax gap is a distant memory.

“This report makes clear the IRS needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to fight complex tax evasion schemes and that more work is needed to close the tax gap,” Baucus said in prepared remarks. “I intend to closely monitor the IRS’ progress to make sure they have an effective strategy to root out this tax evasions and close the tax gap once and for all.”

You may now resume laughing until you soil yourself.

Baucus urges new strategy for IRS to combat evasion [On the Money]

News

Idaho Tax Commission Threatens Shut Down of Kids’ Pumpkin Stand To “Educate,” Not Be Total Jerks

Caleb Newquist
October 26, 2010

No one at the Gem State’s tax commission wants to shut down a pumpkin stand operated by sibling 4 and 6 year-olds but this is not ‘Nam, THERE ARE RULES:

A representative of the tax commission stopped by the home of Dan and Kami Charais Friday and asked for the stand’s closure. The Charais’ 4- and 6-year-old children are operating the stand to raise money for school sports.

The tax commission representative who stopped by the home said she was not at liberty to talk about the incident when reached by phone this afternoon.

A representative for the tax commission in Coeur d’Alene when reached by phone today said it is not the state’s intention to shut anyone down but to educate them about state policy.

Tax commission threatens to shut down children’s pumpkin stand [Lewiston Tribune]

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