Going Concern

Industry

Dear Nonprofits, Today Is Really Your Final 990 Deadline (No Seriously, Final)

Adrienne Gonzalez
October 15, 2010

Just in case you have been hiding under a rock for most of 2010, the big deal for nonprofits has been this whole 990 requirement and, more specifically, the fact that many still haven’t filed information returns despite every trick in the book by our friends at the IRS to get them to comply.

First they asked nicely. Then they sent out reminders. And then they went so far as to give procrastinating charities an extension on the May 15th deadline so they could get their butts in gear and start filing away. Apparently this wasn’t enough for some offenders so the Service stepped it up a notch by calling everyone out in the hopes that being publicly humiliated might do the trick. We can only hope.

We found it especially interesting to see the Cal State Sacramento Accounting Society on the list of California 990 slackers but unfortunately didn’t have the time nor energy to comb through all 1,162 pages to see who else we know on the list. 1,162! In California alone!

We did manage to skim it, finding Oakland’s “Get Legit” and “Get It Together Inc” charities hilariously ironic considering the Service is just trying to get these lazy procrastinators to get it together. Perhaps those guys need to focus efforts on their own affairs and stay out of the community until they can figure this simple little task out. Get it together!

Listen people, this is serious. Sure the IRS said it was serious months ago but we’re serious it’s serious, one need look no further than the IRS document calling these guys out to know just how serious. “Exempt Organizations At-Risk of Revocation” makes it pretty clear at this point. Now we’re not saying today’s deadline is absolutely 100% but we’re pretty sure the Service is done playing around while nonprofits figure this out.

Want another good laugh? The American Tax Reform Committee, American Tax Reform Foundation and the American Taxpayers Alliance (all DC-based) must have been so busy trying to hook us up on some tax reform that they forgot to do some important interacting with their favorite agency. Whoopsie.

Even funnier, apparently the DC Internal Revenue Agents Association and Internal Revenue Service Employees Beneficial Association must have missed out on the memo as they are on the 990 slacker list too. Shock that.

P.S. – Internal Revenue Service Bowling League of Dallas, you guys are on the list too. Put down the ball and get on it instead, you of all people should have been the first ones with your 990s ready to go! Let’s not forget the IRS Employees Association of the District Direct in NY, Internal Revenue Service Employees Fund of Des Moines and Internal Revenue Service Employees Association of Wilmington, you guys have some ‘splainin to do.

Accounting News Roundup: PwC Rakes in Fees on Lehman; Grant Thornton: Opening the Audit Market Wouldn’t Hurt Big 4; One in Three IRS Employees Are Eligible for Retirement | 10.15.10

Caleb Newquist
October 15, 2010

Bernanke Signals Intent to Further Spur Economy [NYT]
“The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, indicated on Friday that the central bank was poised to take additional steps to try to fight persistently low inflation and high unemployment.

‘Given the committee’s objectives, there would appear — all else being equal — to be a case for further action,’ he said in a detailed speech at a gathering of top economists [in Boston].

Mr. Bernanke noted that ‘unconventional policies have costs and limitations that must be taken into account in judging whether and how aggressively they should be used.” But he suggested that the Fed was prepared to manage the riske most powerful tool remaining in the Fed’s arsenal of weapons to stimulate the economy: vast new purchases of government debt to lower long-term interest rates.’ “

Lehman Brothers’s U.K. Administrators Billed $420 Million Since Collapse [Bloomberg]
“Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s European administrators have billed 262 million pounds ($420 million) for work since the bank sought bankruptcy protection in September 2008.

The administrators have recovered 11.9 billion pounds in cash in the 24 months since the bank’s collapse and more than 350 trading counterparties have settled what they owed according to a report today on the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP website.

‘We have achieved exceptional progress in the administration, dealing with some 29 billion pounds of securities and cash, having now returned almost 12 billion pounds of this to clients,’ Tony Lomas, the PwC partner on the Lehman administration, said in a statement. ‘Whilst there are still numerous major challenges to address, our actions to date have generated significant realizations for creditors which will be paid to them in due course.’ “

Y U Luv Texts, H8 Calls [WSJ]
“For anyone who doubts that the texting revolution is upon us, consider this: The average 13- to 17-year-old sends and receives 3,339 texts a month—more than 100 per day, according to the Nielsen Co., the media research firm. Adults are catching up. People from ages 45 to 54 sent and received 323 texts a month in the second quarter of 2010, up 75% from a year ago, Nielsen says.”

Big Four can take losing a chunk of the audit market [Accountancy Age]
“Opening up a fifth of the FTSE-250 audit market would only hit the revenues of the Big Four by an average of £6m, according to Grant Thornton.

Welcoming the EC’s green paper on audit reform, which has made a raft of radical measures including mandatory rotation of audits, the firm said opening up the audit market would not hurt the Big Four.”

Mozilo and SEC in Deal Discussions [WSJ]
“Confidential talks begun in recent weeks appear to be moving toward a settlement in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s high-profile civil fraud case against former Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo and two other former executives, people familiar with the matter said.

Late Thursday, a status conference on the case was ordered for Friday, a move that could signal a new development in the suit. If no agreement is reached, a jury trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in federal court here before Judge John Walter.

It is also possible, people familiar with the matter said, that only one or two of the defendants would reach a settlement before the trial. Attorneys for both sides are preparing for trial in the event it goes forward, said people familiar with the matter.”

33% of IRS’s 106,000 Employees Are Eligible for Retirement [TaxProf Blog]
Do they simply love their jobs that much?

A little perspective on those 18,000 XBRL errors [CPA Success]
“It’s not that bad.”

News

Items Up for Bid at the IRS’s Young Buck Auction: ‘Marijuana Leaf Picture,’ Royal Copenhagen White Bear Figures, Three-foot Santa Claus

Caleb Newquist
October 15, 2010

[caption id="attachment_19427" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Could be yours"]

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Plus the Scarface poster, natch. The good news is that lots of this stuff is probably affordable. Not like some auctions.

From the Tennessean:

• Several gold and platinum records for his own work and collaborations with 50 Cent – Yawn.

• Several pieces of fine art – Fine art according to whom? The IRS or the reporter? OR Young Buck?

• Multiple LCD and plasma televisions – Shock.

• Designer watches and an assortment of faux-fur coats – Again, floored.

• Pictures of Al Pacino and rapper Tupac – Lover of legends, obviously

• A “marijuana leaf picture” – Bid increments are 25¢.

• Three Royal Copenhagen white bear figurines – These? Really, Young Buck?

• A 3-foot white and silver Santa Claus decoration – Never too early to start the Christmas shopping!

IRS to auction off rapper Young Buck’s property on Oct. 28 [Tennessean]

News

Layoff Watch ’10: KB Home Offers Denver Accounting Department a Free Trip

Caleb Newquist
October 15, 2010

To Phoenix. If you’re not interested, well that’s probably TFB.

In a cost-cutting move, builder KB Home (KBH) said Thursday it is consolidating its two accounting and administrative services centers into one Phoenix office.

The Los-Angeles based builder said it will move the Denver operation to Arizona during the next few months. The Phoenix office will manage accounting-related operations for its 30 markets nationwide.

The builder, one of the nation’s largest, did not say how much money will be saved.

Some of the 66 affected Denver-based employees will be offered positions in Phoenix.

KB Home Consolidates Accounting Centers [Dow Jones]

Industry

Your Next Sunday Sermon: Tax Cuts with a Twist of Fire and Brimstone

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

Isn’t church boring and preachy enough?

Current law prohibits pastors from speaking on politics or endorsing a political candidate, but David Barton of WallBuilders says the IRS’s intimidation of removing a church’s tax exemption status is unconstitutional. Even though some pastors have intentionally crossed the line, Barton does not think the IRS wants to take them to court because it may lose.

“The IRS doesn’t have any interest in doing this because if they do, I believe they know they are going to lose. And if they lose, you have 370,000 pastors in America who suddenly find out that there’s no restriction on them,” Barton suggests.

But this isn’t about politics, this is about TRUTH!

“You cannot lose your tax exemption as a church because as a church, you have a constitutional standing for tax exemption,” he points out. “So with that basis, losing your letter means absolutely nothing — and that’s something pastors are now figuring out.”

Barton argues that the pulpit was and should continue to be the news perspective for America, so he encourages all pastors to speak out and stand for truth.

Barton: No need for pastors to fear IRS [One News Now]

Career Center

Accounting Jobs Get Stamp of Approval from CNN/Money Best Jobs in America Ranking

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

Good news for accountants of all stripes – CNN/Money reports that jobs you currently or could possibly hold down are some of the best in all the land!

The bad news is that, compared to last year, the number of accounting jobs in the Top 100 is considerably less. Jobs not making this year’s cut include: Senior Financial Analyst; Finance Director; Senior Internal Auditor; Senior Tax Accountant; Financial Analysis Manager; Financial Controller.

You could chalk this up to semantics (we don’t trust CNN o to anything accounting-related) but it’s entirely possible that there was an overwhelming outcry from people in those positions that are completely miserable.

But that’s neither her nor there. Let’s get to this year’s goods, shall we?

Top 100
9. CPA (#6 last year) – “Maintain financial records and analyze the numbers. Especially in this time of economic turmoil, CPAs are needed to make sense of increasingly complex financial transactions — from buyouts to businesses grappling with changing tax laws.” Also: Popular target for blamestorming and/or beatdowns, particularly by rich guys, faux-celebrity clients and washed-up athletes.

62. Tax Manager – “Participates in tax planning and research activities. Supervises accounting staff. Oversees tax returns and compliance for corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individuals.” In other words: makes sense of the enigma created by Congress.

69. Accounting Director– “Manages the accounting department’s daily activities. Collects and provides information for audit inquiries and gives assistance to auditors. Assists in the development and implementation of policies and procedures relating to financial management, budget and accounting.” Must have: High tolerability for answering lots of stupid questions.

78. Auditing Manager – “Determines financial status of establishments and prepares financial reports concerning operating procedures. Supervises staff and examines and analyzes accounting records.” Critical skill: Willingness to ask the same awkward questions over and over and over.

Median Pay
19. Accounting Director – $119,000

Top Pay
18. Accounting Director – $169,000

Job Security
6. Tax Manager (69.6% say their job is secure)

Future Growth
6. Tax Manager (89% say jobs like theirs will grow in the future)

As you might expect, none of the accounting jobs were anywhere to be found on the low stress, flexibility, satisfaction or benefit to society lists. Can’t have it all now, can you?

Best Jobs in America [CNN/Money]
Earlier:
Making Sense of Robert Half’s 2011 Salary Guide

News

Accounting Student Turned Stripper Not Too Familiar with Independent Contractor vs. Fulltime Employee Issues

GoingConcern
October 14, 2010

The following post is republished from AccountingWEB UK, a source that delivers topical, practical content to accountants and accounting professionals.

Forget Patmore, a former accountancy and finance student is starring this week in what must surely be the employment and tax case of the year.

Lapdancer Nadine Quashie allegedly earned more than £1,000 a night dancing at the Stringfellows (NSFW) club London and is now trying to pursue an unfair dismissal through the Employment Tribunal after being fired in December 2008 following allegations of drug use and dealing.

On behalf of the club, Caspar Glyn argued that the dancer was not entitled to rights under the tribunal as she was self-employed. “To take off your clothes and be paid to do that, it is a curious, unusual situation… which is perhaps in itself unsuited to an employment relationship,” he told the tribunal.

Aiming another blow below the belt, he added that Quashie should be disqualified from having her case heard because she had misrepresented her tax affairs – in spite of having studied accountancy and finance at Thames Valley University for a year.

She took two years off her studies to hold a full-time position as women’s rights officer for the student union, but instead of returning to the course she turned to lapdancing.

She has told the tribunal that conditions at the club effectively meant dancers were employees and she should be entitled to a full tribunal hearing. Like other dancers, she was required to give up 25% in commission, with an additional £85 deducted for nightly fees.

While Stringfellows insisted she was self-employed, Quashie said she did not learn of her self-employed status until another dancer told her of the situation five months after she started working there.

This case has everything for employment and tax advisers, HMRC investigators and retired colonels from Tonbridge. In addition to the lurid claims of private, late night sessions with Peter Stringfellow and his friends, it presents a classic challenge for the badges of employment tests and some messy tax implications for all sides.

Purely hypothectically, how would you advise the participants in such a case? Back at the central London tribunal, meanwhile, judgment in the case has been reserved.

Industry

Minnesota Pol Invites Nonprofit Leaders to Hear Some Hot Air as Opposed to Filing Tax Returns

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

Attention Twin Cities nonprofit leaders! Looking to blow off your responsibilities for one more day? Don’t know what we’re talking about, you say? Yeah, losing your tax-exempt status isn’t really that important.

Anyway, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (who, apparently, isn’t aware of more pressing issues) is giving you the opportunity today at 1 pm local time to discuss HR 5533 rather than file your delinquent 990(s) that are DUE TOMORROW.

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) will join nonprofit leaders in a public discussion about how to strengthen Minnesota communities by improving the partnership between nonprofits and the federal government. The conversation will be an opportunity for local nonprofit and foundation leaders to engage in dialogue about the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act (H.R. 5533), federal legislation introduced by the Congresswoman.

There has already been a tremendous response from the nonprofit community. The event has reached its full capacity of nearly 200 attendees.

Although the nonprofit sector plays a significant role in the U.S. economy and is critical for the implementation of government policies and programs, no federal entity is responsible for promoting the success of the nonprofit sector as a whole. In an attempt to bridge that gap, Congresswoman McCollum introduced the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act in June. This bipartisan legislation takes the first steps toward integrating the nonprofit sector into the federal policymaking process by establishing formal structures in Congress and federal administrative agencies focused on the success of nonprofits. To date, H.R. 5533 has 20 cosponsors and is officially supported by over 500 nonprofit organizations across the country.

WHO: Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) (keynote)
Jon Pratt, Executive Director, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (keynote)
Pham Thi Hoa, Executive Director, CAPI
Mark Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lutheran Social Service
Sandra Vargas, President and CEO, The Minneapolis Foundation

WHEN: Thursday, October 14, 2010, 1:00 – 2:30 PM

WHERE: Neighborhood House, 179 Robie Street East, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55107-2360

Former Deloitte Employee Wants to Know If Returning to Public Accounting Is a Good Idea

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

Back with more from the accounting career mailbag: a former Deloitte employee left the firm recently only to discover that life outside public accounting isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Should they return to the Greed Dot???

Have a question about your career? Looking for guidance on how to give your firm some honest feedback? Need some pointers on Twitter etiquette? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and will whip something up for you.

Back to our ex-Del

Caleb,

I am writing to you in the hopes that you can provide some insight. Here is my situation, I worked at Deloitte for about four years now in the Pacific Southwest region of the US. I recently quit and took a job at one of the big public Companies in my city. After being there for a couple of months I’ve realized that I am kind of bored and am considering going back to public accounting.

The partner I worked for at DT told me to call him anytime. Before I make that call I wanted to get some input. If I go back I’ll be a manager within a year, does the job function change that much like they are telling me? I’m single and in the long term I’m not sure what I want, for now I just want to work get some more experience and then figure it out.

Considering Going Back

Dear Considering,

Your problem is not an uncommon one. Many people have spent their entire careers bitching about life inside public accounting only once they leave, they come to the conclusion that they never had it so good. There are a couple of ways to interpret this:

1. You really do love public accounting and you truly believe it is your calling in life.

Of course every situation is different and in your case, you’re looking at a promotion to manager in a year. Let’s give the partner the benefit of the doubt here and consider your question about life as a manager. Personally, we didn’t have the pleasure of reaching the rank but know plenty of friends and colleagues who did and many, many, many of them said it was their toughest year of their career to date.

What happens is that your auditing skills become less important and your time management and people skills begin to take center stage. Can you handle staffing issues? Prepare a presentation for a RFP? Convince a partner that a client really isn’t that pissed and you’re not getting fired (when, in fact, the opposite is true)? This is just a taste of your responsibilities. OH! And do you like reviewing other people’s work? Because you’ll have to squeeze that in as well.

Now that we’ve scared the living daylights out of you – it sounds like you’re more concerned with enjoying your job and getting good experience rather than money. That’s rare around these parts, so good for you.

Bottom line is this – if you’re not happy at your current job and think that career bliss awaits you back at the Green Dot with Sharon and the Costanza Twins, you should go back.

Peanut gallery – what do we think here? Back into the belly of the beast or is it a huge mistake? Fire away.

Christine O’Donnell Attack Ad on “Taxman” Chris Coons Uses Witchy-Sounding Music

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

We defy you to find more appropriate background music for a scene with three spell-casting broads cackling around a cauldron.

But what about that sinister rhetoric? Jim Newell over at Gawker suggests that the ad channels a viral ‘Bed Intruder Song’. Reasoning that the lyrics “Hide your kids, hide your wife, and hide your husband, cause they rapin’ everybody up in here” translated into the “Hide your will, hide your lights, ’cause he’s taxing everything out here.”

Maybe Newell is onto something. If you just imagine boxy eyeglasses and a Members Only jacket combined with Coons’s textbook horseshoe balding pattern, he would have a über-creepy vibe going on. Plus he loves taxes! Yep, this ad is a winner.

[via TaxProf]

Accounting News Roundup: Pols Line Up Against the Estate Tax; PCAOB Threatens to Stonewall Foreign Audit Firms; RubinBrown Forms LifeSciences Practice | 10.14.10

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

Estate-Tax Rises Again as Issue on Trail [WSJ]
“More than 250 current congressional candidates, mostly Republicans, have signed a pledge this year to support elimination of the tax, according to the advocacy group sponsoring the effort. The signers include 53 incumbents and more than half of Republicans running for House and Senate. During the 2008 elections, when the group first began seeking supporters, only 30 candidates signed up.

The estate tax has become a particularly hot issue in the West, including in Washington state’s Senate contest, and some rural House districts where Democratic incumbents appear vulnerable. a hotter issue in rural areas because it raises particular concerns among farmers and landowners.”

Religious group took alleged terrorist money [WaPo]
“A group of Ohio ministers has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the organization that sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast because it received money six years ago from an alleged Islamic terrorist organization trying to finance illicit lobbying.

ClergyVoice, the activist group that wrote to the IRS commissioner Wednesday, complained that the Fellowship Foundation violated its obligation as a tax-exempt organization not to deal with such entities.

The foundation, an Arlington-based religious enterprise associated with a house at 133 C St. SE where several members of the House and Senate have rented rooms, acknowledged Wednesday that it had received two $25,000 checks, in May and June 2004, from the Missouri-based Islamic American Relief Agency.

The charity was included on a Senate Finance Committee list of terrorist financiers in January of that year.”

Dell’s Settlement of SEC Accounting-Fraud Claims Approved by U.S. Judge [Bloomberg]
“Dell Inc., the world’s third-biggest maker of personal computers, won a judge’s permission to pay $100 million to settle accounting-fraud claims brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The accord reached in July allows founder Michael Dell to remain chief executive officer after paying a $4 million fine. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon approved the settlement today at a hearing in Washington.

Dell, 45, and the personal-computer maker failed to tell investors about “exclusivity payments” received from Intel Corp. in exchange for shunning products made by rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the SEC said in a complaint filed in July. The payments allegedly helped Dell reach earnings targets from 2001 to 2006.”

US regulator threatens ban on Euro-firms [Accountancy Age]
“The US audit watchdog, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is considering de-registering non-US audit firms based in countries where it has no power to conduct inspections, including Europe.

Rhonda Schnare, international affairs director at the PCAOB, said de-registering firms was one option on the table if nations did not co-operate with US audit inspectors.

‘Bringing enforcement proceedings against non-US audit firms is one option and the board is evaluating all of its options… The issue is one of the [PCAOB’s] highest priorities,’ she said.

‘The board cannot de-register firms without going through an extensive process that would involve bringing individual disciplinary hearings against the firms, and that is certainly one of the options the board has.’ “

President Obama Proposes More Tax Credits for Higher Education [Tax Foundation]
“Even ignoring the possible issue of economic incidence and whether or not this credit would mostly lead to higher tuition instead of lowering the net price faced by students, one of the problems with this credit is the downside of tax credits known as “buying out the base.” The credit will indeed entice some additional amount of people at the margin to go to college. However, it will mostly give a huge windfall to those who were going to go to college in the first place. If more people in college is truly what you want, there are likely better ways to do it than via a refundable tax credit that doesn’t target those at the margin.”

Accounting firm RubinBrown forms team for life sciences [KCBJ]
“RubinBrown LLP, which is based in St. Louis and has offices in Kansas City and Denver, created the Life Sciences Services Group earlier this month.

The firm has identified about 15 existing team members to serve on the life sciences group, about five of whom are in Kansas City, said Todd Pleimann, managing partner of the firm’s Kansas City branch.

However, he said, the firm probably will add more to the team in the future, possibly hiring from outside.

‘We really feel that the life sciences, and particularly animal health, is really key for the Kansas City metropolitan area,” Pleimann said. “We know there is going to be a lot of growth in this area.’ “

Does Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne Know When to Shut Up, Especially While the SEC Investigates his Company? [White Collar Fraud]
Apparently not.

Betting on Estate Tax Inaction

Caleb Newquist
October 14, 2010

“It’s not a sure thing that they’ll actually get around to doing anything about it.”

~ Craig Jennings, federal fiscal policy analyst at OMB Watch, doesn’t have much faith that Congress.

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