Accounting
Accounting News & Professional Insight
Accounting Today delivers news, rankings, thought leadership, and analysis for accounting professionals so they can navigate change in standards, firm strategy, technology adoption, talent, and the overall business environment.
Accounting professionals are facing rapid transformation, including shifting professional standards, demographic change, technology disruption, practice consolidation, and changing expectations for advisory services. Our coverage surfaces these strategic dynamics and provides insights and analysis for firms, leaders, and the accounting profession.
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In search of a happy medium for the smaller public companies that have loudly complained about the cost of audits of their internal controls, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said a new auditing standard is on the way.In an interview with the New York Times, Cox said that he has been in regular contact with the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to develop and propose the auditing standard. Right now, Cox said that the timetable would be for the SEC to hopefully approve the standard by the spring.
November 10 -
Merck & Co. disclosed four separate tax disputes that have combined potential liabilities for the drug maker of more than $5.5 billion.
November 9 -
The International Federation of Accountants is seeking proposals for the development of an explanatory guide on implementing its quality control standard.
November 8 -
The bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread has reportedly settled a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its recordkeeping and accounting.
November 7 -
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed and settled enforcement actions against former officers and directors of Spiegel Inc., the owner of catalogue retailers Spiegel, Eddie Bauer and Newport News.
November 6 -
CPAs in Congress came to the rescue of their profession with the passage of a bill that eliminated the need to send privacy notices to clients."The Financial Services Relief Act of 2006 is a common-sense bill that will give CPAs more time to serve their clients," said Rep. Colin C. Peterson, D-Minn. "As a CPA myself, I can tell you that it's more important to spend time working with clients than it is to be filling out redundant paperwork."
November 6 -
Representatives from industry, government and the accounting profession called on Congress to reform the nation's business tax structure, warning that the current web of corporate tax incentives and penalties is pressuring companies to adopt inefficient practices.Tax Executives Institute International president David Bernard urged the Senate Finance Committee to abandon the current "patchwork of tax incentives and inducements" for businesses, and switch instead to a "simpler, more administrable code" that will promote sound tax policy. Rather than legislating business tax preferences in an effort to "pick winners and losers" in the marketplace, he recommended a broader tax base with lower rates for all businesses.
November 6