The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of CPAs has approved eight new statements on auditing standards, collectively referred to as the risk assessment standards.

The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that he was not consulted before his agency's enforcement division subpoenaed two writers for Dow Jones & Co.

The California Board of Accountancy has agreed to ease adopted practice privilege requirements in the state that went into effect Jan. 1.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposal providing companies with the option to report financial assets and liabilities at fair value.The board said that the change is aimed at simplifying accounting, as well as reducing the earnings volatility caused by differences in existing accounting rules. The new standard would allow companies to measure financial assets and liabilities at fair value selected on a contract-by-contract basis.

A memo out of the Internal Revenue Service's Office of Chief Counsel makes the case that gender reassignment surgery cannot be deducted as a medical expense for tax purposes. The case, involving male-to-female gender reassignment surgery, is currently under consideration by the IRS Office of Appeals.The advice memorandum says that the taxpayer deducted an unspecified amount in expenses - including payments for various doctors, hormone treatments, psychotherapy, health insurance, transportation and lodging in connection with the surgery. Although the taxpayer appears to have offered extensive medical and legal documentation behind the decision to have the procedure, the chief counsel opinion offers legal support for the original IRS revenue agent defining the procedure as cosmetic.

Investors are increasingly seeking creative transaction structures to cash in on the heated real estate market.A strategy that uses preconstruction contracts in Section 1031 like-kind exchanges is one way that is gaining acceptance among investors, especially in areas with heavy condominium development.

Every year, Congress and the Internal Revenue Service help us justify a tax preparer's worth to clients by throwing a few new curves into the tax return preparation process. The 2005 tax return filing season is no exception.This year Congress even threw a few curves at the IRS and commercial tax software creators by passing year-end tax legislation with an impact on 2005 returns after the IRS had already done much of the work on its tax forms for the filing season. Here are some items to watch out for as you work through the 2005 return filing season.