Audit & Accounting

Recently, Accounting Today printed both an article by Joel Jameson (March 19-April 1, 2007, page 14) and a letter from Alfred King (April 16-May 6, 2007, page 8) that rebutted our long-espoused view that financial reporting should be based on market values.

When it comes to retirement planning, there are a number of different choices. Two of the most commonly used are tax-deferred retirement plans - such as IRAs or 401(k)s - and cash-value life insurance.

TREASURY ISSUES ROTH 401(K) RULES

From Boston to Beijing, the accounting profession may soon have a new type of financial statement - one without net profit at the bottom line, with finance information separated from operations, tax information off to the side and cash flow reported separately.

The tax gap - the difference between the amount that taxpayers pay voluntarily and on time and what they should pay - continues to generate congressional hearings and legislative proposals. The most recent data from 46,000 returns examined under the National Research Program show a net gap of $290 billion for the year 2001.

The Treasury Department has created a committee to study problems in the accounting profession - and in something of an unexpected move, former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Arthur Levitt was selected to lead the effort, along with former SEC chief accountant Donald Nicolaisen.

Valuation for financial reporting has long befuddled accounting professionals. Differences among industrial sectors often lead to inconsistencies, and recent new requirements for fair-value reporting have made the process even more confusing.

Do consumers really understand what a fiduciary standards means in the financial services industry? And, perhaps more importantly, do they even care? A new survey from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) was unveiled recently at its annual convention in Chicago and it certainly answers those two questions.

Williams & Webster PS, a CPA and business advisory firm with offices in Seattle and Spokane, has been censured by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for violations stemming from a 2004 client audit.

Senators Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, respectively, have introduced legislation to give more than $550 million in tax relief for veterans, soldiers and their employers.