Audit & Accounting

Big Four firm KPMG LLP recorded its 10th consecutive year of revenue growth, with reported revenue of $4.1 billion for fiscal 2004, up 8 percent over the prior year's revenue of $3.8 billion.

Penthouse International Inc., one of its former officers and a shareholder are facing civil charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission related to allegations that the former Penthouse magazine publisher violated federal securities laws and improperly booked $1 million in revenue.

Jonathan B. Orlick, former general counsel of Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., was barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years and agreed to pay more than $305,000 to settle charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his alleged role in helping the firm overstate revenue by more than $248 million over a three-year period.

Turnaround specialist firm Alvarez & Marsal has expanded its tax advisory unit, adding eight managing directors in several of its regional locations, as well as unveiling an office here.

The CPA firm under fire for its audit of a Long Island school district that is mired in an accounting fraud is reportedly shutting its doors.

Life gets complicated for entrepreneurs who become franchisors, and many fail for lack of planning. They must exercise special care in forecasting revenues, which can take time to appear, much less mature. They must have a robust back-office infrastructure in place early on, with or without the revenue to support it. They must present audited financials to franchisees and follow detailed procedures in reporting to investors, if any.

There is an above-the-line deduction available for many individual taxpayers for qualified tuition and related expenses. The deductible expenses are defined in the same manner as they are for the purposes of the Hope Scholarship Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.

MOST TAX PROFESSIONALS ENTER PFP ARENA VIA BROKER/DEALER: The majority of tax professionals who enter the financial planning business do so by hooking up with an independent broker/dealer firm, according to a report by market research and consulting firm Tiburon Strategic Advisors.

One plank in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is Section 302, a provision that chief executive officers as well as chief financial officers make certain certifications regarding financial and other information contained in companies' annual and quarterly reports.

Accounting firm consolidator Century Business Services Inc. has acquired the San Diego-based CPA and consulting firm Nation Smith Hermes Diamond.