Practice Management

Enterprise software giant SAP said it would acquire business intelligence software developer Business Objects in a cash deal valued at about $6.8 billion.

The push to raise taxes on hedge funds, private equity firms and their managers seems to have stalled for this year in Congress.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would provide relief to homeowners facing the threat of taxes on their foreclosed homes in the midst of the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Parente Randolph has acquired the Pittsburgh office of Terry & Stephenson, bringing the total number of staff members in Parente's Pittsburgh office to more than 35.

Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has acquired investment research company Glass, Lewis & Co., for $46 million, bringing ownership of the proxy advisory provider back to North America.

Here's the situation: Your client needs to upgrade their accounting software from an out-of-the-box program to a more sophisticated, customized system. You know it and your client is avoiding it. What should you do?You might have to get a little creative.

GOVERNMENT OWES $45M IN EMPLOYMENT TAXESWASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal government is itself a tax delinquent, owing approximately $45 million in employment taxes, according to a report from a Treasury Department watchdog.

The many practitioners who conduct valuations in the normal course of their practices will shortly be required to follow, for the first time, detailed standards, because the Consulting Services Executive Committee of the American Institute of CPAs has issued a comprehensive professional statement of standards - Statement on Standards for Valuation Services No. 1, Valuation of a Business, Business Ownership Interest, Security or Intangible Asset."The AICPA developed the valuation standard to improve the consistency and quality of practice among its members who perform engagements that estimate values for various reasons," said AICPA president and CEO Barry Melancon, in a statement. "Congress, government agencies and accounting regulators have recently focused their attention on appraisal issues - such activity shows the importance of valuation to the business community and individuals. The standard promotes greater transparency and provides our members with a set of guidelines in the unique context of a CPA practice."

The deadline for compliance with final Section 409A regulations, scheduled for Dec. 31, 2007, should be extended for a year, according to 92 of the largest law firms in the nation.The new regulations, finalized in April, require deferred-compensation plans to be amended to comply with the Internal Revenue Code.

The last few months have seen the problems in sub-prime lending start to have a national and even international impact on the credit and stock markets.The combination of expanded sub-prime lending programs with mortgage rates that adjust upward after two to five years, reduced or eliminated down-payment requirements, and a housing market that has seen real estate prices actually decline in many markets, has left many marginal borrowers unable to pay higher monthly mortgage payments, unable to refinance to more traditional mortgages, and unable to sell homes at a price sufficient to cover the mortgage obligation.