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It’s been over three years since the adoption of GASB Statement 45, the accounting standard requiring government entities to report their liability for retiree other-than-pension post-employment benefits. The goal of the new standard was to awaken government employers to the magnitude of the liability for those benefits — largely retiree health benefits — and to make them aware of how those liabilities should be managed now, so employers can make good on their promises for the future.

Complex changes to tax laws and uncertainty around regulations - and 2010 saw almost unprecedented levels of both - always drive more taxpayers to turn to professional tax return preparers.

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CHINA

It would be hard to envision a more active climate for mergers and acquisitions among CPA firms than 2010, a year highlighted by such marquee unions as RSM-Caturano, Eisner-Amper, Marcum-Stonefield Josephson and LarsonAllen-LeMaster Daniels.

Okay, we'll admit it up front: We are inveterate wordsmiths who love using words to make our points. Over the previous 15 years that we've produced this column, we've even invented a few to describe some financial reporting issues, such as "pfooling of interests," "volatilaphobia" and, more recently, "duh-preciation."

No sense in two standards

AICPA WEIGHS IN ON FAMILY OFFICES

It is the standard caveat of the investment business: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.” But are CPAs actually advising their clients accordingly?