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In the world of executive compensation, Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m) limits the deduction that a publicly held corporation can claim in any tax year for compensation paid a top executive to $1 million, with several exceptions. Two recent Internal Revenue Service rulings explored these exceptions.In Rev. Rul. 2008-13, the IRS reversed its position regarding the availability of the performance-based exception from the million-dollar cap if payment may be made in the event of involuntary termination, even if the performance standards discussed below are met. Rev. Rul. 2008-32 deals with whether a director can be an outside director for Sec. 162(m) purposes after briefly serving as an interim chief executive.

IRS WARNS ON DONOR-ADVISED FUNDSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service has issued a guide sheet for organizations that maintain donor-advised funds to help safeguard against abuses. The guide sheet includes a series of questions to establish whether an organization qualifies as a sponsoring organization.

While the tax law cannot exactly make lemonade out of the lemons produced by a bad economy, it can help many businesses prevent a bad situation from becoming worse. Several Tax Strategy columns back, we outlined some tax planning ideas for individuals in a troubled economy. This column takes up where that advice left off, suggesting several tax strategies that can help businesses better deal with an economic downturn.INTRODUCTION

A long-awaited overhaul of accounting for business combinations and consolidations was recently completed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.FASB issued a revised version of FAS 141, Business Combinations (FAS 141(R)) and the new FAS 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements, which is an amendment of ARB No. 51.

EUROPE STREAMLINES PROCESS FOR OUTSIDE AUDIT FIRMSBrussels - The European Commission has decided to cut some of the red tape to allow audit firms from other countries, including the U.S., to operate in Europe.

In our previous column, we analyzed the comments on Paul Miller's op-ed in the May 2008 Journal of Accountancy offered up by a CPA and controller we're calling "Tom." Our goal is not to embarrass but to persuade him and others to embrace the opportunities created by fair value reporting.Before we paused, we praised Tom for his fervor and integrity in supporting what he believes is right. At the same time, though, we described how he and like-minded accountants who cling to the status quo are overlooking GAAP's shortcomings while consciously or unconsciously disregarding the advantages of unfamiliar new practices.

There are hundreds of CPA firms that claim to provide wealth management services to their clients. For those that truly do, hats off, as many do a fine job.But for the majority of firms that I encounter, they're dreaming if they think that what they are doing is remotely close to wealth management.

AICPA AND TEXAS TECH PARTNER ON PFS TRAININGThe American Institute of CPAs and Texas Tech University's Division of Personal Financial Planning have teamed up to offer a new educational program for gaining the AICPA's Personal Financial Specialist credential.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made it clear through its recently proposed rules that XBRL, or the Extensible Business Reporting Language, will be mandatory for all filers beginning in 2009.The SEC's rules will kick in for about 500 of the largest filers (those defined as having a public float of $5 billion) when they report for years ending after Dec. 15, 2008. In the second year, all other large domestic filers with a float of over $75 million would need to file. By 2011, all public companies that file in accordance with U.S. GAAP would be subject to the same reporting requirements.

INTUIT REFINES ITS SMALL BUSINESS STRATEGYIntuit has said that it will begin offering new online services for small businesses using QuickBooks software as part of its "Connected Services" strategy.