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In the Spirit of Accounting column in our June 2-15, 2008, issue (page 15), the text of an article by Paul Miller from The Journal of Accountancy should have been accompanied by the following: Reprinted with permission from The Journal of Accountancy, May 2008. © 2008 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Inc. All rights reserved.Our apologies for the omission.

In a high-profile consolidation in the not-for-profit software arena, NFP vendor Blackbaud struck a deal to acquire struggling rival Kintera for roughly $46 million in cash, or $1.12 per share.The deal, which Blackbaud plans to finance with cash and its credit facility, was expected to close July 2.

TAX EVASION PROSECUTIONS DECLINE SLIGHTLYSyracuse, N.Y. — The number of tax evasion prosecutions fell 5.3 percent last year, continuing a steady decline for at least two decades, according to a new study.

Edwin Kliegman is to be commended for analyzing the draft report of the Treasury Department’s Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (“Report on auditing should be a must-read,” Accounting Today, May 19-June 1, 2008, page 6), but I must take strong exception to his view that ethics are lacking at larger firms.In fact, while ethics have always been emphasized, the large firms have stepped up their attention to professional practice, ethics and integrity over the past several years. The profession’s commitment has not gone unrecognized.

Your May 19-June 1, 2008, issue raised several interesting points.Your editorial regarding the glacial pace of government reform; the IRS facing thinning ranks; and Edwin Kliegman’s report on how the Treasury Committee’s report on the auditing profession should be a must-read, somehow touch on one, and only one, problem, and that is legalized accounting. Before matters become even worse, our government must reform and create laws pertaining to accounting and auditing.

Once again the planets have aligned, and I find myself in agreement with Messrs. Miller and Bahnson in their column “Comparability, schmomparability,” (May 19-June 1, 2008, page 15).In discussing the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s desire for “comparability” in accounting, they make the point that it would be more important for preparers and auditors to use professional judgment than follow rigid rules. More transparency, rather than simply following rules, will provide information that is not only more relevant, but also more reliable.

2009 HSA LIMITS RELEASEDWashington, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service has published the 2009 inflation-adjusted deduction limits for health savings accounts.

So far, 2008 has not been a year for major tax legislation.Nor, being an election year, are the remaining six months likely to offer major legislation. Two bills that did make it through Congress prior to Memorial Day included tax provisions focused on farmers and alternative energy and on military personnel and veterans. The farm legislation required the override of a presidential veto and included a procedural snafu where one of the non-tax titles of the legislation was not forwarded to President Bush along with the rest of the legislation. Barring any litigation over that issue, the enactment date of the legislation is May 22, 2008.

CFOS LACK EXPERIENCE WITH IFRSChicago — Nearly 75 percent of CFOs and senior comptrollers have no experience using International Financial Reporting Standards, while 55 percent are unfamiliar with the Extensible Business Reporting Language, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton.

TOO MANY RAID NEST EGGSRoughly one quarter of adults who are actively planning for their retirement have prematurely withdrawn from their retirement investment products, according to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Personal Finance Poll that surveyed those in the 45-54 age bracket. According to the survey, the most common reasons for such premature withdrawals are a family member losing a job and the cost of a downpayment on a home. However, nearly one third of those who withdrew funds cannot pay them back, and 45 percent either cannot pay back the funds or have not begun to do so.