Finance

President-elect Barack Obama announced the key members of his economic team on Monday, including his pick for Treasury Secretary, New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner.

Pessimism about the U.S. economy among CFOs and senior-level executive CPAs hit an all-time high this quarter, according to a new survey, with most of them not expecting a turnaround for at least another year.

A new report on President-elect Barack Obama's tax policies sees his mantle of change perhaps leading him to change some of his tax proposals as he works with Congress next year.

Business consulting and internal audit firm Protiviti has updated its Global Financial Crisis Bulletin with answers to the latest questions about the financial meltdown.

Rand & Associates has launched a program aimed at helping small businesses weather the financial crisis.

President-elect Barack Obama plans to shift tax incentives to encourage more use of renewable energy sources, according to one tax expert.

The House Small Business Committee convened a hearing on the financial rescue program and found that $1.6 trillion in bailout funds have provided little assistance to small businesses so far.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox acknowledged that the mortgage meltdown may have started in the United States, but he pointed the finger at other countries for helping create a global economic crisis.

A large majority of CPA firms reported continuing strong growth during the past two years, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, but the survey was taken before the financial crisis hit home in recent quarters.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has selected the accounting firm Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Co. to do forensic accounting on his tax returns and congressional disclosure forms.

The Financial Accounting Foundation advised President Bush and other U.S. and world leaders attending the G-20 summit to safeguard fair value accounting and the independent standard-setting process in a strongly worded letter.

Financial Executives International has written to House and Senate Leaders urging lawmakers to consider relief for small and closely held business in the event of any future stimulus packages.

The financial crisis will make it more difficult for businesses to comply with sales and use tax payments, according to a new survey.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the department's Troubled Asset Relief Program would begin to focus more on relieving tight consumer credit markets and shift away from the original plans to buy mortgage-backed securities.

The next Congress and the Obama administration are expected to make major changes in both individual and business taxes, said a panel of Ernst & Young tax experts.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held hearings on the role of hedge funds in the financial crisis and whether they should be more strictly regulated.

International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Sir David Tweedie said he nearly resigned before giving in to pressure from European regulators to modify fair value accounting standards to allow banks to reclassify their assets.

The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation has written a letter to President Bush asking him and other world leaders to respect fair value accounting and the standards-setting process.

President-elect Barack Obama is looking for a new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to replace departing chair Christopher Cox.

A tax attorney predicts that small businesses and high-net-worth individuals will need tax-planning advice to help protect their assets from anticipated changes in tax law.