Finance

The financial rescue plan approved by Congress included many extensions of expiring tax credits and deductions that helped it win passage in the House, but it also left out some tax issues that will surely be bones of contention for the next Congress."It's safe to predict that not much will happen in a lame duck session," said Tom Ochsenschlager, vice president of taxation at the American Institute of CPAs.

Optimism among CFOs about the U.S. economy and their own companies fell precipitously in the third quarter, according to a new survey.

The House Committee on Small Business held a hearing on creating opportunities for small businesses in an economic recovery.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he did not plan to have Congress suspend fair value accounting rules.

Accounting firm J.H. Cohn has formed a Client Economic Recovery Team to advise financial institutions and public companies affected by the financial crisis.

States are getting pounded by the economy, with tax collection revenues in the third quarter among the worst in years, according to a new report.

Business planning software developer Adaptive Planning has created what it calls a "Recession Survival Kit" to help companies get better control of their financial processes and survive the economic crisis.

The confidence of accounting and finance workers has plunged to a new low, according to a new survey.

The dispute between the American Bankers Association and the Financial Accounting Standards Board heated up as ABA president Edward Yingling called for a new accounting oversight board that would hold sway over FASB.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given new life to calls for an economic stimulus package, but exactly what it will be is anybody's guess.

Barry Melancon, president and chief executive of the American Institute of CPAs, opened his annual remarks regarding the state of the profession at the Fall Meeting of Council and Members by addressing the current economic crisis and the controversy around fair value accounting.

Cindy McCain has released the summary pages of her recently filed 2007 federal tax return.

Political fundraisers for the accounting profession have been hedging their bets during this year's election campaigns, earmarking significant support for powerful House and Senate Democrats while channeling even more money to Republicans faced with tough re-election battles next month.As the 2008 congressional elections entered the homestretch, the accounting profession's seven accounting political action committee fundraising organizations had assembled a combined war chest of more than $8.8 million to support congressional candidates considered friendly - or at least important - to the profession.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to hold the first of two roundtable discussions on mark-to-market accounting and current market conditions on Wed., Oct. 29, at 9 am ET.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt blamed recent SEC actions for contributing to the credit crisis and urged legislators to expand fair value accounting.

Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., have proposed differing tax and retirement plan measures to deal with the economic downturn.

The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation gave the International Accounting Standards Board the go-ahead to suspend due process rules in order to accelerate their response to the credit crisis.

To assist companies in dealing with the plunging markets and subsequent fallout, Protiviti, a provider of internal audit and risk advisory services, has assembled a Financial Crisis Team.

A new audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has found security weaknesses on each of the three computer systems it reviewed in the Office of Research, Analysis and Statistics.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., has proposed a $150 billion Emergency Stabilization Fund to help small businesses, universities, students and municipalities cope with the credit crisis, with the money coming from the $700 billion financial bailout package.