A letter drafted by technology sector lobbyists is making its way through Congress asking lawmakers for support in their battle against expensing stock options. The letter, which is scheduled to arrive on the desk of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson on Monday, Feb. 14, requests that the regulator delay the June 15, 2005, implementation date, and recommends that the agency conduct an impact study on options expensing. The letter, of which WebCPA received a copy, specifically exhorts the regulator to: o Field test valuation methods "to ensure the methods imposed on all public and private companies make sense and not adversely affect our nation's economy." o Conduct, along with the Labor and Commerce Departments, "a comprehensive impact study before any standard is implemented. There is little doubt that the economic, labor and global competitiveness impact of stock option expensing could be severe." A representative for TechNet -- a bipartisan network of technology sector chief executives who represent more than one million employees -- said that he was aware of the letter, but that the group was not the one behind it. "The SEC has to realize that 14 million people own stock options, so it's not just for top executives. It's a much larger issue than that." In July, House lawmakers overwhelmingly passed their own stock option bill, H.R. 3574, which mandates expensing options only for a company's top five executives.
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The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today sanctioned Goldman & Company, CPA's, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, and PWR CPAs.
July 11 -
The Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would provide tax-filing relief for taxpayers in states that have issued state-level disaster declarations, sending the bill to President Trump for his signature.
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Wiss hosts third annual summer financial literacy program; Schneider Downs adds five shareholders; and more news from across the profession.
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Plus, Abacus announces $6.6 million seed funding for agentic AI assistants; and other news and updates from the accounting tech arena.
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Underhanded underground; down on the farm; reality check; and other highlights of recent tax cases.
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Smith + Howard, an Atlanta-based Top 100 Firm, has opened two new tax practices: site selection + incentives and state and local income tax consulting.
July 10