Audit & Accounting

The Securities and Exchange Commission won't challenge a federal appeals court ruling overturning independence rules for hedge fund directors.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job on its partnership examinations, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic -- of domestic multimedia empire and ImClone Systems stock trading fame -- have agreed to settle civil charges of insider trading brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

While audits of high-income taxpayers have increased, the actual impact on compliance may be limited, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has established a Canadian Council, a group of 18 members from throughout the country, to address issues specific to the region's internal auditors.

Agents won't be allowed to challenge whether casino comps to high-rolling patrons qualify for treatment as promotional expenses, according to a memo released by the Large and Mid-Size Business Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

Following the old saw that "What goes up must come down" - and vice versa - advisors who employ a strategy of buying cheap like it when market sectors decline.By the same token, some economic-minded advisors are continually on the lookout for market laggards in the expectation that the next swing might trend upward. Top performers over the recent past are the likely suspects for future price declines, say experts.

It's summer vacation time, and we're following our tradition of digging into the files and reprinting columns from the past. This one from June 2003 deals mostly with the accounting for stock options.In those days, of course, there was a lot of Chicken Little shouting that the mandatory expensing of stock options would destroy free enterprise and the rest of Western civilization. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon to save options and to keep financial statements from being polluted by bad numbers.

In an effort to increase charitable giving across the U.S., the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, an independent public charity within the donor-advised fund program of financial services conglomerate Fidelity, has rolled out the Charitable Investment Advisor Program.Fidelity's new offering allows independent investment advisors to provide discretionary investment management to the Gift Fund for contributions made by the advisors' clients.

An individual who is an active participant in a qualified retirement plan cannot make deductible contributions to a traditional IRA unless her modified adjusted gross income is below certain specified levels.The level depends on the type of income tax return the individual files. For single taxpayers and heads of household, the otherwise allowable deduction is phased out ratably in 2006 and later years, when the taxpayer's MAGI is between $50,000 and $60,000.