Accounting standards

A new report finds that the cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 internal control audit requirements for smaller public companies is actually about 14 percent lower than originally estimated.

The Internal Revenue Service hopes that new interim guidance for tax preparers will ease concerns over the expanded preparer penalties and heightened standards of conduct that must be met to avoid the penalties.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 has introduced a new paradigm of tax strategies for those who are falling behind on their home mortgage payments (or anticipate falling behind as the result of a pending adjustable rate mortgage reset).

The pace of accounting standards convergence is accelerating, and is being driven primarily by an investment community that is rapidly embracing International Financial Reporting Standards.

Two accounting statements from the Financial Accounting Standards Board could have a large impact on accounting firms and their business clients, said accounting firm BDO Seidman.

Larry Rodda, a former principal and managing director of KPMG Consulting, has agreed to pay an $80,000 penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that he deceived investigators over accounting fraud at Peregrine Systems.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has decided to issue final guidance that would defer for a year the effective date on which private and public entities would have to account for fair value measurements.

An advisory committee to the Securities and Exchange Commission intends to make its decision on Feb. 11 on whether to issue an eagerly anticipated report on improvements to financial reporting.

The IASC Foundation has set four principles for a funding system in 2008 for its activities, which include its work overseeing the International Accounting Standards Board.

Every once and a while you come across a firm that knocks your socks off. Dezan Shira & Associates (dezshira.com) is just such a firm.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox said he expects to see the SEC start allowing U.S. companies to file financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards in the year ahead.

The American Institute of CPAs has written to the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service about proposed regulations for automatic contributions to 401(k) plans, as well as cafeteria plans.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a cost-benefit study of the upcoming attestation requirement for smaller companies under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers to beware of several current e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure.The goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft. Typically, identity thieves use a victim's personal and financial data to empty the victim's financial accounts, run up charges on the victim's existing credit cards, apply for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim's name, file fraudulent tax returns or even commit crimes. Most of these fraudulent activities can be committed electronically from a remote location, including overseas. Committing these activities in cyberspace allows scammers to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft. The most recent scams brought to IRS attention are the rebate phone call, in which a bogus IRS employee tells the consumer he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early; a link for a refund that is e-mailed to tax-exempt organizations bearing the supposed signature of the IRS Exempt Organizations business division; and an e-mail inviting recipients to click on a series of links to download information on changes in the tax law, but which downloads malware onto the recipient's computer. A new scam, not seen before by the IRS, notifies the recipient by e-mail that his or her tax return will be audited. The e-mail instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information that the scammers will use to commit identity theft.

David B. Duncan, former global engagement partner for Enron at the defunct audit firm Arthur Andersen, agreed to an injunction by the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that he broke securities laws when he signed false and misleading audit reports.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to adopt Auditing Standard No. 6, "Evaluating Consistency of Financial Statements," and an accompanying set of amendments to its interim auditing standards.

The Securities and EXchange Commission has issued a final rule on accepting financial statements prepared by foreign companies in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards without reconciling them with U.S. GAAP.The SEC noted that it was accepting statements prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, leaving out regional variations such as those approved by the European Union.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox plans to propose another year’s delay in imposing Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 requirements for small public companies.In testimony before the House Small Business Committee in mid-December, Cox said that he thought the additional delay would allow regulators to assimilate the results of a study now underway on the costs of 404 compliance. “I intend to propose to the commission that we authorize a further one-year delay in implementation for small businesses in order to base our decision on final implementation of Section 404(b) on the best available cost data,” he said.

Completing their first major joint project, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have agreed on two new standards on accounting for business combinations.FASB member G. Michael Crooch termed the new guidance “a significant convergence milestone [that] improves reporting while eliminating differences” between the standards that were previously promulgated by the two boards.

There may be 2-D bar codes in the future of paper-filed returns, if recommendations from the Government Accountability Office are followed.In its end-of-year report on last year’s tax season, the GAO said that the Internal Revenue Service exceeded the previous year’s performance by most measures. However, it noted a number of opportunities to realize additional savings and increase tax compliance, with the barcoding of paper returns among them.