Accounting standards

In partial deference to corporate appeals, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has agreed to allow a one-year deferral for part of the implementation of Financial Accounting Statement 157, Fair Value Measurements.Investors have long called for financial statements that report market values - observable or calculated - and FASB constituents in the corporate sector have generally supported the concept. But after a year of preparing to implement FAS 157, corporations went to the board to complain that implementation had turned out to be prohibitively difficult.

The alternative minimum tax isn't the only tax that will continue to surprise taxpayers if Congress fails to act on its repeal. The estate tax, currently set to expire in 2010, will return with a vengeance to a full 55 percent in 2011 if Congress does nothing.The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that in 2009 there will be 9,600 estates subject to the estate tax. While that number falls to zero in 2010, it will jump to nearly 62,000 in 2011, with increases every year thereafter.

Since this is our first column of the New Year, it may be particularly appropriate to look back into 2007 to try to predict some of what will happen in 2008. The history of important tax developments that took place in 2007 is rich and varied. Shakespeare's "What is past is prologue" was never so apt.In that spirit, we have selected 10 developments as standouts in terms of their impact on the future, and especially on 2008 tax strategies. We explain each of these top 10 below. And, of course, respecting the difficulty of prioritizing just 10 2007 tax developments as most significant, we conclude by listing several more as runners up!

The Institute of Management Accountants has joined a widespread call for the Securities and Exchange Commission to accept financial reports prepared under international accounting standards without reconciliation with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.The IMA's main concern is not so much that filings by foreign companies might be easier, but that convergence with international standards would effectively replace the U.S. set of standards - which the institute believes are onerous, if not downright crushing.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board is heading into a year in which the ball of due process will spend a lot of time in the court of the board's constituents.Between New Year's Day and early spring, the board may have as many as 11 documents issued for public comment, with a couple more out by summer. Three final documents may be issued in the first quarter, but they're the only pronouncements expected before 2009.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have released final regulations and a revenue procedure requiring tax preparers to obtain consent before they can distribute taxpayer information to third parties, along with a proposal to restrict the marketing of refund anticipation loans and similar products.

James E. Koenig, the former CFO of disposal giant Waste Management, was ordered to pay over $4 million in penalties for committing 60 securities law violations over a five-year period.

The Government Accountability Office has issued a guidance document to help auditors comply with the new requirements of the July 2007 revision of government auditing standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has entered final judgments against the former CFO and controller of Buca Inc., the corporate parent of the Buca di Beppo restaurant chain.

The American Institute of CPAs has issued guidance defining terms for describing the professional requirements of accountants who perform a compilation or review.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have implemented enhanced standards of conduct for tax preparers.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has proposed two new standards focusing on enhancing auditors’ consideration of controls at service organizations, along with a third standard that addresses the communication of deficiencies in internal control to those charged with governance.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have proposed two sets of regulations relating to pension plans.

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. generally accepted accounting principles.

The Securities and Exchange Commission introduced an online tool that allows investors to compare executive pay at 500 of the largest American companies.

ATM and voting machine maker Diebold said that the Justice Department, in addition to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant, has been investigating its accounting practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance have released a staff accounting bulletin intended to help public companies value stock option grants to employees on their income statements.

Financial Executives International, a 15,000-member trade group headquartered here, has compiled what it considers to be the top financial challenges for 2008.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Joseph P. Collins, a partner with the law firm Mayer Brown, with aiding and abetting fraud at his client Refco. He is the fourth person accused in the case.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has proposed an overhaul of the board's structure that would cut the number of members of the board from seven to five and allow the chairman to put items on the agenda.