Audit

The Schonbraun McCann Group LLP has changed its name to Cornerstone Accounting Group LLP and announced some management changes.

Maybe because I am so literal, I am a firm believer in transparency. Perhaps that was why I was intrigued by a newsletter from a leading firm association that goes to association members and friends. Included was a two-pager entitled “Vision for Our Future,” that identifies ten possible goals of the association for 2008-2012. The process, which included member surveys, conference calls, and meetings, was also detailed. The proposed goals were developed by a 15-member team and facilitator, all listed in the two-pager.

Job satisfaction among financial planners remains high, with 96 percent of financial planners saying they are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their career choice, according to an annual survey.

Ernst & Young won a decision involving a defunct hedge fund after its liquidators sued the firm's Cayman Islands unit, accusing it of performing a deficient audit and failing to detect the investment managers' fraudulent valuation.

CPA Wealth Provider's second ranking of firms by AUM has now been published and it’s bigger and better than ever. As you know, AUM is a term originally employed by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they were managing. Many financial services companies used this as both a measure of success and comparison against their competitors; in lieu of revenue, they had total assets under management. For readers of the publication, last October it presented the first-ever ranking of such firms by AUM. The initial response was staggering. It had 89 responses so it tried again and now the responses are no longer staggering—they are stupendous! CPA Wealth Provider more than doubled last year’s count and reached the 200 mark which included a batch of firms who unfortunately couldn’t get their survey forms completed in time for this closing. Because of this response, the publication decided to break the numbers down into sections and to specifically indicate each section. There are now 18 firms in the Billion Dollar Club (termed Wealth Magnet Elite), 87 in the $100+ Billion Club (termed Wealth Magnet Select), and another 37 in the $50+ Million Club plus a whole host of Rising Stars and Ones to Watch. But most importantly of all, take a look at the firms on the charts. They practically mirror the entire CPA/financial planning industry—from geographic location to size to AUM numbers to affiliations to recommended financial planning products. What does this show? Exactly what we felt all along—the financial planning industry is a tiger by the tail. We see this at various conferences and trade shows where copies of this publication literally fly off the racks. We are also getting tons of communiqués from readers as to how well they like the magazine and leading experts in the field constantly inquire about contributing articles. You can see this by the varied mix of authors and subjects. I firmly believe that CPA Wealth Provider remains the leading national publication for CPAs involved in financial planning.

Katz, Sapper & Miller plans to merge in another Indianapolis accounting firm, Heaton and Eddie, to build its healthcare and employee benefits consulting capabilities.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has referred questions to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a case involving PricewaterhouseCoopers that could set a precedent for accountant liability.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance has introduced SignatureCare 500, a long-term care insurance product that lets consumers customize a policy to meet their needs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission convened a roundtable of experts to discuss the controversial topic of fair value measurements in accounting.

As the final event in its year-long, 10-city dialogue tour on financial reporting issues, the Center for Audit Quality will stage its final town hall session July 22 at the National Press Club.

Three professional accounting organizations have jointly released new guidelines for combating fraud.

Outsourced accounting company Corefino has snagged $13.6 million in a first round of funding led by Opus Capital Ventures and Bay Partners.

In preparation for the eventual transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has launched a suite of educational products and services to help accounting students learn IFRS fundamentals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting released a draft of its final report.

Accounting Today is issuing a call for nominations for its annual Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list.

Accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell reported that its net revenues for the 2008 fiscal year ending May 31 reached $51 million, a 28 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

Accounting firm Reznick Group has partnered with Palladium Pacific on a service to provide help to real estate lenders, investors, builders and developers with their troubled real estate assets.

BDO Seidman has admitted 18 new partners to the firm, effective July 1.

CFOS LACK EXPERIENCE WITH IFRSChicago — Nearly 75 percent of CFOs and senior comptrollers have no experience using International Financial Reporting Standards, while 55 percent are unfamiliar with the Extensible Business Reporting Language, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton.

Business optimism remains at low levels, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton.