Audit

Employers and benefit providers are coming up with some rather interesting ways of providing employee benefits in a cost effective manner.

A Utah businessman has become the third person to enter a guilty plea in the criminal probe over tax shelters promoted by 16 former executives of Big Four firm KPMG.

Derrick Kinney is one of the most charming people on the face of the earth. He is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed succeed with the affluent. Moreover, he is the author of the bestselling "Master the Media to Attract Your Ideal Clients."

The long-awaited trial of 16 former executives at Big Four firm KPMG on charges of conspiracy and tax evasion will begin in September.

The Lure of Enron’s Lore

In a nod to opponents and critics who complained about the costs of internal controls audits, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted unanimously to circulate a proposal that would trim down the amount of testing necessary to evaluate internal controls over the financial reporting process.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have jointly released rules to implement “broker” exceptions for banks.

Nearly two weeks after the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s audit inspection team cited Deloitte & Touche for audit deficiencies, the oversight body’s report on PricewaterhouseCoopers criticized a number of 2005 audits performed by that Big Four firm.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board released an exposure draft on pensions that would bring current disclosure requirements for governments and governmental pension plans into line with those recently issued for other post-employment benefits.

Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLP announced that it has acquired the Miami-based practice of Freeman, Buczyner & Gero.FBG partners Alan Freeman and Jacqueline Gero will join as partners of MBAF, bringing with them their staff of about a dozen employees.

Noted professional and college football coach Lou Saban was at the helm of the Denver Broncos who, on opening day in 1971, were unexpectedly giving the then-powerhouse Miami Dolphins the fight of their lives.

When I was a kid, sometime around the Battle of Gettysburg, I had run up a pretty good comic book collection. I was addicted to comic books and had first editions, first issues of Batman, Superman, Joe Palooka, Little Lulu, and The Katzenjammer Kids, to name a few. The dimes I got from my grandparents went a long way then.But, alas, you know exactly what happened to them, don’t you? I left for four years of college, plus a couple of years in the service (it was mandatory at that time), and by the time I came home (along with many of my neighborhood friends), those cartons in the garage? Well, where they are, I’m unsure but it could have been income in retirement.

Resolutions relating to improving personal finances in the New Year will likely hold steady year-over-year, according to an unscientific survey.

Fannie Mae has filed a lawsuit against former auditor KPMG, accusing the Big Four firm of 17 counts of negligence and breach of contract.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty has authored a memo revising the Department of Justice’s guidelines for federal prosecutors looking to press charges against white-collar criminals.

After a federal judge denied a request from Jeffrey Skilling to remain free on bond pending an appeal, the former Enron chief executive reported to a low-security federal prison in Minnesota Wednesday.

Aside from identifying a number of nuances in last year’s tax law changes and interpreting the effects of congressional leadership turnover, a new tax guide should help midsized business owners monitor a series of federal tax trends for 2007.Published by national CPA firm RSM McGladrey, the “2006 Tax Planning Guide” includes a Top 10 list of tax-planning strategies for midsized companies and issues owners should watch for on the horizon.

Grant Thornton International announced that revenues for its worldwide member firms were up 12 percent, to $2.8 billion, for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans has given a reprieve to Enron’s former chief executive, who was due to report to prison yesterday and begin serving a 24-year sentence.The court’s stay of the order will keep Jeffrey Skilling, 53, out of the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minn., for a while longer. He was convicted in May on securities fraud and conspiracy charges, related to his role in the accounting fraud that led to the company’s historic collapse.

A federal banking regulator has fined Grant Thornton LLP $300,000 for “reckless conduct” in performing a 1998 audit of the failed First National Bank of Keystone.