Financial reporting

When it comes to retirement planning, there are a number of different choices. Two of the most commonly used are tax-deferred retirement plans - such as IRAs or 401(k)s - and cash-value life insurance.

TREASURY ISSUES ROTH 401(K) RULES

Valuation for financial reporting has long befuddled accounting professionals. Differences among industrial sectors often lead to inconsistencies, and recent new requirements for fair-value reporting have made the process even more confusing.

Do consumers really understand what a fiduciary standards means in the financial services industry? And, perhaps more importantly, do they even care? A new survey from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) was unveiled recently at its annual convention in Chicago and it certainly answers those two questions.

Yep, it's that time of the year again! CPA Wealth Provider is calling for nominations for its Fifth Annual Financial Planning Awards in any of the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms, Broker/Dealers, and Financial Planning Software Vendors.Winners are those firms or companies that have taken the lead through innovation, efficiency, initiative, or growth in the financial planning area.

A bill that is now before the Connecticut State Senate would give its state comptroller the legal authority to establish GAAP for the state’s financials, thereby sidestepping the Governmental Accounting Standards Board — the standard-setter for governments and municipalities.

The fact that there has been no Baby Boomer "bust" has been due in large part to the skill of retirement planners, accountants and their clients.The bust was supposed to occur as Boomers began reaching retirement age without having saved enough to retire. This, coupled with the dismantling of the retirement and pension programs at a host of corporations nationwide, could have created the most poverty-stricken generation of retirees since the Great Depression.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards said that after more than 20 years in Denver, the organization plans to relocate its headquarters to Washington, D.C. CFP Board chair Karen Schaeffer said, "The financial planning profession and the people it serves are being significantly impacted by public policy developments and trends in the financial sector that can best be monitored, influenced and managed from our nation's capital."The board expects to complete the move over the next few months.

Although couples generally agree on which retirement products they own, they often differ on their plans and expectations for retirement, according to research conducted by Fidelity Investments.Fidelity polled couples born between 1937 and 1964. When asked which income sources they would rely on most in retirement, most couples agreed that workplace savings plans, pensions and Social Security would top the list, but only 39 percent agreed upon which potential sources would be their primary source of income.

Moving forward with plans to converge U.S. generally accepted accounting principles with international financial reporting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board expects to crank out a host of related proposals in the second half of 2007.Even as the Securities and Exchange Commission proceeds to explore the possibility of allowing foreign companies to use financial reports prepared under IFRS to list on U.S. capital markets, FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board are working together to produce standards that are identical or very similar.

Bankrate, which is a leading Internet consumer banking marketplace, has released an interview with Christopher Cox, chairman of the SEC that was conducted as part of Bankrate.com’s Financial Literacy Program. Bankrate does a real service to the community with this interview and I commend them because it helps to put into focus what is actually going on with seniors and also how they can be protected from scams. Moreover, it comes from the person who should know, and does.Cox has first hand knowledge of what’s involved and he relates a tale about his own parents. “Before my mother died a few years ago, she was pestered by a seemingly endless barrage of annuity schemes and unsuitable mortgage offers. Despite the fact that she was suffering from throat cancer and could barely speak, she received unsolicited sales pitches over the phone and even in person. Even though my father was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, the brokers would prey upon him, as well.”

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released its most recent annual report, showing strong financials and continuing to focus on a trio of ongoing initiatives.FASB is funded through accounting support fees provided for under the Sarbanes-Oxley

Although the recent Council Meeting was run procedurally exactly as many Council meetings I have attended, I did notice some very importanct differences.

I get many e-mails from readers asking whether I have a financial planner and if so, who? I get some e-mails even from financial planners simply looking for business.So, the answer is yes, I do have a financial planner because I don’t believe in doing it myself--sort of akin to the lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client or the neurosurgeon who decides to operate on herself. Nope, I may know a lot but I still don’t know what a tried and tested financial planner knows.

Financial services provider the Bisys Group will pay $25 million in restitution to settle federal charges that it violated financial reporting rules to artificially inflate earnings by $180 million over three years.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson announced that the Internal Revenue Service has awarded almost $8 million in matching grants to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics for the 2007 grant cycle.

Baby Boomers - those Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964 - total about 79 million people.This segment of the population may soon find that they will be spending more annually in their retirement years than they did while working. Over the past century, life expectancy has increased over 56 percent, and this trend is expected to continue, so Baby Boomers will face the financial challenge of the cost of living for many years in retirement, as well as the associated costs of aging.

COURT NIXES SEC RULE GOVERNING FINANCIAL PLANNINGA federal appeals court ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority in updating rules governing brokers who offer financial advice.

H&R Block Inc. announced that its new bank opened more than 2 million prepaid card bank accounts by the end of the 2007 tax season, doubling the company’s original projection.

The 2008 Low Income Taxpayer Clinic grant application process is now open.