Nearly half of all non-retired adult Americans still expect to retire with a pension, according to a new poll conducted for the American Institute of CPAs.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations on the treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation plans and arrangements under Section 409(a) of the tax code.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has named Lawrence W. Smith, currently chairman of the standard-setter’s Emerging Issues Task Force, as a member of the board.

Husband and wife grape-growers in Geyserville, Calif., got some mixed news last week, after the U.S. Tax Court took a closer look at how they could depreciate improvements made to their vineyard.The court found that although Leo and Evelyn Trendadue properly classified wine grape trellises on their land as farm machinery or equipment, because the irrigation systems and well the couple built on their property have a longer class life (20 years, as opposed to 10 years) those enhancements should be classified -- and depreciated for -- as permanent land improvements.

The National Association of Black Accountants Inc. and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recently announced the launch of Money $ense.The program contains five curriculum modules designed to reverse the poor financial forecasts being made about individuals and families within the African-American community. The five modules focus on key financial areas such as credit and debt management, budgeting, financial planning, investing and saving.

There is a greater push for transparency, both in terms of financial reporting and in regard to regulatory actions, but I wonder how successful this push will ultimately be. It is the regulatory bodies that will have to be the driving force, along with institutional investors. A recent action indicated to me that one particular regulatory body seems to have little concern for transparency. It was reported at www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/BUSINESS/704050480 that Conseco Life Insurance Co. has been fined $750,000 by Iowa regulators. The article reports that state kept secret exactly what triggered the penalty. This got me curious, as the fine was described as ”one of the Iowa Insurance Division's largest such penalties,” so I tracked down the order.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard the expression that you need to make sure your money outlives you, I would probably be retired 15 times over by now. It seems that this is the big signpost in front of all clients’ eyes.

Small and midsized businesses added 124,000 jobs in March, according to the ADP National Employment Report from payroll and benefits outsourcer ADP Inc.

If you think you understand IAS 39, "Financial Instruments: Recognition. and Measurement," then you haven’t read it, according to Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board.

Is Intuit on its way to becoming a major player in health care? Actually, one person not asking that question is the company’s CEO Steve Bennett who predicts that in five to 10 years Intuit’s healthcare software products will be bigger than the rest of the company. Bennett made that prediction in early March at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference. Bennett told attendees that he and company founder Scott Cook now spend 10 percent of their time on health care Currently, Intuit’s entry in this market is the Quicken Medical Expense Manager, which is designed to let consumers track communications with insurance plans so that they know what they have paid and what they haven’t. As Bennett says, this isn’t something that is going to happen in the next two years. What Intuit is doing, however, is important in showing how the companies in the financial space are quickly evolving. Sage Software plunged into the medical market last year with the purchase of the Emdeon practice management business. While Intuit and Sage are taking different courses—Intuit is going after the consumers, Sage after professional practices—it underscores the potential they see in a business in which many operations aren’t fully automated, if at all. And of course it’s natural to link these to the banking and payment businesses that each company has entered. Intuit has its QuickBooks Merchants Services and Sage acquired Verus Financial Services at a premium price. The medical business is also behind much of the market in accepting credit cards, but is expected to catch up rapidly. Bennett’s message to the people at the Morgan Stanley conference was it’s quite a bit early to purchase his company’s stock based on its activities in health care. But keep your eyes open.

In a decidedly non-scientific survey, Money Management International found that tax time can be very different for consumers born under different sun signs.For example, the MMI survey found that Libras expecting a refund plan to receive an average refund of $2,200, while Aries are expecting a significant $800 less.

The Securities and Exchange Commission endorsed the recommendations of the agency's professional staff to eliminate, “waste and duplication,” in companies’ compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.The change is particularly aimed at providing relief for smaller companies.

The Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service put on a bit of a dog and pony show yesterday, holding a special press conference to announce highlights of their work during the past year to enforce federal tax laws.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released a new auditing standard along with guidance targeting how tax services are provided to people in financial reporting oversight roles.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed, and settled, civil fraud charges against Tenet Healthcare Corp. and four former senior executives.

IFACnet, a search engine developed by the International Federation of Accountants and its members, has expanded its resources to address the needs of small and midsized accounting practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that its six district offices will become regional offices and report directly to the commission's Washington headquarters as of April 2.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that Nicor Inc., a Chicago-area natural gas distributor, and Jeffrey Metz, its former assistant vice president and controller, will pay more than $10 million to settle charges that they engaged in improper transactions, made material misrepresentations, and failed to disclose material information.The SEC filed a settled civil injunctive action against Nicor and Metz, alleging financial fraud lasting from 1999 to 2002. The funds Nicor and Metz agreed to pay in disgorgement and civil penalties will be placed in a fund for distribution to affected shareholders. Nicor also agreed to be permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws.

Plans by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to overhaul the organization's standards for internal control audits don't go far enough to correct the problems of the PCAOB's original ground rules - or they go too far in watering down the original Sarbanes-Oxley Act protections for investors by yielding to powerful business groups.Or they muddy the waters for accountants who are already swimming upstream to interpret and implement Auditing Standard No. 2, which governs audits of internal controls.

SHAW AUDITOR RESIGNSThe Shaw Group Inc., a Baton Rouge, La.-based multi-services provider for clients in the government and private sectors, said that Big Four firm Ernst & Young will resign as the company's auditor.