Because SFAS 158 has become effective for fiscal years ending after Dec. 15, 2006, it won't be long until annual reports start arriving with re-measured and reclassified defined-benefit pension liabilities or assets on the balance sheet. The revised amounts will generally be much larger, capturing items that were formerly disclosed in the footnotes, but that now must be recognized. Furthermore, the reporting will done in a single net item, and not, as before, in multiple components spread across the balance sheet.Although SFAS 158 will be shining a spotlight on funded status, we think a great many people won't understand what that information means, or doesn't mean. We also think many managers won't know what to do about their situation. To help out, we present five key fundamental - but generally unappreciated - truths about pension funding.

NASD RULES AGAINST AMERIPRISEAn NASD arbitration panel ordered an Ameriprise Financial Inc. subsidiary to pay out as much as $9.3 million to three former pilots for American Airlines who charged that a broker for the financial services' subsidiary, Securities America, squandered their retirement savings on mutual funds that contained high fees and trading costs.

In an effort to assist auditors, regulators and top management with a methodology for identifying which IT controls should be tested as part of an annual assessment of internal controls, the Institute of Internal Auditors has released GAIT -- the Guide to the Assessment of IT General Controls Scope Based on Risk.

The House Ways & Means Committee will begin marking up a small business tax package today, according to committee chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

The complexity of the tax code, the widening tax gap and private debt collection sit atop National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson's list of the most serious problems facing taxpayers.The recently released report also cited the oversight of unenrolled return preparers, correspondence delays, concerns about the Office of Appeals, and lengthy processing times for injured spouse relief.

Resurgent House Democrats are on a collision course with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the need for restrictions on corporate executive compensation - an issue Republican lawmakers managed to keep bottled up despite repeated reports of corporate pay abuses during the last Congress.Leading the charge for reform is corporate America's worst congressional nightmare: Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, who has long championed legislation to force the SEC to take a stronger stance against excessive compensation for boardroom big shots.

If the plans of the Financial Accounting Standards Board come to fruition, 2007 will represent a historic year in international accounting - a giant leap forward in global financial efficiency.It was just four years ago that FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board decided to get serious about their efforts to converge U.S. and international standards. They planned to move ahead on two fronts: one toward the short-term convergence of relatively simple issues, the other toward convergence of issues that were either relatively complex or controversial.

A ballooning number of corruption scandals at non-profits may result in more NFPs adopting tighter policies and procedures according to global CPA and business advisory firm Grant Thornton.

There is this guy I see on the train Monday to Friday going to work. He must weigh at least 450 pounds, give or take a kilo. Where do you think he works? No, change that, what kind of store do you think he owns? You’re right. It’s a sandwich/pastry shop.Now plunking a fellow like that down into handling food all day doesn’t seem very rational but let’s look at it from the other end of the telescope. I haven’t decided yet what this has to do with financial planning but it certainly will have something to do with wealth accumulation. Besides, my wife tells me my columns are getting boring because they’re all about the same subjects: financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning. Sorry, that’s what I do.

Companies don’t believe broad-based tax reform is coming anytime soon, though they do think that the change of control in Congress will have a significant impact on tax policy, according to a survey conducted by a Washington law firm.

William H. Donaldson, who co-founded the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and later became chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has joined Perella Weinberg Partners as chairman of its advisory council, the firm announced yesterday.

A jury in Cobb County, Ga., has levied a $10 million judgment against PricewaterhouseCoopers, finding that the firm was guilty of negligent misrepresentation during the 1996 merger of nursing-home companies Convalescent Services and Mariner Health Group.

A provision in the president's budget proposals could shelter 529 college-savings plans from being counted in determining federal student financial aid.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that it its Standing Advisory Group will meet on Feb. 22 in Washington.

Grant Thornton LLP announced it will take a new approach in serving private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

KPMG said that it would miss the upcoming Feb. 16 target to complete a long-overdue audit of San Diego's 2003 financial statements.

A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of two institutional investors claims that computer manufacturer Dell Inc. inflated its profits with secret payments of about $1 billion a year from chip maker Intel Corp.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed James L. Kroeker as deputy chief accountant in the agency’s Office of the Chief Accountant.Kroeker, 37, started work at the commission this week, where he will be responsible for resolving accounting issues and rulemaking projects, as well as oversight of private sector accounting standards-setting efforts.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Whistleblower Office opened for business this month. The congressionally mandated program is designed to receive information that helps uncover tax cheating and provide appropriate rewards to whistleblowers.

A federal judge threw out the conviction of Kevin A. Howard, the former chief financial officer for Enron’s Broadband unit, citing a ruling in a similar case in which the jury’s verdict was vacated.