The International Federation of Accountants is seeking proposals for the development of an explanatory guide on implementing its quality control standard.

The bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread has reportedly settled a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its recordkeeping and accounting.

To flatlanders, climbing a mountain may seem like a straightforward task. After all, from down below and at a distance, the summit can be seen clearly, even obviously. But experienced mountaineers know they face a different perspective when they hit the trail toward the top.Specifically, as climbing angles steepen, the summit in their view - seemingly so easily conquerable - is nothing more than a "false summit." False summits are intervening ridges or other terrain features that are positioned between the climber and the real pinnacle in such a way that the latter is obscured.

NASD FINES METLIFE UNITS $5M: The National Association of Securities Dealers imposed a $5 million fine against three MetLife Inc. units - MetLife Securities Inc. of New York, New England Securities Inc. of Boston, and Walnut Street Securities Inc. of St. Louis.In response to an inquiry that it sent in September 2003 centering on the late trading of mutual funds, the NASD said that the MetLife trio provided inaccurate and misleading responses. The MetLife firms neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of the NASD's findings.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed and settled enforcement actions against former officers and directors of Spiegel Inc., the owner of catalogue retailers Spiegel, Eddie Bauer and Newport News.

CPAs in Congress came to the rescue of their profession with the passage of a bill that eliminated the need to send privacy notices to clients."The Financial Services Relief Act of 2006 is a common-sense bill that will give CPAs more time to serve their clients," said Rep. Colin C. Peterson, D-Minn. "As a CPA myself, I can tell you that it's more important to spend time working with clients than it is to be filling out redundant paperwork."

Representatives from industry, government and the accounting profession called on Congress to reform the nation's business tax structure, warning that the current web of corporate tax incentives and penalties is pressuring companies to adopt inefficient practices.Tax Executives Institute International president David Bernard urged the Senate Finance Committee to abandon the current "patchwork of tax incentives and inducements" for businesses, and switch instead to a "simpler, more administrable code" that will promote sound tax policy. Rather than legislating business tax preferences in an effort to "pick winners and losers" in the marketplace, he recommended a broader tax base with lower rates for all businesses.

With the nation in an uproar over widespread pension fund problems, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has set a standard that will soon require companies to fully recognize on the balance sheet either an asset for a pension plan's overfunded status, or a liability for a plan's underfunded status.Standard 158, Employers' Accounting for Defined-Benefit Pension and Other Post-Retirement Plans, would eliminate companies' ability to only partially report the funded status of a post-retirement benefit plan - that is, the difference between the plan's assets and liabilities.

Harmonization of corporate taxation rates in the European Union took a small step forward with a ruling by the European Court of Justice in favor of Cadbury Schweppes, where the ECJ found against the British government's policy of applying its own higher national tax rates to a company's subsidiaries in another, lower-taxed, EU member nation.However, despite the positive implications of the ruling for the British confectionery and soft drinks company, observers said that any move towards a serious union of corporate tax policy in Europe still faces a long road.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006.Included in that legislation are some features that encourage preparation and spending for long-term care. In particular, the act allows the transfer of excess pension benefits to fund estimated retiree medical costs, and it permits annuity and life insurance contracts to expand their coverage to include long-term-care costs, including skilled care from medical professionals and custodial care (such as assistance with bathing, eating, dressing, walking, etc.).

Congress left town without passing a number of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2005, including the option to deduct state sales taxes in place of state income tax, a deduction for college tuition and fees, the deduction for school teachers, and a research and development credit.Although the breaks themselves are not controversial, and leaders of the Senate Finance Committee pushed for their enactment, the breaks became mired in political infighting when they were attached to "trifecta" legislation that would have included an increase in the minimum wage and a slash in estate tax rates.

With no shortage of improvements needed in its field, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has taken on an array of complex projects that should result in a series of important documents over the next six months."This is proving to be a rather ambitious agenda, and it's quite a busy time here at the GASB," said Chairman Robert H. Attmore. "We are cranking out documents and expect to have a busy period from now through the middle of 2007."

Planning to pass a business to the next generation, or to non-family members, involves a combination of complex issues requiring legal, tax, financial and management planning.Too often, a business owner devotes her entire career to building the enterprise, but fails to plan for the future of the business. When a thorough succession plan is in place, however, the business owner can anticipate and effectively manage change. The process must involve family members, professional advisors, shareholders, partners and key employees. A successful plan will address many issues, the more common of which are: the decision to pass the business to family, or sell the business to outsiders; the death, disability or retirement of the owner or co-owner; tax and estate planning; and the retention of key employees.

For contributions, bequests, and gifts made after Aug. 17, 2006, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 limits deductions for charitable contributions of fractional interests in tangible personal property. It also provides rules for valuing the donor's additional fractional interest contributions, and provides for recapture of the charitable deduction.In calculating deductions, the PPA requires consistent valuation of all the fractional interests in the same item (or collection of items) of property that has appreciated in value since the initial contribution.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a trio of contracts totaling $54 million to transform the financial statements in its Edgar database into interactive information.Included in that strategy was some $5.5 million earmarked for XBRL US Inc. to complete the writing of XBRL taxonomies, so that every item in a company's financial statement, such as net income or gross sales, can be assigned a unique, computer-readable label.

I went to Central High School of Philadelphia. I hear it now. Big whoop! Actually, it is. It is the oldest public high school in the country (founded 1836), the second oldest high school in the U.S. (Boston Latin is first), and was originally called Centre College, as part of the University of Pennsylvania. It had only boys and you needed to pass an entrance exam to get in. If you graduated at a certain level, you would be granted a Bachelor of Arts degree as set by the state. And, my other claim to fame is that Bill Cosby and I were classmates.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will delay implementation for one part of a rule relating to professionals who provide both tax and audit services to companies.Adopted in July 2005, Rule 3523, “Tax Services for Persons in Financial Reporting Oversight Roles,” went into effect on Oct. 31. The rule prohibits auditors from providing tax services to certain members of management who serve in financial reporting oversight roles at an audit client.

With the close of 2006 approaching, we asked industry leaders to share their ideas of what the accounting profession will look like in five years: What will be its major concerns? Its challenges? The hot new service areas? What shape will the firm landscape have taken?Throughout November, WebCPA will post new comment collections each week.

U.S. tax directors report that they now have greater visibility before corporate leadership, but they also believe they are spending more time on work that is less valued by their organizations because of increasing legislative and regulatory demands, according to a survey of senior tax executives by KPMG LLP.

H&R Block Inc. said that it will provide better and more transparent notification to customers detailing all the costs tied to its refund anticipation loans.