According to a recent report, NASA has failed to fix the majority of the 45 accounting and financial management problems cited by the Government Accountability Office in previous audits.

Hiring expectations, personal finances and job satisfaction concerns, among a number of other factors, caused confidence among accounting and finance workers to dip in October, according to the Hudson Employment Index.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. announced chairman and chief executive James N. Stanard resigned in light of investigations into the company's earnings restatement.

As part of its program to improve the clarity of international standards, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants has issued exposure drafts of four proposed standards in a new drafting style.

Personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise, tax brackets will widen and individuals will be able to make larger tax-free gifts in 2006, thanks to inflation adjustments announced today by the Internal Revenue Service.

Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio, and chair of the House Financial Services Committee, whose surname represents half of the most famous hyphenate in the history of accounting reform, will retire from the House after 25 years in Congress.

In a joint statement, the American Institute of CPAs, the Securities Industry Association and the Bond Market Association said they would start anew discussions on auditor due diligence.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will begin random annual visits to investment advisors, instead of its usual five-year visits, a ccording to published reports.

In mid-October, accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP was contacted by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board about its role as auditor of Refco Inc.

General Motors Corp. announced in a filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company's handling of retirement benefits and its relationship with bankrupt auto-parts manufacturer Delphi Corp.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations, the private sector group working to improve the financial reporting process, has issued a draft to help small filers comply with internal controls requirements on a cost-effective basis.

Since the passage of Sarbanes-Oxley more than three years ago, more than half of public and private companies participating in a survey revealed that they have changed their respective revenue recognition policies as a result of the sweeping reform act.

Computer equipment and telephone lines don't fall within a reasonable definition of brokerage and research services that investment managers may charge to their clients, according to proposed guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on the use of "soft dollars."

In a unanimous voice vote, the governing Council of the American Institute of CPAs agreed to refocus the mission of its Center for Public Company Audit Firms.

President Bush has nominated economic advisor Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who will retire January 31, after 18 years at the helm of the Fed.

STUN GUN MAKER SWAPS AUDITORS: Three months after restating its 2004 earnings, stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc. said that it had fired Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche as its auditor.In May, Taser said that miscalculated tax amounts related to employee stock options had led to the restatement of its 2004 earnings - amounting to a penny per share.

In several sports, especially golf, tennis and baseball, a player occasionally makes contact with the ball in the exact right place on the club, racket or bat.Hitting it on the "sweet spot" brings about the maximum transfer of energy under full control. Last June's report out of the Securities and Exchange Commission on off-balance-sheet financing really hit a sweet spot by pointing out several areas for improvement in financial reporting practice.

KATRINA VICTIMS CAN TAKE LOANS FROM RETIREMENT PLANS: Employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) programs, will be allowed to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families, the Internal Revenue Service said.For the first time ever, the IRS and the Treasury and Labor Departments are providing broad-based relief to retirement plan participants affected by a major disaster.

The accountant is one of the catalysts of an estate-planning team - a group that should also include an attorney, a financial planner and a trust officer.The goal of this dedicated team is to help in the management, conservation and transfer of wealth, while considering the legal and tax ramifications, as well as the personal objectives, of the client.

The $11,000 gift tax annual exclusion ($12,000 for gifts made in 2006) is available only for gifts of present interests. A gift to a trust for the benefit of a particular beneficiary is usually a gift of a present interest only if the trustee is required to distribute all of the income of the trust no less frequently than annually. If a trust does not have income because its assets are invested in non-income paying property (e.g., unproductive real estate or artwork), a gift to that trust will be treated as a gift of a future interest.However, the exclusion is allowed for a gift in trust to a minor, if the trust property and the income from that property may be (but don't have to be) spent by or for the minor before he reaches age 21, and to the extent not so spent will pass to the minor when he becomes 21.