The Securities and Exchange Commission has not implemented effective information system controls to protect sensitive data according to a searing report from the Government Accountability Office. As part of its 2004 audit of the SEC's financials, the GAO assessed the effectiveness of the regulator's controls within its information systems -- the barriers that protect the confidentiality and availability of sensitive financial data. The auditor general found that the commission had not implemented "with any consistency," electronic access controls including user accounts, passwords and network security. Additionally, the GAO unearthed weaknesses in other information system controls including physical security and segregation of computer functions. As a result, sensitive data such as payroll, personal information and financial transactions, were at risk for unauthorized access or disclosure. The office recommended that the SEC chair William Donaldson direct his CIO to bolster its agency-wide security program. The SEC said that "significant progress" was already being made to address the failings.

Expert witnesses at the fifth meeting of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform here, advised the reform group to proceed with extreme caution with regard to the adoption of a national sales tax and changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Robert Greenstein, founder and executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told the panel that a consumption tax could be implemented but would carry with it a string of collateral problems such as calls for exemptions and exclusions. Louisiana treasurer John Kennedy said that a sales tax was "not as simple as it might first appear." He added that a sales-and-use tax provides 37 percent of the state's revenue, but advised the panel to examine any and all issues Louisiana had with the state-wide levy. When addressing the merits of the EITC Kennedy also told the panel that it had "done more than any other program to lift people out of poverty." Greenstein pointed out that the EITC increases work efforts while slashing welfare among single parents. Next week the Tax Reform panel will host its sixth meeting, scheduled for March 31, at Fort Mason Center, Landmark Building A, San Francisco. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

Tax information products provider RIA has teamed with Chicago-based financial management concern Parson Consulting in a licensing pact where users of RIA's Checkpoint research service will be given access to Parson's ProAct Sarbanes-Oxley 404 compliance framework. Terms were not disclosed. Under the licensing agreement, Checkpoint users can navigate Parson's ProAct, which includes various overviews of the 404 compliance process with links to related source materials on Checkpoint such as the COSO framework and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Expensing for employee stock options would slash post-tax earnings by an average of 22 percent for companies in the Nasdaq 100, and by 5 percent for firms residing in the S&P 500, according to a just-released analysis of options expensing by financial services conglomerate Bear Stearns. The report analyzed the 2004 stock option disclosures in the 10Ks filed by companies that were listed on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes as of Dec. 31, 2004. In December, the Financial Accounting Standards Board released FAS 123, a standard that would require Securities and Exchange Commission issuer companies to treat options as an expanse on financials by the third quarter 2005. That ruling has come under a hail of criticism, particularly from various stock option advocacy groups and the technology sector. With regard to technology and the impact of options expensing, the report said that some $44.43 billion in reported net income for a total of 80 IT companies would be reduced an aggregate of 25 percent. Meanwhile, 87 consumer discretionary companies with $39.4 billion in earnings and 55 heath care concerns with $58.2 billion in net income would experience a 9 percent decline.

The Internal Revenue Service has clarified in Rev. Rul. 2005-11 that interest paid on a loan that is refinanced more than once will retain its status as qualified housing interest, to the extent that the amount of the loan is not increased. That interest is deductible for alternative minimum tax purposes. Any other interest on amounts borrowed that are not used to acquire, construct or substantially improve any property that was a principal residence or qualified residence may not be deducted for AMT purposes, the service said. Revised instructions to Form 6251, which include a worksheet to help taxpayers determine the correct home mortgage interest adjustment, will be posted on the IRS Web site, www.irs.gov

Compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has become a far more expensive proposition than originally thought, as the average cost of complying with the internal controls mandate has hit $4.36 million, a 39 percent jump from 2004 estimates, according to a recent survey from Financial Executives International. The organization of financial professionals, which surveyed 217 public companies with average revenues of $5 billion and asked them to gauge their Section 404 compliance costs, said that the out-of-pocket increase stems from a 66 percent leap in external costs for consulting, software and other vendors, and a 58 percent increase in the fees charged by external auditors. In a breakdown, FEI said that 404 compliance averaged $1.34 million for internal costs, $1.72 million for external costs and $1.30 million for auditor fees. The auditor fees are in addition to companies' financial statement audit fees. Some 55 percent of the participants in the FEI poll indicated that Section 404 gives investors and other external audiences more confidence in a company's financial reports. However, 94 percent of all companies surveyed said that the costs of 404 compliance exceed the benefits. In order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Section 404 compliance process, the companies participating in the poll issued the following recommendations: o Allow for a more risk-based audit approach (71 percent); o Reduce the degree of documentation (66 percent); o Provide flexibility for remediating control problems in the fourth quarter (60 percent); o Increase the judgment allowed in aggregating deficiencies (55 percent); and, o Permit roll-forward procedures (54 percent).

Financial services conglomerate Fidelity Investments has extended its partnership with the American Institute of CPAs to assist CPAs in establishing an investment advisory practice. As part of the extension to the five-year-old program, institute members will receive several new benefits, including low minimum asset requirements and discounts on marketing materials through PracticeMark, Fidelity's online marketing program. Originally sealed in 2000, the pact designates Fidelity as the exclusive, preferred provider of custody and clearing services to AICPA members. Information about the Fidelity program is available at http://pfp.aicpa.org/Resources/Investment+Planning.

Despite outcries from companies and auditors on stringent corporate reform measures, Stephen Cutler, the director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the regulator does not plan to ease up anytime soon. According to Dow Jones, Cutler told an audience of corporate directors at Duke University that it would be a mistake to slow down on the reforms adopted in 2002 as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley. "I don't think anyone wants to return to the environment that allowed the scandals of Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and Adelphia to take seed and flourish," Cutler said. He also revealed that over the past two years, the SEC has collected more than $2 billion in fines. But he added that, despite increased vigilance and tougher measures, there remains a high frequency of financial restatements.

Congress is considering new legislation that could streamline accounting procedures for tens of thousands of U.S. companies by liberalizing the rules for the use of the cash accounting method by small business taxpayers. The bill, introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, dovetails neatly with President Bush's drive to streamline the federal tax code -- a move that she said is needed to improve the efficiency of the U.S. tax system "and strengthen our overall economy." The main thrust of her legislation, however, is to provide relief for small businesses from "the burdensome record-keeping requirements that they must deal with currently in paying their income taxes." Some companies already enjoy such relief under rules set by Congress, allowing many small businesses with annual income under $5 million to use cash accounting. Cash accounting recognizes revenue and expenses when cash is received or disbursed, as opposed to when it is earned or incurred. Larger companies, however, are required to follow the accrual method of accounting, which Snowe said "tends to impose additional financial and administrative costs that should be eliminated." Under her proposal, the "obsolete $5 million threshold" for use of cash accounting would double to $10 million -- a change that would allow many more small business owners "to satisfy their tax obligation in a cheaper, more efficient manner," she told lawmakers. As a result, these entrepreneurs "will be able to invest more time and resources into their business," Snowe said. In urging other lawmakers to support her proposed accounting change, the senator argued that small businesses are overwhelmed by the complexity of today's tax system and by the burden of complying with unneeded accounting requirements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission appointed New York attorney Lee S. Richards III as the independent examiner for Islandia, N.Y.-based software manufacturer Computer Associates. Richards will serve as examiner for a minimum of 18 months. His appointment was part of an agreement that CA signed in September to end an investigation onto accounting fraud. In his new role, Richards, a partner in the New York law firm of Richards Spears Kibbe & Orbe LLP, will oversee compliance with the settlement, make best practices recommendations to the board, and revamp the company's finance and accounting departments. The SEC settlement stems from a $2.2 billion accounting fraud that ultimately led to the ouster of several top managers, including chief executive Sanjay Kumar. The company had been backdating purchase orders and keeping the books open past the period close.

Internal audit and risk-consulting firm Protiviti Inc. has partnered with Tibco Software -- a provider of business integration software -- for a Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 solution. Terms were not disclosed. Under the agreement, the companies have co-developed a SOX 404 product that integrates Protiviti's SOX portal application with Tibco Staffware Process Suite. The resulting product is a framework to assist users with documenting, testing, assessing and monitoring their internal controls. The companies said that the co-branded SOX solution would help user companies reduce compliance costs and improve transparency.

The Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board released a report requesting an additional $11.6 billion in funding for fiscal year 2006, a 9 percent increase over the Bush administration's recommendation. President Bush is required to submit the board's request, without revision, to Congress along with his own request. "One of the board's roles is to provide a private sector perspective," observed board chairman Raymond T. Wagner Jr. "And from this vantage point, it makes perfect sense to make the additional investments in enforcement that will pay for themselves many times over. The IRS and administration estimates show that every dollar invested in enforcement generates four dollars in increased revenues." The board estimated that an additional $435 million for enforcement would result in $1.74 billion in additional tax revenue. The board also called for additional funding toward maintaining and improving customer service and supporting the Business Systems Modernization program, which is replacing the agency's antiquated computer system. In its report, the board stated that its recommendations are backed by taxpayers. Those surveyed in its annual tax compliance survey called for additional funding for the IRS -- 62 percent favored more funding for enforcement and 64 percent favored more taxpayer assistance.

While college costs continue to rise faster than the level of inflation, parents and grandparents now have more tools than ever before to better afford this cost years before a child graduates from high school.To most parents, saving for their children's higher education costs can seem like a daunting task, which makes planning all the more critical.

A homeowner may exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale or exchange of a home if he owned and used it as his principal residence for at least two of the five years before the sale or exchange took place.The maximum exclusion is $500,000 for joint filers, if certain conditions are met. A taxpayer who uses a property partially as a principal residence and partially for business purposes is treated as using the entire property as his principal residence for purposes of the two-year use requirement if the residential and business parts are within the same dwelling unit. The exclusion doesn't apply, however, to the gain resulting from depreciation taken for partial business use of the residence after May 6, 1997.

Framingham, Mass. - A survey of 220 businesses revealed that while compliance costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley Sections 404 and 302 are front-loaded, once companies are through the process, there is a great deal of proportional value.The poll, conducted jointly by International Data Corp. and RevenueRecognition.com, also noted that a compliance "chasm" exists and that companies that have crossed it have achieved more effective results at less cost.

No matter what else may happen in 2005, the markets for personal financial planning are set to explode. It's not just the Bush administration's announced plans to overhaul both Social Security and the income tax systems. Nor is it just that an economic upswing and low interest rates are pushing the stock markets back up to pre-2000 levels.There are certain fundamental changes taking place in the software industry, and in the markets for financial planning software in particular. Three trends are notable at the beginning of this year: * The software is going online. In addition to traditional application software provider eMoneyAdvisor, MoneyTree and EISI have both moved strongly into Web-based services. Other software vendors must carefully weave between the obvious advantages of an online service and the wishes of subscribers, who may not want to move so quickly onto the Internet. But the trend has an air of inevitability about it.

Just weeks after a report by New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi charged three former officials of the Roslyn N.Y. School District with plundering more than $11 million over an eight-year period, a new investigation is examining the district budget, as well as the former supervisor for construction and repair projects. The probe by prosecutors for Nassau County, as well as Hevesi's office, centers on Thomas Galinski, who resigned last year after questions arose surrounding trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City that were billed to the district. At issue is a $23.9 million bond issue approved five years ago to expand the district's middle school. However, district residents have labeled the work substandard, as evidenced by such things as leaking roofs. The former superintendent, Frank A. Tassone, assistant superintendent Pamela Gluckin and clerk Debra Rigano, who were alleged to have siphoned the money from district coffers, are currently awaiting indictment by the Nassau County Grand Jury. In addition, the state probe has implicated an additional 26 people involved in the audit scam. Meanwhile, the accounting firm that audited the district, Miller Lily & Pearce, which audited over 50 additional school districts and whose affiliate sold financial software to some 250 districts across New York state, recently shut its doors.

Washington - Regulators at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board are wrestling with proposals to abandon the current "pass/fail" auditor reporting model for informing investors of the accuracy of corporate financial statements - a move that could require independent accountants to provide considerably more information about the veracity of their clients' financial reports.Whether the additional work and information will translate into more useful data for investors was a matter of considerable debate during the latest meeting of the PCAOB's Standing Advisory Group.

Accounting for social policy obligations has long confounded the preparers and users of governmental financial reports.The controversy currently surrounding the gargantuan obligations of the Social Security Administration is an example of the difficulties of dealing with long-term, big-number obligations of vaguely defined liability.

Brussels - Following the start of 2005, when the EU's International Financial Reporting Standards ventured out of port, so to speak, users might have hoped that only the odd technical hitch or two remained to be solved, and that the arrival of IFRS accountancy standardization to the economic zone's 7,000 listed companies would be smooth sailing.Subsequently, European investors, who previously faced a tangle of variegated regulations - which led to confusion over how companies were performing - would then be able to balance performance with performance.