The U.S. Small Business Administration has introduced a smart phone app to help people who are interested in starting or growing a small business.

A majority of compliance executives in the U.S. and the U.K. say bribery and corruption remain part of doing business in some countries, although most companies have not abandoned operating in such countries, according to a new survey by KPMG.

AICPA SPOTLIGHTS LATEST M&A GUIDANCE

Norwalk, Conn.

Despite the fact that we are just barely through celebrating Memorial Day, I took a refresher look at the holiday calendar the other day and noticed that in 2011, July 4th falls on a Monday, which ensures a three-day weekend.

We were taken aback by an op-ed written by Bob Kueppers and D.J. Gannon that appeared in the April 2011 issue of Accounting Today ("The Journey to convergence," page 12). We're surprised they continue to tout vague generalities about the benefits of international standards and hopelessly cling to optimistic (but naive) interpretations of the Securities and Exchange Commission's announcements. They refer to the commission's "Work Plan" as supporting convergence, when it actually lays out impossible goals for proving that the costs of achieving convergence are less than the benefits.

POTENTIAL CHANGES

The California Board of Accountancy’s Accounting Education Committee and Ethics Curriculum Committee plan to hold a joint meeting to unveil their proposals for the 30 additional hours of education necessary for CPA licensure in California, beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

The Securities and Exchange Commission staff released its work plan Thursday for how International Financial Reporting Standards might be incorporated into the U.S. financial reporting system.

The Securities and Exchange Commission voted to adopt rules to establish a whistleblower program that rewards individuals who provide the agency with high-quality tips that lead to successful enforcement actions.

Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Schapiro told an accounting group that “investors are not as confident as they could be” in accountants, and she plans to make some changes.

The American Institute of CPAs held its annual ritual this week of visiting lawmakers’ offices on Capitol Hill to press the case for tax simplification, a ban on tax patent strategies, changes in tax-filing due dates, and other legislative priorities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accepted a settlement offer from an accounting executive at an energy company who falsely claimed to be a CPA.

The American Institute of CPAs gave John W. Dean, a partner at the accounting firm Heard, McElroy & Vestal, LLP, in Shreveport, La., its Public Service Award at its Spring Meeting of Council.

American Institute of CPAs president and CEO Barry Melancon derided the recent efforts of the Financial Accounting Standards Board to preserve its authority over private company accounting standards, saying, “Sometimes dynasties need to be broken.”

The American Institute of CPAs has given its Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award to Dale Flesher, a professor at the University of Mississippi.

The AICPA Council voted Monday to approve a joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants to create a new credential for management accountants internationally.

You can follow Accounting Today’s and Accounting Tomorrow’s coverage of the American Institute of CPAs Spring Meeting of Council conference in Washington, D.C. on our Twitter pages: @Accounting Today, @ATomorrow and @WebCPAtweets, with tweeting by editors Danielle Lee and Michael Cohn.

The American Institute of CPAs kicked off its 2011 Spring Meeting of Council on Sunday with a discussion of the Institute’s legislative priorities.

Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written to White House officials questioning why big banks are benefiting from a Small Business Lending Fund that was supposed to be used to help finance small businesses.