National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson urged Congress to simplify the U.S. Tax Code and recommended measures to reduce the burden on taxpayers who are struggling to pay their bills.In the first of this year's two required reports to Congress, she designated the complexity of the Tax Code as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. According to data compiled by her office, U.S. taxpayers and businesses spend about 7.6 billion hours a year complying with tax-filing requirements. "If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States," she said in her report. "To consume 7.6 billion hours, the tax industry requires the equivalent of 3.8 million full-time workers."

GUIDANCE ISSUED ON TAX STATSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service has issued interim guidance on the ability of a tax return preparer to use statistical compilations of anonymous tax return information to support their business.

From my vantage point on the other side of the Atlantic, I was delighted to see the Securities and Exchange Commission publish its roadmap to adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. I just hope the U.S. constituents are as pleased as I am and that we can make some real progress towards global accounting standards.With that hope in my heart, I thought it would be worthwhile exploring what the situation might be post-IFRS-adoption for U.S. GAAP, for the Financial Accounting Standards Board and for the International Accounting Standards Board, drawing on my experience of what has happened in the U.K. and Europe.

Page 330 of our 2002 book, Quality Financial Reporting, includes this comment: "No one should accuse accountants of being glacial; after all, glaciers move."Contrary to our jab, the accounting glacier did actually move in May 2008 when FASB issued Staff Position APB 14-1, ponderously titled Accounting for Convertible Debt Instruments That May Be Settled in Cash Upon Conversion (Including Partial Cash Settlement). This FSP is something of a sleeper because no one's said much about it, even though it kicked in for fiscal years and first quarters beginning after Dec. 15, 2008.

As the debate over adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards heats up in the U.S., KPMG has released a survey indicating support for IFRS among investors, analysts and corporate executives who prepare financial statements.

Regional accounting firm Schenck Business Solutions has created a Financial Crisis Response Team to help companies challenged by the recession.

Despite tightening their wallets, Americans are now further from achieving their retirement goals amidst the weakening economy. That’s the word from Bank of America in its new 2008 Retirement Savings Survey which says that a growing number of Americans are concerned that the current economic crisis is threatening to leave them further behind on their retirement plans. This survey finds that 60 percent of Americans are spending less than they were three months ago as a result of the current economic climate and more than half (51 percent) of the general public and 40 percent of affluent Americans are also saving less than they were, also three months ago; in fact, one in five say it is “much less.” Although the majority of respondents (69 percent) with at least one retirement account say that they have not withdrawn assets from their account(s) prematurely, recent economic conditions have caused 18 percent to withdraw assets prematurely. The leading reasons for these early withdrawals are near-term financial obligations, such as credit card debt (26 percent), and mortgage payments (22 percent), with an additional 22 percent citing recent job loss. Keep in mind that these numbers may increase significantly if the economy worsens because many more people will be dipping into their retirement savings and that could have profound implications for the country’s economic well-being. Moreover, this study shows that many Americans now (a nice 43 percent) believe they face more years in the work force than they expected just a year ago. By the same token, 36 percent of affluent respondents said that the current economic conditions have pushed back their own expected retirement age. The survey also confirms what many of us in the financial planning area already suspected: Americans need better guidance and education regarding how best to plan for retirement and manage their retirement assets. Actually, 59 percent of the general public and 52 percent of affluent Americans don’t know or don’t even have a good idea of how much they’ll need to save in order to maintain their current standard of living in retirement. That’s where the financial planner can enter. Taking it a step further, the findings point out that 47 percent of retired Americans currently do not believe or are unsure if their retirement assets will cover their financial needs throughout their lifetime. And, they are already retired. That’s frightening! So, the bottom line on this latter subject is that many individuals may not be receiving the financial guidance necessary to fully realize the opportunities that retirement presents. Need I say more?

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw its proposed roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued guidance on the recent requirement for registration of auditors of privately held broker-dealers.

CFOs and senior-level executive CPAs see the domestic economic downturn as lasting longer than previously expected, according to a survey by the American Institute of CPAs and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Kayla Gillan as senior advisor to new Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro, effective immediately.

When Timothy Geithner unveiled the Treasury Department’s latest financial rescue plan, he probably didn’t expect it to flop so quickly.

Proving generational clashes aren’t only taking place in the states, we found an article in an Australian small business publication quoting a 24-year-old KPMG employee in Melbourne worried about her future for the first time after her two close friends lost their jobs.

There is probably something in humans and in every generation that makes us think that the problems we face are uniquely difficult.

President Barack Obama plans to sign the stimulus bill into law in Denver on Tuesday after Congress passed the massive $787 billion bill.

President Barack Obama signed the massive $787 billion stimulus bill into law in an effort to boost the economy out of a deep recession.

Approximately 80 percent of companies are not ready for government or regulatory investigations, according to a new survey.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added a pair of agenda projects aimed at improving the application guidance used to determine fair values and disclosure of fair value estimates.

The Illinois CPA Society is suggesting that couples have a heart-to-heart talk on Valentine’s Day about a topic that’s been making the rounds these days: money.

House and Senate leaders made last-minute adjustments to the economic stimulus package as the final bill headed for a vote.