Rand & Associates has launched a program aimed at helping small businesses weather the financial crisis.

An advocacy group plans to bring a case challenging the constitutionality of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled against the plaintiffs earlier this week.

MYOB has released the 2009 version of its MYOB Premier Accounting software, with extra payroll, security, search, print and spell check features for small businesses.

What better way to kick-start a customer conference in a lagging economy than to present an Olympic gold medalist as your keynote speaker?

The House Small Business Committee convened a hearing on the financial rescue program and found that $1.6 trillion in bailout funds have provided little assistance to small businesses so far.

State and local governments could take advantage of the interactive data-tagging technology that the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to require public companies to begin using for their financial filings.

Baby Boomers planning for retirement need to stick to a budget, according to one tax expert.

With tax season coming up, the IRS is reaching out to tax-exempt organizations and preparers to spread the word about the revised Form 990 and the extra information it will require.

The past year has seen an unprecedented amount of new tax legislation and regulations affecting business taxpayers.

At long last, the SEC has published its proposed roadmap for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, but the “date certain” is as uncertain as ever.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox acknowledged that the mortgage meltdown may have started in the United States, but he pointed the finger at other countries for helping create a global economic crisis.

A large majority of CPA firms reported continuing strong growth during the past two years, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, but the survey was taken before the financial crisis hit home in recent quarters.

Significant opportunities still exist for optimization of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 programs and reductions in compliance cost, according to a new report.

In an article entitled “Address Going-Concern Issues as Early as Possible,” in Camico’s Impact Fall 2008 newsletter, the professional liability insurer offers the following advice: “Going-concern issues should be addressed as early as possible in an engagement. …. Delay makes the necessary conversations more difficult, may impair your objectivity, and usually exacerbates the problem.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission has published its long-delayed roadmap for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with insider trading charges stemming from his sale of 600,000 shares of the search engine Mamma.com.

"There have been nine pieces of tax legislation passed this year," he noted. "The primary responsibility for accountants is to adequately and accurately reflect things that happen to the taxpayer in a way that gives the taxpayer the greatest benefit allowed by the legal system. Tax planning helps the preparer to meet this responsibility."

A new career in income tax preparation could be a safety net for some of the thousands of bank and financial services employees who are losing their jobs due to the current economic crisis. Many of those being laid off are older employees who would not be able to find another comparable full-time job, but are not ready to retire.Tax professionals need many of the same qualifications that bankers and financial professionals possess. A tax preparer must be able to conduct a thorough interview to extract financial and personal information from their client and hold that information in complete confidence. Preparing income tax returns requires similar skills as completing banking, mortgage or investment documents.

MCGLADREY TO AUDIT JTAThe Jacksonville, Fla., office of McGladrey & Pullen has been engaged to audit the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. The JTA, in conjunction with the Florida Department of Transportation and the city of Jacksonville, develops and implements construction plans to improve traffic flow in the Jacksonville area.

When was the last time you or your clients took a hard look at your 401(k) plans?If you're like many small and midsized business owners, chances are that you haven't spent much time reviewing the plan since the day it was set up three, five and perhaps even 10 years ago. Most employers implement a plan and simply assume that even years later it will continue to do what is best for themselves, their company and their employees.