Regulatory actions and programs

Cain to Chair Leading Edge Alliance

A shortage of skilled labor is constraining the growth of private business, according to a report released by Grant Thornton.

Small businesses are poised to weather the economic downturn, according to a survey conducted for Intuit’s Small Business Division.

The U.S. added 8,000 jobs in the private sector in March, according to a report by payroll giant ADP.

Charges were dismissed against former Arthur Andersen partner Daniel F. Stulac in a legal battle lasting three-and-a-half years over the defunct Big Five firm's audits of Peregrine Systems.

CCH has arranged with BNA Tax Accounting to put the BNA Accounting Policy Practice Series on CCH's Accounting Research Manager service.

The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation's XBRL Team has released the near-final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008, translating International Financial Reporting Standards into Extensible Business Reporting Language.

It didn't take long for critics to start throwing eggs at Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan for overhauling the structure of the government's financial regulatory agencies.

Small business owners are more likely than consumers to use a tax professional, according to a new survey, with 74 percent of small business owners planning to get help, while only 58 percent of consumers said they would.

Accounting firm Clifton Gunderson said it has achieved the highest marks possible in its first inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

CCH has introduced an online resource, FAS 157 Manager, designed to help accountants deal with the complexities of Financial Accounting Standard Statement No. 157 on fair value measurements.

Tax Partner Named Woman of the Year

On January 24, 2002, I gave a presentation, at the Large- and Medium-Sized Firms Practice Management Committee of the New York State Society of CPAs, entitled "Like the Energizer Bunny, the Enron Mess Keeps Going and Going." It seems I was right as Citigroup just settled a lawsuit in which it agreed to pay $1.66 billion to the Enron Bankruptcy Estate, which had filed bankruptcy and fraud claims against Citigroup in the United States Bankruptcy Court in New York.

The Center for Audit Quality marked its first anniversary with a report on its progress in improving public confidence in the audit process.The CAQ, which is affiliated with the American Institute of CPAs, originated in January 2007. Last year, it began a Public Dialogue Tour to gather ideas from investors about how to accomplish its goal. The CAQ plans two more stops on the tour this year, in Boston and its home base of Washington, D.C.

A large number of organizations are expanding their businesses internationally, either growing organically or via mergers and acquisitions. With growth comes change and additional reporting processes, often followed by confusion and delays in the reporting of financial statements.One area that frequently seems to be an issue is the inter-company accounting process.

RESTATEMENTS DECLINED IN 2007Sutton, Mass. — The number of financial restatements fell last year for the first time since 2001, according to a new report.

The Treasury Department has released its blueprint for overhauling the regulatory structure of the financial markets in an effort to cope with the crisis in the mortgage and credit markets.

A federal judge has dismissed major parts of a class-action lawsuit brought against tax prep chain Jackson Hewitt and a large group of its franchisees.

Xerox and KPMG have agreed to settle a shareholder lawsuit dating back to 2000 claiming that Xerox manipulated its accounting to inflate its earnings.

R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Edgar Online have launched TryXBRL.com, a Web site that allows users to view and analyze financial statements tagged in Extensible Business Reporting Language from over 12,000 publicly traded companies.