White House opposes plan for present-valuing future liabilities.
A radical new approach to government accounting that would require the US administration to account for the cost of future social security payments year by year as people build up entitlements will be proposed on Monday….. Continued at the Financial Times.
Download the FASAB White Paper now.
PEOPLE ARE TALKING: At the USA Today news blog.
NEWS RELEASE: FASAB Issues Preliminary Views Regarding Accounting for Social Insurance
The Chairman of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), David Mosso, announced today that the FASAB is seeking input on a Preliminary Views document entitled Accounting for Social Insurance, Revised (PV).
Social Insurance comprises five programs; however, two programs, Social Security and Medicare, are of special significance because of the high rate of participation among citizens, the fiscal challenges related to the programs and the challenges associated with incorporating estimates of future cash flows of this magnitude in financial statements. The Board is presenting two differing views, supported by different Board members, on accounting for social insurance.
“Financial reporting can answer fundamental questions about social insurance,†according to FASAB Chairman David Mosso. He offered that, “Key questions include whether the Government’s financial position and condition improved or deteriorated as a result of providing these and other programs, and what is the likelihood that these programs will be able to provide benefits at current levels to those who are planning on receiving them. The information provided as a result of this proposed standard should help users make these assessments while providing for the complexity of these programs and the uncertainty of long-term projections.†READ MORE →
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) applauds the formation of The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation
By Paul A. Sharman
President and CEO
Institute of Management Accountants Paul A. Sharman, ACMA is President and CEO of the Institute of Management Accountants.
The recent attention given to the negative aspects of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) implementation on U.S. corporations (large and small) and global competitiveness is long overdue. We must address the cost and complexity of implementation of SOX Section 404 – and we must do it quickly. The price of sub-optimal SOX implementation? Nothing less than a massive erosion of U.S. global competitiveness. READ MORE →
The study, COSO 1992 Control Framework and Management Reporting on Internal Control: Survey and Analysis of Implementation Practices, assesses the views of nearly 400 experienced CFOs, controllers, internal auditors, and SOX compliance specialists at publicly traded companies, according to th Institute of Management Accountants.
Conducted by Professor Parveen P. Gupta of Lehigh University, the study was designed, the IMA says, to determine the extent to which companies are using COSO’s 1992 internal controls framework and identify the factors which inhibit a successful and cost-effective SOX compliance outcome. These factors include high-cost compliance activities, definition and use of “risk based†models, application of risk assessments (fraud, plausible, and inherent risk), integrated audits, IT controls assessments, skills gap issues, and other practical areas, according to the IMA.
COSO 1992 Control Framework and Management Reporting on Internal Control: Survey and Analysis of Implementation Practices includes an executive summary that is available free of charge.
READ MORE →
Is now the time to get the hottest new tech tools?
Take the poll; get the answers.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
If you’re like most tax professionals, you’re already getting ready for the upcoming filing season. And one of the key areas you’re looking at is your technology setup.
Unfortunately, a vast number of tax practitioners work in small or home-based offices and they don’t have a full-time techie on staff to sift through all the new options. That’s why we went to Anne Stanton, the Norwich, Vt.-based consultant to many CPA firms for advice.
We started by wondering aloud if now is even a good time to make any big changes to your tech setup, considering that Microsoft is coming out with the new Vista operating system next year and hardware prices seem to drop a little bit more every month. Should we just wait to see how the dust settles? READ MORE →
Turns out there are many wealthy Americans who believe that income tax is voluntary or that the government has no right to tax citizens.
One popular tax evasion scheme–involving the claim that tax is only owed if income is derived from a foreign corporation–was cited by actor Wesley Snipes in a bizarre bid to secure an unwarranted $7.4 million tax refund, according to documents filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida…
See Wesley Snipes’ 1040X Tax Return for Yourself . . . READ MORE →
Entering the final quarter of 2006, CPAs’ economic outlook for the Year 2007 can be termed good and improving.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE EXECUTIVE PREVIEW (pdf):
Outlook 2007 — The CPA Business and Economic Forecast for the Year Ahead
HIGHLIGHTS:
In this study, 54% of respondents work in public accounting and 33% work in business & industry.
83% of respondents work in the small-business/small-office environment.
58% of respondents hold C-level decision-making positions.
Another 23% hold senior staff and general management positions.
66% of respondents are positive about the business and economic outlook.
41% voice growing confidence, versus 24% reporting no change in their opinion and 25% reporting less confidence.
CPAs are most confident about the prospects for themselves, their families, and their own businesses.
Respondents are generally optimistic about the environment for revenue growth and profits.
They are less optimistic about the climate for expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and cost of goods.
Key problem areas going forward continue to be lack of available staff, affordable health insurance and government regulation.
DOWNLOAD THE FREE EXECUTIVE PREVIEW (pdf):
Outlook 2007 — The CPA Business and Economic Forecast for the Year Ahead
READ MORE →
