The IRS has shifted audit resources from larger to smaller corporations, according to government watchdogs at TRAC.
TRAC further reports that, in an unprecedented action, the IRS also is seeking a court order to bar future access to agency statistics that are essential for TRAC reports.
To read the report, go to: http://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/newfindings/current/
Are you approaching an ethical gray area? If you need to ask, it’s probably too late.
Marianne Jennings (pictured), a professor of legal and ethical studies in business at W. P. Carey School of Business, frets about the subprime mess.
Back in the day, the author of “The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse,” notes that scandals cropped up about once a decade. Now, she says, “Enron and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 — which tried to reform American business practices — were only five years ago, so we are seeing scandals more frequently and the same pattern over and over.” READ MORE →
Restatements began to accelerate in 2001 — before the accounting scandals that launched SOX — particularly for companies trading off the major exchanges.
Thomson Tax & Accounting reports a Treasury Department study that reviewed 10 years of data found that the dramatic increase in financial restatements began long before the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
“The uptick in the amount of restatements started before Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002, and yet a lot of people said [it] was the cause of the increases,†said David Nason, the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, in an April 9, 2008, briefing in Washington, DC.
The key driver seems to be the economy. If history repeats, then we could be seeing another surge with this downturn. READ MORE →
Colleen Cunningham (pictured) is featured in a SmartPros/FMN excerpt on YouTube talking about international accounting standards.
McGladrey has sold its captive accounting unit for $50 million to an India BPO.
McGladrey’s some $18 million in billings and its 600 or so staffers, including 200 in the U.S., are joining buyer Quattro BPO Solutions, bringing Quattro’s headcount to about 2,000, according to the Economic Times in New Delhi. READ MORE →
For the Rock Star Accountant
Just in time for Tax Day: Syd Barrett’s accountant, Alan Kaufman, offers his services to all “unintelligible rock stars.” When they aren’t being chased by groupies, these music icons are getting chased by the IRS. Featuring Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Cher, Bono, and more. Directed by Dan Meth.
Dirty Tricks Advertising Seeps Into The Legal Profession.
By Bruce Marcus
There was an ad in today’s Wall Street Journal that really disturbed me. So much so that, despite the fact that I’m in the middle of doing a comprehensive study of professional services advertising, I have to write about this now, because I think the premise of the ad is so egregious. Continued at The Marcus Perspective…
