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Tax Stunner: FASB Rejects FIN 48 Delay
 CFO.com
In an unexpected move, the FASB unanimously rejected some 400 corporate requests for a one-year delay of its new standard on accounting for uncertain tax positions.
http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/8547954

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Report Shows 'New Expectations Gap' Between CPAs, Clients
A recent study suggests that CPA firms and their clients disagree on such basic notions as client satisfaction, stability and longevity of a firm's clients, and even who a client's key decision-makers are.
http://www.telberg.com/telbergblog/archives/525-What-Do-Clients-Really-Want.html

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SEC Amends Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules
The SEC has adopted an amendment to its executive and director compensation disclosure rules to more closely conform the reporting of stock and option awards to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), "Share-Based Payment."
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-219.htm

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COSO, Grant Thornton to Conduct Internal Control Research
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has announced that Grant Thornton, LLP has been commissioned to develop guidance designed to help organizations monitor the quality of their internal control systems.
http://www.coso.org/Publications/COSO%20Monitoring%20GT%20Final%20Release_1.8.07.pdf

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Privacy Principles Target Broader Business Audience
In an effort to reach a broader business audience, the American Institute of CPAs and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants have published Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP) – a Global Privacy Framework. The release of GAPP is available in two versions, one for business and management, and the other for CPAs in public practice who provide consulting and attestation services.
http://www.aicpa.org/download/news/2007/GAPP_Press_Release.pdf

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IRS Will Deny Improper Telephone Tax Refunds
 Early filings show some individual taxpayers have requested large and apparently improper amounts for the special telephone tax refund. The IRS is investigating potential abuses in this area and will take prompt action against taxpayers who claim improper refund amounts and the return preparers who help them.
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=167308,00.html

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Survey: Employee Ratings of Senior Management Fall
 While employee ratings of senior management shot upward earlier in the decade, those numbers dipped slightly in 2006, a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide has found. The survey showed that senior management’s ratings from employees have dropped slightly since 2004. In contrast, many of those ratings had risen considerably from 2002 to 2004.
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16887

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Guidance Offered on Retirement Distribution
The Treasury Department and the IRS have issued a notice providing extensive guidance on several Pension Protection Act rules relating to distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans.
http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp222.htm

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CFOs: M&A Activity Will Continue to Grow
 Corporate marriages may be on the rise through the end of the decade, a new survey suggests. Twenty-seven percent of CFOs polled recently said they expect the number of corporate mergers and acquisitions overall to increase in the next 12 months. In a follow-up survey, 48 percent of CFOs polled said they anticipate greater M&A activity in the next two to three years.
http://www.roberthalfmr.com/portal/site/rhmr-us/menuitem.31317bed3c331817d775a81002f3dfa0/?vgnextoid=c0b93468151e6010VgnVCM100000e2aafb0aRCRD

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PCAOB Reports on Auditors' Fraud-Related Responsibilities
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a report that discusses auditors' implementation of PCAOB interim standards regarding the auditor’s responsibility with respect to fraud.
http://www.pcaobus.org/News_and_Events/News/2007/01-22.aspx

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Online Workshop Helps Tax-Exempts Remain in Compliance
The IRS has launched a new Internet-based version of its popular Exempt Organizations Workshop covering tax compliance issues confronted by small and mid-size tax-exempt organizations, including charities and churches. The target audience for the free online workshop is organizations that have no tax experts on staff or have no or limited contact with outside advisors on tax compliance issues.
http://www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=167134,00.html

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Study: Risk Management Spending to Rise
AMR Research has released the results of an in-depth field study on the state of operational risk management technologies. The study found that 46 percent of firms plan to implement or evaluate technology for risk management in the next 12 to 24 months.
 http://www.amrresearch.com/Content/view.asp?pmillid=20097

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Study: Benefits Changes to Continue in '07
Employees will continue to pick up more responsibility for choosing and financing their benefits in 2007 as companies address new regulations and focus on controlling costs, Watson Wyatt Worldwide predicts.
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16867

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