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IRS Chief Takes New Job With
American Red Cross
IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson will become
the next president and CEO of the
American Red Cross, effective May 29, 2007. Everson has served as the 46th
commissioner of the IRS since May 2003. During his tenure with the IRS,
Everson focused on efforts to better serve taxpayers, modernize the agency’s
systems and enhance enforcement activities.
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Board Issues Second-Year
Report on Implementation of Internal Control Standard
Last week, the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued a report on the
second-year implementation of its Auditing Standard No. 2, the standard
for auditing internal control. While progress has been made in improving the
efficiency of internal control audits, PCAOB Chairman Mark Olsen says this
latest report identifies several areas in which auditors can achieve further
efficiencies. Download the
full report from the Board’s web site.
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FASB Issues an Exposure
Draft to Improve the Accounting for Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
issued a
proposal last week to improve the accounting for financial guarantee
insurance contracts. The exposure draft requires that insurance enterprises
recognize premium revenue when insured contractual payments (generally
principal and interest) are made by the issuer of the insured financial
obligation. The proposal presumes that the risk to the insurance enterprise
is reduced to the extent of the insured contractual payments made. In
keeping with the FASB’s mission to help reduce complexity in the financial
reporting system, the proposal has been written in a new format intended to
improve its understandability. Written comments on the exposure draft are
due by June 18, 2007.
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Small Business
Administration Honors AICPA’s Jim Metzler
Jim Metzler, vice president of Small Firm
Interests for the AICPA, has received the U.S. Small Business
Administration’s New York District Office 2007 Financial Services
Champion of the Year Award. Metzler was cited for his significant
contributions in helping small businesses obtain the accounting services
they need to succeed. Metzler serves as the AICPA’s advocate for small firms
on practice, regulatory, legislative and profession matters and is the chief
liaison between the Institute and its member firms helping them deliver
high-quality services to their clients.
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Information
Everyone Needs: 2007 Spring Members Advisory Forum
You’ll want to attend the 2007 Spring Members
Advisory Forum on May 9 in Lansing to hear the latest about Michigan’s
Financial Crisis. A power-packed panel of experts will offer an analysis
of the budget deficit, provide an update on the plans for a new tax structure and
look at projections for the
next fiscal year. The impressive panel will include Doug Roberts, director
of the Institute for Public Policy & Social Research and former state
treasurer; Mitchell Bean, one of the two officials charged with estimating
the state’s revenues and the impact of policy changes; and CPA Greg Nowak,
who has headed up the tax committees for the MACPA, the State Bar of
Michigan and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. You won’t want to
miss the other sessions in the daylong meeting either. Earn 6 CPE credits
by attending the Forum. For more details and registration information, visit
the
MACPA web site.
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Web Tools Can Be Business
Friends or Business Foes: Cost Savings and Productivity Gains Are Appealing,
but Security Issues Hinder Use
Experts say companies using online software
and other web-based tools should ensure that the third parties handling
their data have adequate security controls in place. However, they note that
firms do not appear to be as concerned as they should be about security. To
read this article in its entirety and learn much more about developments in
technology, access
Technology and
Productivity Weekly, the MACPA's electronic technology newsletter for
industry professionals, sponsored by Information, Inc.
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