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SEC Proposes IFRS Plan Federal regulators proposed a plan to allow public companies to begin using international accounting standards for reporting financial results in two years, and may require them to do so starting in 2014. Also in the News: Printer Maker Offers to Help People Print Less Microsoft's Newest Browser May Block Ads U.S. Report: Taxpayers Are Subsidizing Corporate Chiefs' Wealth SmartPros Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results More SmartPros CEO Rings NASDAQ's Opening Bell More Weekly Newsletter Online CPE Investor Relations

News & Insights

This Week in the SmartPros News & Insights Newsletter Lone Accountant Takes on IRS and Wins ... Friends Make Office Life Easy Work ... Event: Women in Financial Leadership Conference ... Book Pick: Point, Click & Wow! Billionaires Say U.S. Debts Need Attention Two billionaires used the screening of a documentary in theaters across the United States on Thursday to urge the country to come to grips with its staggering debt load. Finance Executives Say Their Job is Getting More Complex In recent years several acronyms -- SOX, XBRL, IFRS -- have served to make the work lives of accountants more complicated, but what happens when the economy becomes the key driver of complexity? Appeals Court Upholds Accounting Law A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which is aimed at protecting American investors. Lone Accountant Takes on IRS and Wins tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from Charles Ulrich's victory. IRS Issues Instructions for New Form 990 The Internal Revenue Service released the revised instructions that tax-exempt organizations will need to fill out the redesigned Form 990, which must be filed starting with tax year 2008 (filed in 2009). All SEC Financial Data to Be Interactive Investors will be able to access financial disclosures from all U.S. public companies and mutual funds in an interactive format within two years, as regulators replace a 1980s-vintage, text-based reporting system with an Internet- based platform. KPMG: U.S., U.K. Top Acquisition Targets for Emerging Companies The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have become the top developed economies in which emerging market companies make acquisitions, according to a new study by KPMG. IRS Issues Summer 2008 SOI The Internal Revenue Service released the summer 2008 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which features tax year 2005 data on the growth in profits and tax liability reported by foreign-controlled domestic corporations. Deloitte Releases IFRS Paper A paper released by Deloitte says the impact of IFRS on technology systems should not be underestimated and left too late in the planning process. Inventor Wins $338M in Tax Board Verdict The jury's compensatory damages against the California Franchise Tax Board total almost $138.1 million, including $85 million for emotional distress and $52 million for invasion of privacy, plus almost $1.1 million in attorney fees. PwC Launches Tech-Trends Journal PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has released a new publication containing in-depth analysis of new technology trends that are reshaping the way companies are doing business as they face a rapidly-changing business landscape. Microsoft Money Plus Unboxed Microsoft will no longer update, box and ship its popular Money Plus personal finance software. Coworker Olympics: More Competition in the Workplace While Olympic athletes go for the gold in Beijing, workers at home may be experiencing their own competition, suggests a recent survey. Almost half (46 percent) of senior executives interviewed said they believe employees are more competitive with each other today than they were 10 years ago. Most Companies in U.S. Avoid Federal Income Taxes Unlike the rest of us, most U.S. corporations and foreign companies doing business in the United States pay no federal income tax, according to a new report from Congress. Survey: Most Companies Pay for Employee Tuition, Training As students gear up to go back to school this fall, those already in the workforce may want to consider continuing their education, a new survey suggests.

Spotlight

J.H. Cohn Accounting Report: Instruments with Characteristics of Liabilities & Equity There is no shortage of controversy over how to account for financial instruments that are indexed to, and potentially settled in, a company's own stock. On this month's J.H. Cohn Accounting Report, Kenneth Goldmann explains why the combination of complex rules and unresolved issues in this area can be a trap for the unwary. SmartPros Price: Free! View online now. CPA Report Online Subscribe to the top online CPE program for public accountants. CPA Report Online covers the latest events impacting public practice. SmartPros Price: Courses: $59.98 - Subscriptions: $409 FMN Online Subscribe to the program that more than half of the Fortune 500 trust for CPE. Stay up to date on Sarbanes-Oxley and other key events impacting corporate finance. SmartPros Price: Courses: $59.98 - Subscriptions: $409

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