Financial reporting

Many are surprised to learn that while it sometimes appears that the Internal Revenue Code reaches into every aspect of our lives, it lacks focus in addressing the complex tax consequences that face the unfortunate victims of Ponzi schemes.Of course, if the reports are true, there may have never before been a Ponzi scheme like Bernard Madoff's, so it is time to take a fresh look at things.

Given the current economic situation, conducting a financial planning practice isn't getting easier. With the financial uncertainty of the past several years, investors have become uncomfortable with the "business as usual" planning approach.To some extent, this is good news for planners, as it provides the opportunity to perform more in-depth planning for many clients, as well as providing clients with a more proactive approach to investing and planning. With investor goals undergoing frequent revisions, and the means to achieve those goals also increasingly unstable, clients are increasingly willing to allow you to play a more active part in monitoring their investments on an ongoing basis and suggesting changes when appropriate, not just at an annual or bi-annual planning session.

As governments desperately seek all kinds of additional revenue, senior business professionals see the increased possibility of an audit by taxing authorities as the most significant tax risk facing their organizations today, according to a new survey.

The Monitoring Board that was recently established to add more public accountability to the International Accounting Standards Board has held its inaugural meeting and picked its first leader.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a “plain English” summary of the board’s actions when it modified the standards for fair value and mark-to-market accounting in response to congressional demands.

Gen X and Y may reap some big benefits from the bear market, and advisors who target those generations could profit from helping them.

More than half of affluent 60-year-olds are revamping their retirement plans, according to Bell Investment Advisors’ fourth annual Affluent Boomers at 60 Survey of 500 high net-worth 60-year-olds. This represents double the number who reported making such changes a year ago, Of those who have altered their retirement plans in the last six months, two out of three are delaying their retirement, with 34 percent of these planning to work an additional five or more years. Almost 75 percent have reduced spending, and nearly half have changed their investments. The survey shows that some 57 percent of respondents say they feel more financially stressed than they were six months ago. In fact, 76 percent claim they feel less wealthy and 35 percent note they do not have enough money on which to retire. The survey also reveals a loss of confidence in America’s financial system. These boomers indicate they’ve lost the most confidence in government regulators (34 percent) and banks and financial institutions (30 percent). “It is critical for investors to realize that there is no bailout package for retirement,” points out Jim Bell, CFP®, founder and president of Bell Investment Advisors. “The current economic situation is a wake-up call for investors at 60 to have a clear retirement plan that incorporates a sound investment strategy.” Of investors surveyed, 54 percent estimate they will need $1 to $3 million at retirement, but 42 percent have invested or saved less than $1 million. Among respondents who plan to reduce their spending this year, 46 percent are doing so in order to rebuild their retirement savings. More than half (55 percent) of those boomers who have decided to delay their retirement cite the same reason for adding more working years to their plans. When it comes to investing, the majority (56 percent) think the stock market is too risky for people their age. Even more, (61 percent) of those surveyed, plan to make a change in their investment strategy this year, with one-third of them intending to invest more in fixed income investments. Half of those investors who plan to change are taking a “wait and see” attitude about which direction they will go. “Merely increasing savings and working longer will not fill the gap for most Boomers approaching retirement,” says Bell. “Recent stock market volatility has many Boomers reconsidering risk, but it’s critical to keep in mind that when you reduce investment risk you also reduce the upside potential to rebuild wealth. Boomers who choose to wait for a market recovery to decide when to reinvest will miss early gains.” Despite the radical changes this group of boomers is making to their retirement plans, the market downturn of 2008 has not altered their core positive feeling about their lives. Almost all (97 percent) claim they feel great about their lives, as they have in the prior four years Bell has sponsored this survey. Looking forward, 73 percent say they expect the stock market to finish 2009 higher than it started, and 43 percent feel 2009 will be a year where they increase their wealth. Bell Investment Advisors offers investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and career/life planning services to help investors plan and achieve their personal and retirement goals. The firm manages more than $360 million for its more than 600 clients. To learn more, visit www.bellinvest.com.

Accounting experts and industry organizations alternately praised and panned the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s decision to loosen the standards for fair value and mark-to-market accounting.

Lawmakers at a congressional hearing Wednesday pressed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman to ease up on audits of small businesses.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to clarify the COBRA benefits offered under the recently passed stimulus bill.

Under pressure from Congress to act quickly, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to approve substantial changes to fair value accounting.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun spreading the word about a special incentive for taxpayers to buy a new car this year: a hefty deduction next year.

The Treasury Department has opened its ballyhooed Web site that will allow ordinary citizens to keep an eye on efforts to stabilize the financial system.

Private sector employment declined by 742,000 jobs last month, according to the latest monthly report by payroll giant ADP.

A new report suggests that companies adopting the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s recent proposals on modifying mark-to-market and fair value accounting standards should provide more extensive disclosures to help investors make sense of the impaired assets.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has bowed to pressure from lawmakers and banking interests and put forward a proposal to relax fair value standards.

Nonprofit software provider Blackbaud Inc. has teamed with online payment concern PayPal to establish BlackbaudNow, a price-friendly Web site-building application to assist small and growing nonprofits publish their own Web sites and begin accepting online donations, manage constituent accounts and record donor giving histories.

The Congressional Research Service has found that both the Senate and House bills that seek to tax bonuses paid to employees of entities receiving assistance from the federal government under the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 may have constitutional problems.

In the current recession, an extended period of unemployment for top managers no longer carries the stigma it previously did, as a recent survey of executives said that on average, a senior manager could be jobless for as long as nine months before their careers became adversely affected.

The American Institute of CPAs has published Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues, in cooperation with the American Red Cross and the National Endowment for Financial Education.