Financial reporting

The House approved the $700 billion financial industry rescue package by a 263-171 margin on Friday, after defeating it on Monday.

What's the future of CPAs in the financial planning area?The answer has been the same for the past 100 years.

After failing to clear a House vote on Monday, the $700 billion rescue plan for Wall Street passed the Senate by a comfortable margin of 74-25 and now awaits a House vote, which could come Friday.

The Center for Audit Quality has joined with the Council of Institutional Investors and the CFA Institute to come out in opposition of suspending mark-to-market or fair value accounting.

The Treasury Department said it has opened its Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds, whereupon the Treasury will guarantee the share price of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund – both retail and institutional – that applies, and pays a fee, to participate in the program.

Senate leaders were expected to vote Wednesday evening on their version of the $700 billion financial bailout package after compromising on a series of tax breaks and increasing the limit on insured bank deposits.

In a massive setback for the Bush administration and the Treasury Department, House lawmakers defeated the mammoth $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street, sending stocks spiraling and leaders on both sides of the aisle vowing to resurrect the package as soon as possible.

The issuance of the so-called Final Report of the Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession to the U.S. Department proves conclusively to me that many of the powers that be need to gain a better understanding of transparency. It isn’t what’s in the massive document that tells me this, but it is what is specifically left out of both the document and the press release announcing the report’s approval.

iPro One said it has acquired a minority ownership interest in Tegra Financial Partners, an affiliate of the Georgia accounting firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne.

Harper, Van Scoik & Co. is merging with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, the fourth largest accounting firm in the Southeast, expanding the combined firms' services in the Tampa Bay area.

A recent survey by Harris Interactive conducted for Charles Schwab and Age Wave asked some 4,000 Americans ages 21 to 83 what they thought of different generations. It was broken down into Generation Y (ages 13-31), Generation X (32-43), Baby Boomers (44-62), the Silent Generation (63-83), and the Greatest Generation (ages 84 and older). Some of the findings show that Baby Boomers (35 percent) are most widely viewed as having a positive effect on society followed by Generation X (25 percent), the Silent Generation (33 percent), and the Greatest Generation (30 percent). These are considered the most widely admired generations. Actually, the Silent and Greatest Generations are viewed as the most generous while the Bay Boomers and Generation X are deemed the most productive. Interestingly, Gen X is considered the most self-indulgent followed by the Baby Boomers and Gen Y. There is no consensus as to which generation is most socially conscious although Baby Boomers and Gen X appear at the top of the list. One fascinating aspect is that the results show that Gen Y would like to rename themselves the Internet Generation. The survey shows that 53% of respondents view Gen Y as the most self-indulgent generation. They really dislike being called Generation Y or Millennials. And Gen X says that it would rename to Generation Tech. From the survey, some 41 percent view Gen X as the most innovative generation. Only the Baby Boomers seem to like the name given to them. In fact, 45 percent of the respondents view them as the most productive, and The Silent Generation would re-name themselves the Responsible Generation. They strongly dislike being called Silent or Invisible. I can affirm that because it’s my generation. I was certainly not silent or invisible, and was downright responsible. Some 33 percent of respondents view them as the most admired. I like that. The survey is entitled “Rethinking Retirement.” For more information, see http://rethinkingretirement.schwab.com/survey.

A group advocating the First Amendment right of pastors to endorse political candidates plans to stage a protest this Sunday encouraging clergymen to defy the rules governing tax-exempt organizations.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has decided to delay the implementation of a new standard on loss contingencies after receiving comments from organizations concerned that it would lead to increased litigation.

The American Institute of CPAs has expanded its financial literacy campaign, Feed the Pig, with a new educational program aimed at tweens.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue procedure that provides guidance on the treatment of taxpayers who accept certain types of settlements of potential legal claims relating to auction rate securities.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs about the financial industry bailout package, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended fair value accounting, but recommended that banks should be able to sell their assets at the "hold-to-maturity" value to the federal government.

Below is a reproduction of the main portion of the opening page of a Web site that I visit quite often.

The Treasury Department has expanded its financial bailout program to $700 billion in an effort to relieve banks and other financial institutions of their troubled mortgage assets.

The American Bar Association is urging the Financial Accounting Standards Board to delay implementing a proposed standard for loss contingencies arising from business combinations, warning of harmful, unintended consequences.

There are hundreds of CPA firms that claim to provide wealth management services to their clients. For those that truly do, hats off, as many do a fine job.But for the majority of firms that I encounter, they're dreaming if they think that what they are doing is remotely close to wealth management.