IRS Probes Two Years of Intel Returns

The Internal Revenue Service last month launched an examination of Intel’s tax returns for the years 2001 and 2002, the chip maker said in a government filing.Intel stated that the IRS also proposed the company make adjustments to its returns for the years 1999 and 2000 related to tax benefits fo...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 24, 2004

Stuck in the SAS 70s

A little-known and perhaps largely outdated auditing standard for outsourcers could be the next big hurdle for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Not only might the standard cause a number of businesses to run afoul of the Section 404 provisions on internal controls, but it might also dissuade other comp...

By Craig Schneider • Feb. 23, 2004

Explore the Trendline➔

Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

Grand Jury Investigating KPMG Tax Shelters

A federal grand jury in Manhattan is investigating the sale of tax shelters by KPMG to corporations and wealthy individuals who used them to escape at least $1.4 billion in federal taxes, reported The New York Times.From 1997 through 2001, KPMG collected $124 million in fees for tax shelters, acc...

By Ed Zwirn • Feb. 23, 2004

Adelphia Ordered to Pay Rigas Legal Fees

Former Adelphia Communications Corp chief John Rigas and two of his sons may face difficulties at their fraud trial in U.S. District Court New York, which starts Monday. But one thing has gotten easier: paying the lawyers.Indeed, Adelphia must pay $12.8 million to help Rigas and family defend the...

By Ed Zwirn • Feb. 20, 2004

CFO Suspended, Moore Wallace Subpoenaed

Printing company Moore Wallace, which suspended its chief financial officer last week stemming from his reaction to a whistle-blower’s charges, announced Friday that it received a subpoena from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut in connection with this matter.The ...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 17, 2004

SEC Officially Investigating Goodyear

The Securities and Exchange Commission has upgraded its informal inquiry of Goodyear Tire & Rubber’s restatement of five-plus years of results to a formal order of investigation, according to the company.The probe stems from the company’s Oct. 22 announcement on that it would restate its resu...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 13, 2004

Ernst & Young Returns to Iraq

Ernst & Young believes Iraq is safe–and ripe–for accountancy. The Big Four firm plans to reopen its office in Baghdad over 80 years after it first began its Middle East operations there, according to accountancyage.com.The move is part of a more ambitious plan to boost growth significantly in...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 13, 2004

Regulators Probe WebMD

The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina in investigating WebMD, according to the company. The probe stems mainly from the company’s financial reporting for Medical Manager Corp., a predecessor of WebMD, and its Medical Manager Health ...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 11, 2004

Big Four Losing Ground to Smaller Firms

When it comes to auditors, many companies are apparently deciding that bigger is not necessarily better.That assessment comes courtesy of Auditor-Trak, a database that records more than 12,000 auditor changes. In 2003, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche, and Ernst & Young eac...

By Lisa Yoon • Feb. 11, 2004

Anonymous Charges Lead to CFO Suspension

Commercial printer Moore Wallace Inc. has suspended chief financial officer Mark Hiltwein, with pay, stemming from his reaction to a whistle-blower’s charges.In late December the company received an anonymous letter alleging misuse of acquisition-related restructuring charges and other accounting...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 10, 2004

FASB Getting Strict on ”Current Liability”

In another matter that could impact the move toward one international accounting standard, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is considering a stricter definition of a “current liability,” which would bring U.S. rules closer to international standards, according to accountingweb.com.The pro...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 10, 2004

Poor Move

For all the ire directed at state income and sales taxes, companies largely ignore the largest levy they pay—property tax. According to the Council on State Taxation, in Washington, D.C., American companies fork out more in property taxes than in any other type of state or local tax.In fact, corp...

By Tim Reason • Feb. 9, 2004

SEC Digs Into Agco’s Accounting

Farm equipment company Agco announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an informal inquiry into its accounting practices.The probe will examine Agco’s policies for revenue recognition, sales returns and allowances, plant and facility closing costs and reserves, and persona...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 6, 2004

Lancer Responds to KPMG Withdrawal

Soda-fountain equipment company Lancer Corp. took the offensive in its dispute with KPMG LLP, which resigned on Tuesday as Lancer’s outside auditor.Responding to KPMG’s charges that Lancer engaged in “illegal acts” while being investigated by U.S. government agencies into its dealings with Coca-C...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 6, 2004

From IPO to Restatement in Three Months

Quality Distribution Inc., which went public last November, has announced that it will restate its results going back to 2001.The largest U.S. operator of bulk tank trucks said it discovered unauthorized actions by a former manager as well as accounting irregularities at Power Purchasing Inc., a ...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 6, 2004

No More Free Ride?

The tax-friendly status of online commerce and Internet access could be in jeopardy: legislators are beginning to warm up to the idea of taxing Internet commerce more consistently. Currently, merchants are obliged to collect state and local taxes only for sales to jurisdictions where they have a ...

By Joseph McCafferty • Feb. 5, 2004

Lancer, Supplier to Coca-Cola, Loses Auditor

Lancer Corp., a provider of soda fountain equipment, announced on Tuesday that its independent auditor, KPMG LLC, had resigned.Only last week Lancer, which along with the Coca-Cola Co. is being investigated by the SEC and the Justice Department, announced that an independent investigation had not...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 5, 2004

FIN 46 Costs Cisco $567 Million

Cisco Systems Inc., the world’s largest maker of switching and linking equipment for computers, reported a 15 percent rise in second-fiscal-quarter sales, to $5.4 billion, the highest in three years.The company’s earnings were penalized by $567 million, however, because the company complied with ...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 5, 2004

Auditor Rotation Gets a Fresh Start in Europe

The European Union is considering new rules for auditors and their corporate clients in an attempt to avoid future frauds like the one that has rocked Italy’s Parmalat.One possible rule would require companies to rotate their audit firm or switch the audit partner in charge of their accounts, acc...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 4, 2004

Parmalat, Parmalat: The Big Double-Bill

Parmalat Finanziaria SpA apparently received about $5 billion of loans from banks last year by allegedly double-billing for its dairy products, according to Bloomberg, citing court documents and people familiar with the company’s financing.Parmalat issued invoices to its 33 distributors and to hu...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 4, 2004

Third Time Is Not the Charm for Take-Two

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. announced late last week that it would restate nearly five years of earnings. The video-game maker is revising its revenue recognition policies by adopting a new methodology for recording reserves for price concessions.This is the third restatement for Take-Two,...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 3, 2004

Adecco Self-Exam Finds No Major Problems

Swiss-based employment company Adecco has announced that its board “has so far found no evidence demonstrating any major misappropriations or irregularities that would be financially significant to the company as a whole.”It did concede there were instances of local misappropriations and irregula...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 3, 2004

SEC Eyes Departure of Inverness Auditor

Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a provider of women’s health and nutritional products, on Friday said it received additional information from the SEC related to an ongoing investigation stemming from the 2003 resignation of Ernst & Young as its auditor.In October, the company had received...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 2, 2004

Can Execs Get a Handle on Intangible Assets?

A majority of senior executives believe that managing their intangible assets is an important issue, yet few have a viable process for measuring the performance of those assets, according to a new survey released by Accenture and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit.Fully 94 percent of th...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 2, 2004

Former Execs Allege Coca-Cola Overshipments

Three former finance officials of the world’s largest soft drink maker have told federal investigators they witnessed the company overship drink concentrate to Japanese bottlers in order to boost its financial results, according to The Wall Street Journal.Federal investigators were told the compa...

By Stephen Taub • Feb. 2, 2004