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Accounting News Roundup: PwC’s Pounds; Three-Horse Race at PCAOB; ‘Personal (Expletive) Candy Store’ | 09.14.15

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

PwC UK revenues top £3bn for first time [FT]
Over a 10% increase from £2.8 billion in FY '14. Here's how the services break down:

Assurance — which includes audit — grew 9 per cent to £1.1bn, tax was up 7 per cent to £763m, deals grew 8 per cent to £628m, and consulting was up 16 per cent to £571m. The average distributable profit per partner increased 2.5 per cent to £740,000 during the year.

UK Chairman Ian Powell says that audit is still the "heart of our business because the integrity and reputation that comes from providing high quality audit services is a reflection on all our other services."

The Jockeying Has Begun to Fill a High-Paid Job in Washington [Bloomberg]
Besides James Doty, "two people with knowledge of the matter" say that Board member Lewis Ferguson and Senate Banking Committee staff member William Duhnke are interested in the job that, as noted, pays quite well: $670,000 per year, give or take a few.

SEC Charges Five Arizona Residents With Stealing Millions From Investors to Fund Travel and Entertainment Sprees [SEC]
The nature of this order isn't as relevant to you all as that mess involving BDO but any time funds are stolen for "strip club outings, vacations to Hawaii and Disneyland, and such personal expenses as mortgage payments and child support," and referred to as "our treasure chest" and "personal (expletive) candy store," it seems appropriate to share.

How women can reach the top in accounting [Fortune]
Learn to communicate. Find a sponsor. Start or join an all-inclusive affinity group. Get a beer with people. 

IASB Formalizes 1-Year Deferral of Revenue Recognition Standard [AT]
Effective date of January 1, 2018.

Former Church of Scientology accountant's novel strategy: Get insiders to help topple David Miscavige [TBT]
James Jackson prepared L. Ron Hubbard's taxes in the '80s and helped the church's accounting firm, Greenberg & Jackson, win its tax exempt status from the IRS in the early '90s. Now he's taking on LRH's successor. 

Man who shot roommate while teasing cat with laser sight fined $50 [LT]
That's what you get for messing with cats, bro. "According to a criminal complaint, [Vaughn] Rothering and his roommate were on the porch of their Onalaska residence on May 11 when Rothering let their cat chase the laser of his 9mm pistol; he said he was spinning the gun in his hand when it went off and struck his roommate in the ankle."

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Who Will Rescue Financial Reform? [NYT]
A direct assault on Dodd-Frank would be so blatantly biased toward banks that it would be sure to provoke a public backlash. So the Republican plan is to delay and disrupt reform. The effort is partly ideological — an insistence that regulation is unnecessary, no matter the evidence to the contrary. It is also a campaign fund-raising ploy, because Wall Street will reward the opponents of reform. Of course, Democrats are themselves not indifferent to Wall Street campaign cash, which raises the question of how effectively they will counter the Republicans’ aims.

US Economy Over the Worst: KPMG Executive Surv=”http://www.cnbc.com/id/42277311″>CNBC]
In another sign the American economy is on the comeback trail, a new survey from KPMG shows optimism is improving among U.S. manufacturing and service industry executives. Executives in both key sectors say the worst is behind us.

Why No Warnings? Investors Press Audit Regulator [Forbes]
Francine McKenna rounds up the haps from last Thursday’s Standing Advisory Group of the PCAOB meeting.

COSO Contemplates Expansion of 5 Component Internal Control Framework Into 20+ Principles; Potential Impact On Sarbox 404 Assertions [FEI]
In an update provided at the March 24, 2010 PCAOB Standing Advisory Group meeting, COSO Chairman Dave Landsittel described COSO’s current project to modernize and update its 1992 Internal Control- Integrated Framework. COSO plans to issue an Exposure Draft of a proposed revision later this year, followed by the release of two final documents in 2012.

The Washington Post Peddles Good TARP PR [JDA]
Check it out mostly for the graphic.


Networks, Advertisers Call New Plays Amid NFL Strife [WSJ]
Since the National Football League locked out its players about two weeks ago, some cable and broadcast networks have been preparing contingency plans to air alternative programming in case games are canceled this fall. Advertisers, who spend roughly $3 billion a year on commercials that run during NFL games, also are forging new plans and considering buying commercial time on other marquee programming should the work stoppage continue into the football season. Some advertisers already have bought commercials on Viacom Inc. television networks as a backup.

AstraZeneca settles tax dispute and saves $1bn [Guardian]
AstraZeneca has settled a long-running tax dispute in a deal which sees HM Revenue & Customs refund tax payments that will now go to America instead. The pharmaceutical company announced on Monday morning that US and UK tax authorities have reached an agreement over where it declares certain profits. The dispute over so-called “transfer pricing” dates back to 2002, and was the most significant of AstraZeneca’s ongoing arguments with tax authorities.

SEC Filing: Georgia Gulf Dismisses Deloitte & Touche; Engages Ernst & Young [CityBiz]
Georgia Gulf may not have been crazy about being told they have a material weakness.

What You Hate Most About Your Job [AOL]
“Everything” is a little too broad.

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Here’s a Tax Guide for Nuts [WSJ]
New York is the latest state to roll out a set of odd distinctions between “food” items that are taxable (e.g. Hi-C) and non-taxable (Tang).

Most States Seen Raising Jobless Tax on Businesses [NYT]
As persistently high unemployment has drained the funds that are used to pay jobless benefits, more than two-thirds of the states expect to raise taxes on businesses this year to replenish them, according to a survey of labor agencies released Wednesday. Unemployment taxes remain low by historical standards: the survey, by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, found that states have effectively cut the unemployment tax rate on businesses by 64 percent since the unemployment program began collecting taxes from employers in 1938.

Fiesta Bowl considers cutting ties to legal, accounting firms [TAR]
The Fiesta Bowl, which has made numerous changes to keep its status among college football’s elite post-season games, is considering whether to cut ties with its longtime legal counsel, Snell & Wilmer, and accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers. The bowl’s recently completed internal investigation into financial wrongdoing and potentially illegal behavior by employees raised questions about whether Snell & Wilmer’s lawyers and accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers did enough to alert board members to improprieties.

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. Announces Appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm [NOG]
Northern Oil apparently wants to play with the big boys, as they ditch Mantyla McReynolds (a BDO alliance firm) for Deloitte.

What a Coinkydink! Overstock.com Buys Naming Rights Near Courthouse [Gary Weiss]
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Priest Questioned Over Gambling Spree After Deloitte’s Internal Audit [inAudit]
A parish priest in Ottawa, Canada has decided to end his 14-year service to the Glebe church following an internal audit conducted by Deloitte LLP that revealed several controversies involving his gambling activities.

KPMG Auditor Cleared of Taking Bribe for Work on Hontex’s Hong Kong IPO [Bloomberg]
A KPMG senior manager was cleared by a Hong Kong judge of accepting a HK$300,000 ($38,601) bribe for his work on the listing prospectus of Chinese fabric maker Hontex International Holdings Co. The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Leung Sze-chit, 33, intended to accept envelopes containing cash as a reward from Chan Chau-wan, a consultant hired by Hontex for its listing, in February 2010, District Court Judge Stephen Geiser said today.