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SmartPros Accounting Homepage FASB Endorses Three Private Company Council Proposals The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to endorse three alternatives within U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles proposed by the Private Company Council to address concerns raised about the relevance and complexity of certain aspects of GAAP for private company stakeholders. SmartPros:  SmartPros® Financial Results Investor Relations Weekly Newsletter Newsletter Subscriptions Online CPE Catalog NEW ONLINE CPE FROM FMN ONLINE: Accounting Changes: Convergence, Crisis and Complexity Companies are already planning for the major financial reporting changes that are streaming from the standard setters, along with the possible adoption of global accounting standards. We asked former FASB chairman Robert Herz, the author of "Accounting Changes," about the timing and potential impact of impending revisions to the financial reporting process.

Inside SmartPros: This Week in the SmartPros News & Insights Newsletter Newsline: FASB Endorses Three Private Company Council Proposals ... Feature: Gotcha Guide: How Washington Investigates Itself ... CPE: Accounting Changes: Convergence, Crisis and Complexity ... Book Pick: IFRS and XBRL: How to Improve Business Reporting

News & Insights

IRS Manager: White House Not Involved in Reviews A self-described conservative Republican who is a manager in the Internal Revenue Service office that targeted tea party groups told investigators that he, not the White House, set the review in motion, the top Democrat on the House watchdog committee said. Gotcha Guide: How Washington Investigates Itself Washington never stops investigating itself. The probes that go public - what happened at the Internal Revenue Service, or in Benghazi, Libya, or with the seizure of journalists' phone and email records - are just a sampling. Thousands of federal workers spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year checking up on their peers. And Congress is watching, too. Conflicting Laws, Regulations Feed IRS Confusion The uproar over the Internal Revenue Service's heavy-handed treatment of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status can be traced partly to when New York University Law School went into the noodle business. Boehner Doesn't Buy White House Timetable on IRS House Speaker John Boehner says it is "inconceivable" that top White House officials didn't tell President Barack Obama once they learned the Internal Revenue Service had been targeting conservative political groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. SEC Paying $580,000 to Settle Suit by Ex-Official The Securities and Exchange Commission is paying $580,000 to settle a lawsuit by a former assistant SEC inspector general who accused the agency of firing him in retaliation for bringing possible misconduct to light. Detroit Pension Funds Adviser to Pay $3.1 Million to Settle SEC Case A Florida businessman has agreed to pay nearly $3.1 million to settle claims that he secretly stole millions of dollars from a City of Detroit pension fund to buy two shopping malls in California, according to a court filing by the U.S. Security Exchange Commission. $4.1M IRS Meeting: 'Culture of Excess,' Issa Says A $4.1 million Internal Revenue Service meeting shows a "culture of excess," U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa said after the release of a Treasury Department audit. Paccar to Pay $225K to Settle SEC Accounting Case Bellevue-based Paccar will pay $225,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misinformed investors and regulators through "various accounting deficiencies that clouded their financial reporting," the agency said Monday.

Spotlight

FREE CPE: XBRL: Long Anticipated, Now Required The third phase of the SEC's interactive data disclosure program took effect this month, with nearly all public companies now required to submit their data in the fully searchable, digital format known as XBRL. Joseph Howell, managing director at WebFilings, reviews how businesses are complying with the SEC mandate and predicts how companies will adapt the XBRL technology for their own internal needs. SmartPros Price: FREE! - Sponsored by WebFilings 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: $69.90 - Subscriptions: $429

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