Accounting Law Commons^™

The Emerging International Taxation Problems, James G. Yang, Victor N.A. Metallo

Department of Accounting and Finance Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The problems of tax evasion and tax avoidance are as old as taxes themselves. Between 2015 and 2016 alone, many U.S. multinational corporations were involved in tax disputes with the European Commission. From a historical perspective, these disputes are unprecedented as they have resulted in tremendous amount of tax penalties. The most notable case was Apple for €13 billion of unpaid tax. This article discusses what tax strategies these corporations used that caused such disputes. It specifically investigates seven corporations: Apple Inc., McDonald’s, Starbucks, Fiat, Amazon, Google, and Ikea, and elaborates on the following tax strategies: high royalties, intercompany transfer …

The Future Of The New International Tax Regime, Rosanne Altshuler, Fadi Shaheen, Jeffrey Colon, Michael Graetz, Rebecca Kysar, Susan Morse, Daniel Shaviro, Richard Phillips, Danielle Rolfes, David Rosenbloom, Stephen Shay, Steven Dean

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

No abstract provided.

Getting Local Governments Where They Need To Go Without Taking Taxpayers For A Ride: "Cabs," Why They Are Used, And What Can Be Done To Prevent Their Misuse, Heather G. White

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

How Do Accounting Practices Spread? An Examination Of Law Firm Networks And Stock Option Backdating, Teck Meng Junior Tan, Patricia M. Dechow

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We hypothesize that one way that accounting practices spread is through law firm connections. We investigate this prediction by examining companies that avoided reporting compensation expense by engaging in stock option backdating. We hypothesize that executives engaged in backdating because they were desensitized to its inappropriateness when they learned through their legal counsel that other companies were engaging in this practice. We identify backdating companies through backdating-related restatements of earnings. Using network analysis, we document that backdating companies are more highly connected with other backdating companies via shared law firms. Logistic regressions indicate that the odds of a company backdating …

It's Time To Mind The Gasb, Israel Klein

San Diego Law Review

[T]his article provides support for the “Public Employee Pension Transparency Act” (Transparency Bill). The Transparency Bill, introduced in all 111th to 114th Congress—however not yet became law—proposes making tax benefits related to bonds issued by a state or political subdivision conditional upon compliance with specific reporting requirements, regarding post-employment financial liabilities, established by Congress. However, and more importantly, the Article points to the fact that the Transparency Bill only deals with a symptom of a much deeper problem—the ability of public sector entities to “shop” their disclosures and therefore to avoid accountability and scrutiny. This Article proceeds as follows: In …

New Fasb Rules For Leases: A Sarbanes-Oxley Promise Delivered, Donald J. Weidner

Scholarly Publications

Congress responded to the first financial accounting scandals of the new millennium by enacting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which required the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to study issuers’ filings and report on whether their financial statements reflect the economics of off-balance sheet arrangements to investors in a transparent fashion. In 2005, the SEC reported that there “may be approximately $1.25 trillion in non-cancellable future cash obligations committed under operating leases that are not recognized on issuer balance sheets, but are instead disclosed in the notes to the financial statements." Accordingly, the SEC requested that the Financial Accounting Standards …

The Impact Of Recent Sec Financial Reporting Probes On Shareholder Wealth: Companies, Competitors, And Consequences, Stephen Warde

Honors Projects in Finance

During an undergraduate college career, an accounting major devotes a great part of his or her time to learning how publicly traded businesses prepare financial statements in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and federal securities laws. These accounting principles, standards, and procedures are ultimately enforced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to protect investors, uphold fair markets, and promote public trust in the capital market system. To fulfill its mission, the SEC Division of Enforcement conducts investigations into possible violations of the federal securities laws and administers enforcement actions. Naturally, SEC investigations and the anticipation of …

Reconsidering Realization-Based Accounting For Equity Compensation, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. equity compensation landscape continues to evolve. Recent innovations have improved the linkage between pay and firm-specific performance, but have added complexity. Against that backdrop, this Article urges reconsideration of the accounting rules for equity pay. Under current rules, most equity pay awards are expensed based on grant date valuation with no updating for changes in value post grant. This Article advocates the adoption of a mark-to-market or realization-based approach under which the expense recorded for all equity pay awards would ultimately be trued to the value received by employees. Increasingly, equity pay awards are more analogous to commissions …

Donor Advised Funds: Charitable Spending Vehicles For 21st Century Philanthropy, Roger Colinvaux

Scholarly Articles

The donor advised fund (DAF) is changing longstanding giving norms in United States philanthropy. DAF contributions now account for around 8.4% of giving by individuals in the U.S. Over half of those contributions go to national DAF sponsors that have relationships with large commercial investment firms like Fidelity, Vanguard, and Schwab. This Article seeks to advance the understanding of the donor advised fund and to address two of the main policy questions: whether to require a mandatory distribution of funds by DAFs and their sponsoring organizations and how to respond to the increased use of DAFs for noncash charitable contributions. …

California Board Of Accountancy, Anna V. Randall, J. D. Fellmeth

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

A Legal Study On The Internal Control System For Direction Of Legislation In Korea, Sungbum Kwon

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

The concept of internal control began in accounting professional groups, gradually expanded to the administrative control and the risk management from accounting control, and became an important area that cannot be excluded from the operation of the public companies in the U.S.

When the Enron scandal struck the credibility of the stock market in the U.S. in 2001, the authorities implemented reformative measures including the SOX enactment to protect investors. Although there has been a controversy over this legislation since the enactment of the SOX, it appears that the U.S. capital market has been restoring confidence with the efforts of …

Will We Ever Close The Gaap?: A Look Into The International Convergence Of Accounting Standards, Melanie Rosin

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

This Note examines the trend toward the international convergence of accounting standards and then identifies the factors contributing to the process of this trend as well as the obstacles standard setters face in moving to one high quality, unified set of standards. The Note next identifies the possible outcomes for the future of convergence, including the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the United States, the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) encouragement of the voluntary of adoption of IFRS by the United States, requiring public companies to comply with both U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) …

Four Ways That Accountants Turn To The Dark Side, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Not only those with 'defective individual traits' commit fraud

Probate A To Z: Guiding You Through The Statutes, Rules, And Procedures (Click Sharkmedia Below For Video), Adam Scott Goldberg

NSU Law Seminar Series

• Learn about probate court statutes and rules of procedure in Florida
• Understand how Probate issues can impact other areas such as: real estate, family, and debt/creditor law.
• How to handle special challenges that arise in probate cases
• Discuss recent procedural changes in Miami-Dade & Broward Probate Court

One Fund Solution And The Pension Crisis, Gordon Butler

Cleveland State Law Review

The next forty years of economic life will be dominated by one underlying theme: dealing with the retirement income security of a growing, aging and longer-lived global population. This is a "can’t run, can’t hide" problem that will affect the lives of almost every human being on the planet . . . Whether you are light in your pension account, whether you have more money than Croesus, whether you live in the well-funded Netherlands, or whether you are a put-upon unambitious young male in Japan who sees no future for himself, you cannot escape this problem.

Before you read very …

The Target Method For Partnership Special Allocations And Why It Should Be Safe-Harbored, Daniel S. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

The Treasury Regulations’ concept of “substantial economic effect” is the holy grail of partnership special allocations. Special allocations that have substantial economic effect will come within a safe harbor in the regulations and have assurance that the allocations that are provided in the partnership agreement will be respected. In order for the allocations to come within the substantial economic effect safe harbor, the partnership must (1) maintain capital accounts in accordance with the Treasury Regulations’ standard; (2) provide for liquidation in accordance with capital accounts in all events; and (3) either (a) provide for a deficit restoration obligation (DRO) on …

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: The Solution Or The Problem?, Sophie S. Chou

CMC Senior Theses

Tax evasion has been happening for decades, but after the highly publicized cases with two foreign banks, LGT and UBS, the United States (US) is cracking down on tax evaders. The latest addition to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)’s repertoire of enforcement tools is the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, otherwise known as FATCA. The Act was enacted to incentivize tax information release by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) who would otherwise face a 30% withholding tax on any US source income. The question was whether or not the design of the Act and its implementation successfully met this goal.

This …

It Takes Time: The Need To Extend The Seal Period For Qui Tam Complaints Filed Under The False Claims Act, Joel D. Hesch

Seattle University Law Review

Each year, 10% of all federal government spending is lost due to fraud, which adds up to over $350 billion a year. Unfortunately, many well-meaning federal judges are inadvertently making it easier for wrongdoers to retain these ill-gotten gains by unnecessarily cutting short the investigative time for the government to evaluate fraud allegations brought by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act (FCA). The FCA is the federal government’s primary tool to recover funds obtained through the submission of false claims. Because the government is unable to detect most fraud cases absent the help of whistleblowers, Congress included qui tam provisions …

Possible Bias In Asset Valuations: An Application Of The Fraud Risk Triangle To Divorce Cases, Jennifer Tomasetti

Honors Projects in Accounting

No abstract provided.

Summary Of Zahavi V. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 7, Leesa Goodwin

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that (1) a casino’s knowledge of insufficient funds may negate the intent-to-defraud element under NRS 205.130; (2) there is no basis for a separate jury instruction; (3) the district court did not commit any additional errors; and (4) that NRS 205.130 is constitutional.