It was recently reported that BIOGEN, and potentially several other big Pharma companies have some explaining to do when it comes to accounting for (or apparently failing to account for) certain payments to the companies related to stock buyback schemes.  In a letter from the SEC to the CFO of BIOGEN from March 2021, they demand a full reconciliation of all non-GAAP related actions.  This surely created additional workload in a time where is has become increasingly difficult to find and retain top accounting talent. MSN reports that similar requirements for Eli Lilly impacted earnings per share by 15 cents…

For years American based companies have complained about lower standards for audit transparency being applied to Chinese and other foreign based companies whose stocks are listed on U.S. exchanges. In 2020 Luckin Coffee, sort of a “Chinese Starbucks” was found to have committed fraud in reporting its financials and what was once a high flying stock was found to have overstated sales by more than $300 Million.  Their NASDAQ listed stock share price plummeted by more than 80% and trading has since been halted. This rule would allow for the SEC to delist a company for noncompliance after three years…

Yesterday the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7995, initiating a study to be done to determine possible changes to the metal mixture used to mint coins. https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20201130/BILLS-116hr7995-SUSv1.pdf Prescribed inflation targets such as the 2% target erodes the value of savings and inclines consumers to spend not versus saving and accumulating capital.  See https://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/122016/9-common-effects-inflation.asp Other news about a current coin shortage from American Banker https://www.americanbanker.com/news/coin-shortage-persists-ahead-of-holiday-shopping-rush  

Today’s Wall Street Journal highlights an issue for auditors – How to do a good job auditing when everyone is working remotely?  Normally the process includes meeting face to face with people across the organization, noticing relationships among employees, spot checking invoices, disbursements, etc.  How can you verify inventory when you are not able to be there looking at it? For the complete article to to https://www.wsj.com/articles/auditors-struggle-to-access-data-count-inventory-during-remote-work-11598952600?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 Torrey and Gray is a Staffing and Recruiting firm that places auditors and other accounting professionals.  Located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, we serve clients in the Chicago area and across the…

The Tax Rep Network, an organization for the advancement of CPA’s, EA’s and other tax professionals, has announced a new professional designation – Certified Tax Representation Consultant (CTRC).  It consists of five four hour course sections with an exam at the end of each section. For More information Click Here to go to the Tax Rep Network website. Torrey & Gray is a recruiting and staffing firm in the Chicago area.  We place Tax Managers and other tax professionals across industries that include public accounting, manufacturing, professional services and nonprofit organizations.

Today’s department of Labor reports show a third consecutive month of employment gains.  Still a far cry from the low of 3.5% just six months ago.  We are trending back and as expected, the rate of jobs gains is flattening as we close back in on the single digit territory.  As the $600 additional unemployment subsidy expires, it is likely more people will seek re-employment as there was an adverse incentive to stay home during the panic. For the WSJ article Click Here Job postings for accounting and finance have remained strong and as usual, is below the overall unemployment…

In an ongoing proposed new tax for Illinois traders, the proposed Illinois House Bill 23 has been assigned to the Illinois House Revenue and Finance Committee for review https://trackbill.com/bill/illinois-house-bill-23-financial-transaction-tax/1619965/  It claims to promote job growth (presumably by exempting the tax on trades executed via open outcry) and economic stability but places the foremost reason for the tax being the fact that “Illinois currently faces a serious budget crisis.”  as stated in the second sentence of the bill proposed by Mary Flowers.  Apparently Ms. Flowers does not understand that electronic trading can be conducted from any place on the planet and…

Thankfully the U.S. have the most immigrants in the world – 46.6 million people, almost 4 times the next highest country (Germany at 12 million).  This is the main factor offsetting our below-replacement birth rate.  Here are the numbers from immigration services – over 577,000 people granted permanent residence.  Other countries are not as fortunate. https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-final-fy-2019-statistics-available We still have a relative shortage of skilled and highly educated workers. Illinois is benefiting from this statistic, however, more evidence indicates state mismanagement and higher taxes are driving out some of the most productive residents. However, the possibility of adopting a “progressive” tax…

If new hire numbers are flat or declining – what is the cause?  Some say constant trade talks with China spook long term projected economic growth.  Others contend there are fewer new hires because jobs are going unfilled. Today’s Wall Street Journal article discusses the interplay of these two forces. https://www.wsj.com/articles/wsj-survey-economists-split-on-causes-of-hiring-slowdown-11573138800 Longer term, U.S. demographics will weigh heavily on economic growth.  U.S. birth rate per woman is below what is required to maintain a stable population.  (But we are better off than Europe, China and Japan). Without continual and even expanded immigration population gains, our economy will eventually mirror that…