July 2012 archive

Proposed Changes to Accounting and Disclosures of Pending Litigation Are Dropped

In July 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted to drop a controversial project that would have required companies to disclose more about contingent losses, including most notably those arising from litigation. The now-withdrawn proposal would have required significant additional disclosure of litigation. The vast majority of those commenting on the proposal opposed it, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/proposed-changes-to-accounting-and-disclosures-of-pending-litigation-are-dropped/

False Claim Act damages require additional valuation

In mid May, the D.C. Circuit held in United States of America, ex rel. Davis v. District of Columbia, that damages for suits under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) must consider the value of the services actually received. The failure to retain required documentation does not affect the value of the services received, and therefore …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/false-claim-act-damages-require-additional-valuation/

Accounting Standard Will Require Significantly More Leases To Be Put On The Balance Sheet

On June 13, 2012, after more than a year of deliberation, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) agreed on an approach for accounting for leases that generally will be simpler to implement than some of their earlier and more controversial proposals. The Boards plan to release a joint …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/accounting-standard-will-require-significantly-more-leases-to-be-put-on-the-balance-sheet/

Bullseye

In some respects I’m feeling pretty justified by last week’s Supreme Court ruling on the Individual Mandate.  That is because eighteen months ago I said that commentators were pushing aside the very real likelihood of it being justified under the taxation clause of the constitution.  That prediction got me more than a little ridicule in some online …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/bullseye/

Fifth Time’s a Charm? Not Likely When it Comes to Bankruptcy.

Strauss Auto, an auto parts retailer, appears to have set a new record.  It is not likely one they were pursuing. The company is believed to be the only one in the history of the Bankruptcy Code to have entered into Chapter 11 bankruptcy five times (a move some are jokingly calling a Chapter 55 …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/fifth-times-a-charm-not-likely-when-it-comes-to-bankruptcy/

Federal Circuit Approves Evidence of Both Settlements And Related Negotiations In Reasonable Royalty Damages

Patent law (35 U.S.C. § 284) allows for lost profits in patent infringement cases, but requires damages of at least a reasonable royalty even if lost profits cannot be substantiated. The determination of a reasonable royalty is most often done through a hypothetical negotiation which attempts to ascertain the royalty upon which the parties would …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/federal-circuit-approves-evidence-of-both-settlements-and-related-negotiations-in-reasonable-royalty-damages/

Will the IRS finally get serious about its whistleblower program?

A June 20, 2012 memorandum from Steven Miller, IRS deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, acknowledges that the IS has done a poor job with it whistleblower program, and seeks to establish a new standard of much better responsiveness. This article describes the program that was signed into law at the end of 2006. Miller’s …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/will-the-irs-finally-get-serious-about-its-whistleblower-program/