A measure that would subject the U.S. Federal reserve to a full and complete audit by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) passed the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, 43-26, as an amendment to the larger financial reform legislation.

Most businesses may use losses incurred during the economic downturn to reduce income from prior tax years, under a revenue procedure issued today by the IRS.

Famed financial titan Goldman Sachs, one of the few Wall Street players to come out of the financial crisis relatively well, may have realized, perhaps, that defending billions of dollars in bonuses, all while saying you’re doing God’s work, might not be the best way to endear one’s self to a public facing 10.4 percent unemployment and rising foreclosure rates.

President Barack Obama has established by executive order an interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to strengthen efforts to combat financial crime, according to an announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Department of Justice will lead the task force; the Department of Treasury, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the SEC will serve on the steering committee. The task force's leadership, along with representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities and inspectors general, will work with state and local partners to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, address discrimination in the lending and financial markets and recover proceeds for victims, the SEC said.

The state’s public authorities will get stricter oversight than ever under a measure that the state Assembly approved yesterday.

The measure would require greater disclosure at approximately 700 state authorities, which, despite their enormous role in government, have been relatively free to operate without the scrutiny that other state agencies receive, notes the New York Times.

The Senate is expected to pass the measure as early as Thursday, and Gov. David A. Paterson has reportedly pledged to sign it.

More than 14,700 U.S. taxpayers came forward to disclose billions of dollars in offshore bank accounts in 70 countries under a voluntary IRS program allowing most to avoid criminal prosecution as long as they pay back taxes, IRS officials announced to press sources today.

Attention tax professionals: the IRS will host a panel of practitioners who will discuss e-filing during a free webinar Nov. 18. The hour-long program will air three times: 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged two computer programmers for their role in helping convicted Ponzi schemer Bernard L. Madoff cover up his vast fraud for more than 15 years.

The SEC alleges in its complaint that Jerome O'Hara of Malverne, N.Y., and George Perez of East Brunswick, N.J., provided the technical support necessary to produce false documents and trading records, and took hush money to help keep the scheme going.

The AICPA filed a has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction barring the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from applying its so-called "Red Flags Rule" to CPAs.

“We do not believe that there is any reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft when CPA clients are billed for services rendered,” AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon said in a statement. “As trusted advisors, CPAs are personally acquainted with their clients and already adhere to strict privacy requirements governing identifying information.”

As the financially astute are no doubt aware, the U.S. has quite a bit of debt, in the same way that the Pacific Ocean has quite a bit of water. While we’re nowhere near the levels of, say, Japan, which has the largest public debt on Earth, the amount of money the U.S.