The AICPA has entered an agreement with the publisher of the Daubert Tracker, an online database of information on the admissibility and effectiveness of expert testimony in judicial proceedings. Under the arrangement, members of the AICPA business valuation and forensic litigation services (BV/FLS) section are eligible for substantially discounted subscriptions to reports on how individual courts and judges have regarded financial testimony. Such insight can better prepare practitioners for courtroom appearances, sharpen their advice to attorneys who have retained them as financial experts, help them anticipate and refute challenges to their own methods and opinions, and stay abreast of the latest financial testimony techniques. More information is available at www.aicpa.org/BVFLS .

In a March 2006 survey of 1,000 Americans, sponsored by the AICPA 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy campaign, almost half (46%) mistakenly thought Social Security and an employer-subsidized plan will adequately fund their retirement. The poll also found that nearly one in four (23%) respondents had not begun saving for retirement. Carl George, CPA, chair of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission and CEO of Clifton Gunderson LLP, said, “Americans have to take responsibility today for planning and saving for their retirement. Otherwise, they may have to work far longer—or endure a lower standard of living—than they anticipated.”

Slightly more than one-third of those polled were members of Generation X, born between 1964 and 1980. Most of them were skeptical about government and corporate benefits. Fifty-five percent said they will save and invest to fund their retirement, 65% didn’t expect Social Security to provide retirement benefits and 68% didn’t expect to receive a pension.

Go to the Institute’s Financial Literacy Campaign site ( www.360financialliteracy.org ) for complete poll results and information on how to help your clients overcome the financial challenges inherent in parenthood, home ownership, launching a business, caring for elderly relatives and other milestones in their lives.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants released a paper, “The Road to Accrual Accounting in the United States,” that offers practical insights for jurisdictions making or considering a conversion from the cash basis of accounting. It outlines the development of administrative arrangements for formal standard setting at the local, state and federal government levels and provides an overview of the conversion to accrual accounting by state and local governments. The paper also highlights the GASB standards that led and supported the conversion. It can be downloaded at www.ifac.org/Store/Details.tmpl?SID=11437329351545345 .

The AICPA Work/Life & Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee issued “Women’s Summit: Helping Women Professionals Succeed,” a collection of valuable data and best practices resulting from the first AICPA Women’s Summit, held October 2005 in Chicago ( www.aicpa.org/worklife ). The managing partners, human resources professionals and female CPAs in attendance shared ideas and devised strategies to attract women to the profession and encourage them to remain in it through advancement opportunities, flexible work options and fulfilling assignments.

XBRL International, an AICPA-founded, not-for-profit global consortium of more than 400 companies and agencies working to promote technology for better and easier financial reporting, established the XBRL Standards Board to strengthen the quality, consistency and stability of the group’s technical materials and increase the openness and formality of the process for setting XBRL standards in order to accelerate adoption of XBRL throughout the world ( www.xbrl.org/announcements/xsb-pr-final-4april2006.htm ). Michael Ohata of Microsoft Corp. has been appointed the board’s first chairman, and nominations for other board positions are under consideration.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) named two CPAs deputy chief auditors. Laura Phillips will provide technical direction on the development of the board’s standards and ensure they and related information are available and appropriately communicated to public company auditors and other interested parties. Jennifer Rand will oversee and coordinate all PCAOB standard-setting projects and administer the Standing Advisory Group, as well as serve as the board’s observer for the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International Federation of Accountants.

The Institute launched an online media center to educate and update the press on the AICPA, its mission, programs, initiatives and leadership and on issues affecting the entire profession ( www.aicpa.org/mediacenter ). Barry C. Melancon, AICPA president and CEO, said the site “will help the press present and illuminate financial and economic issues and enable the Institute to continue serving as an authoritative voice on the accounting profession’s role in U.S. capital markets.” The center’s resources include background information on the AICPA, electronic press kits, issues briefs, research reports and statistics, executive biographies, a glossary of accounting terms and contact information for the state CPA societies and AICPA media relations staff.