Tracer of Lost Pensions
 Playing detective, the Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation is looking for nearly 3,000 people owed a
total of $10 million in benefits from terminated pension plans.
Using a special Internet search page ( http://search.pbgc.gov )
launched December 3 and a toll-free phone number (800-326-LOST)
the PBGC has already found 275 people owed over $1 million
together. Catching the Biggest Fish
Although the Securities and Exchange
Commission has more employees than ever before, the total
number of investigations launched by the SEC enforcement staff
has declined for the second consecutive year, according to the
SEC fiscal 1996 annual report. The SEC attributed the decline
in cases to the increase in high-profile, labor-intensive
investigations such as those for Orange County, California,
bankruptcy and alleged improper trading practices of the
Nasdaq Stock Market.
A Worldly Look Inside Business
The International Federation of
Accountants (IFAC) issued an exposure draft on the scope of
activity and work of the financial and management accountant.
The purpose of the ED, Management Accounting Concepts
, is to build awareness of the value-added nature of
management accounting and to provide concepts for "best
practices." Copies of the ED can by obtained by calling
the IFAC Financial and Management Accounting Committee at
905-525-1034 or by fax at 905-525-3046.
Minority Businesses on Rise
For African American History Month last
February, the Census Bureau compiled pertinent business
statistics: The number of African American-owned businesses
increased from 424,165 in 1987 to 620,912 in 1992, a growth of
46%, or 20 points more than U.S. businesses as a whole. But
these businesses remain small: more than half had receipts
under $10,000, and less than 1% had receipts of $1 million or
more.
Stumping for the Treasury
Lawrence Summers, deputy secretary of the
Treasury, has been plugging the importance of global trade in
recent speeches. At the Brookings Conference "Integrating
National Economies: The Next Step," he referred to the
United States as the "worlds indispensable nation"
in setting the pace for global growth. At the Kennedy School
of Government, he emphasized the importance of Russias capital
markets and the need for continued reform in Russia.
| Big Stipends from Big 6 Firm
The Deloitte & Touche Foundation named
10 recipients of its 1997 Doctoral Fellowship in Accounting
Awards. Each fellow will receive $20,000 over two years.
Students, who must have completed two or more semesters of
school or the equivalent, can obtain applications through their
colleges accounting department or from the Deloitte & Touche
Foundation, 10 Westport Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897. The
program, founded in 1956, is funded by the firms active and
retired partners. New at the Helm
David Mosso was named chairman of the
nine-member Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB), which recommends accounting standards for federal
government agencies. Mosso was a member of the FASAB from 1978
to 1987, after which he continued serving the board as an
assistant director of research. Prior to joining the FASAB,
Mosso worked for the Treasury Department.
The Feeling is Mutual
At the end of 1996, U.S. mutual funds
held about $3.5 trillion in combined assets. This is up by
more than 25% from $2.8 trillion at the end of 1995, according
to the Investment Company Institute, a nonprofit trade
association representing mutual funds, unit investment trusts
and closed-end funds.
New York Rates the Professionals
New York State was the first state to
license its accountants over a century ago, and is now the
first state to use the Internet to inform the public about the
licensing and disciplinary status of all members of the states
38 licensed professions. Go to http://www.nysed.gov to
look up any CPA or other licensed professional.
Keeping an Eye on Pensions
Four members of Congress launched the
National Commission on Retirement Policy to build a consensus
about ways to improve financing of the Social Security system,
employer-sponsored pension plans and personal retirement
savings. The commission will work for 18 months before it
makes final recommendations. Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who
will serve as a co-chairman of the commission, said it was
time to find solutions to avoid "insolvency of the Social
Security Trust fund" and reduce the unfunded liability of
pension plans. |
