Welcome to the Weekly News Round Up from the SC&H blog. Each week, we will be showcasing a series of news stories that span everything from government contracting to personal finance to state and local tax issues.
This week, we have compiled stories about a sequestration deal nearing on Capitol Hill, more energy M&A deals slated for 2014, as well as some recent surveys regarding risk and compliance.
Sequestration Deal Nearing
A U.S. House-Senate budget committee is close to finalizing a plan on federal spending for the next two years that would provide the Pentagon and other federal agencies some relief from sequestration.
Energy M&A Deals to Flow in 2014
Experts believe that the global macroeconomic outlook should spur continued record oil-and-gas company upstream capital expenditures in 2014.
4 Key Drivers of Healthcare M&A Activity
For many in the health care industry, the post-reform era is the “age of innovation,” which is sparking several key M&A trends.
Divided PCAOB Presses for Names in Audit Report
A sharply divided Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has issued a new proposal aimed at naming the engagement partner in the audit report who oversees an audit as well as including information on others outside the firm who contribute to an audit.
Survey Roundup: Internal Audit, Online Sales Taxes
The Wall Street Journal offers its weekly round up of recent surveys and reports dealing with risk and compliance issues.
GAO Casts Doubt On Reported Real Estate Savings
Federal agencies reported $3.8 billion in cost savings related to real property in recent years, but their decisions about what counted as savings were inconsistent and sometimes dubious, according to the Government Accountability Office.
SEC Investigates Barnes & Noble’s Accounting
Barnes & Noble disclosed that U.S. securities regulators are investigating its accounting, including the book chain’s decision last summer to restate earnings for fiscal years 2011 and 2012.
Lucrative NFL’s Tax-Exempt Status and Demand For State and Local Money Rankles Lawmakers
Despite having grown over the decades into an estimated $9 billion-a-year operation, the NFL retains a non-profit status, just like trade associations and chambers of commerce, which has rankled lawmakers.