Government and Audit Scrutiny
CD of Teleconference with Q&A
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and Sales & Use Tax Monitor
In the era of corporate accounting scandals and Sarbanes–Oxley, U.S. companies are under intense scrutiny over the adequacy of reserves set aside for the positions they take on tax returns.
However, while the relatively recent FASB's Interpretation No. 48 (FIN 48) governs reserving for federal and state income taxes, sales and use tax pros still rely on FASB Statement No. 5 on accounting for contingencies for guidance—and that was passed back in 1975.
Whether sales and use tax reserving practices created by companies years ago will still be acceptable to the SEC and investors is a very real concern.
Listen as corporate sales tax pros and experienced tax advisors share their current best practices for creating prudent reserves against uncertain sales or use tax positions.
Our panel included:
Matt Pellows, State and Local Tax Partner, KPMG, Houston. He has been with KPMG since 1993, primarily working with energy, manufacturing and communication companies. He also spent five years with Exxon Corp. as a Territory Manager.
Thacher Smith, Senior Manager, Grant Thornton, Chicago. He spends much of his client time on FIN 48 and FAS 109 matters. He has worked in public accounting for 17 years and spent eight years as Chief Tax Officer for two Fortune 1000 companies.
Eric Tresh, Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, Atlanta. His practice is focused on state and local tax planning and controversies and M&A tax matters. He has evaluated state tax positions and FAS 5 reporting for several Fortune 500 corporations.
Vytenis Kirvelaitis, Director, Grant Thornton, Chicago. Before coming to Grant Thornton, he was state and local tax director at Chicago-based R.R. Donnelley, the world's largest commercial printer.
The panel bottom-lined these and other crucial issues for you:
- Criteria you should use to screen your company's sales tax reserve amounts for any red flags that would draw an auditor's attention.
- Best practices in use by other corporate tax departments when it comes to sales tax reserves, both to meet terms of FASB guidance and under their own criteria.
- Which terms of FAS 5 remain most relevant in today's business and regulatory environments.
- Whether it makes sense to track parts of FIN 48 for sales tax reserves.
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TELECONFERENCE CD
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