Inside AICPA

Silva cited for outstanding government service…Accountemps and AICPA award grants to three undergraduates…Institute comments on draft PCAOB auditing standards…AICPA recommends revisions in proposed IRS changes in foreign exchange provisions of Internal Revenue Code.

California Municipal Official Named Best Government CPA
Gerald A. Silva, San Jose city auditor, accepts the AICPA’s 2003 Outstanding CPA in Government Award from Costa Triantaphilides, chairman of the AICPA government performance and accountability committee, as AICPA project manager for new finance Pamela Green looks on. Since 1985, when Silva became the California city’s chief auditor, his office has identified nearly $200 million in cost savings or revenue improvements at an audit cost of $25 million. The citation, presented in August, recognizes government CPAs who significantly improve government efficiency and effectiveness and thus enhance the profession.

Accounting Students Win Competition
TThe winners of the 2003 Accountemps/AICPA student scholarships are Molly Garvin of the University of Texas at Austin and Jeffrey Koga of the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh—each of whom will receive $2,500 grants. Douglas Reese of Northern Illinois University won honorable mention and a $1,000 award. Representatives from Accountemps and the Institute chose the winners for their academic achievements, leadership and career interests.

Institute Proposes Auditing Standards Changes to PCAOB
In response to a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) request for comments (PCAOB release no. 2003-05), the auditing standards board recommended amendments to standards included in the PCAOB’s interim professional auditing standards (http://cpcaf.aicpa.org/Resources/Sarbanes+Oxley/Archive+-+AICPA+Submits+Recommendations+on+Auditing+Standards+to+PCAOB.htm). The ASB also proposed issuance of a new auditing standard, Retention of Records Relevant to Audits and Reviews and Strengthening the Commission’s Requirements Regarding Auditor Independence, to reflect certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and SEC rules.

AICPA Comments on IRS Currency Transaction Proposal
The Institute’s tax executive committee submitted recommendations on IRS-proposed revisions to section 987 of the Internal Revenue Code that require a taxpayer to recognize exchange gain or loss—upon receiving a remittance from a qualified business unit (QBU)—by apportioning its basis in the QBU to each remittance and then recognizing exchange gain or loss based on the difference between the value of the remittance and the basis apportioned to it (www.cpa2biz.com/ResourceCenters/Tax/International/987regs.htm). Among its other suggestions, the committee recommended the revised regulations provide that no exchange gain or loss be recognized on remittances of capital from a QBU and that they adopt the “four-pool” approach of regulations section 1.987-5 to determine whether transfers are remittances of earnings or capital.