Sands Casino Says Auditor Quits Account [WSJ]
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. said on Friday that its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, resigned this week after a 25-year relationship with Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson. The resignation comes as Sands faces ongoing legal issues. The Las Vegas-based casino giant is under investigation by U.S. federal agencies for possible violations of anti-money laundering and antibribery laws. A person familiar with the situation said the legal and regulatory scrutiny of Las Vegas Sands was "the overriding issue" behind PwC's resignation. Personal tension between Mr. Adelson and the accounting firm also played a role, the person said.
PwC eyes bid for Roland Berger [FT]
PwC has emerged as a potential bidder for Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, the management consultancy that flirted with a takeover by Deloitte in 2010. Two people close to the situation said that PwC, the world’s biggest auditor and consultant by fee income, was eyeing the Munich-headquartered group. Its interest comes amid broader talk that big auditors could be primed for a fresh burst of expansion in the consulting market, which has offered them stronger growth than their traditional businesses in recent years. One of the people said PwC had also expressed an interest in buying all or part of Booz & Company, another management consultant.
Three accounting firms pull out of Iran [FT, Earlier]
Grant Thornton and two other accounting firms are pulling out of Iran, creating further difficulties for foreign companies still operating in the country. RSM, a UK-based firm, and Crowe Horwath of the US have joined Grant Thornton, one of the second-tier international accountancy firms, in leaving Iran after coming under US political pressure. The firms are the latest in a long list of international businesses which have left Iran in recent years amid strict economic sanctions that have been imposed on Tehran in an effort to influence its nuclear programme.
The Government Accountability Office once presented 19 professional tax preparers with tax-return information, and not a single one generated a return that was correct. It has been estimated that Americans spend well more than six billion hours a year simply filing out tax forms—the equivalent of more than three million people working full-time all year.
A cheat sheet from the Tax Foundation.