Think the state taxes imposed on your company are too high? Or at least, steeper than in other places? A new report   ranking the best and worst state business tax climates can provide a clearer picture of how relatively onerous the situation is.

 The report, from the Tax Foundation, compares states on five separate aspects of their tax systems--property, corporate, individual income, sales, and unemployment insurance taxes--then adds the results up to a final, overall ranking. 

US CFOs are not really keen to see convergence of US GAAP and IFRS come to fruition, according to a survey conducted by chartered accountant and management consultant firm Grant Thornton.

The survey, which polled more than 500 US chief financial officers and controllers, found that more than a quarter of respondents felt IFRS adoption in the US should never happen, while half felt that it should be held off until full convergence is reached—so not for another five or seven years.

Small business owners have much to ponder this week as tax cut discussions and a potential repeal of an onerous accounting change passed under the Health Care Reform Act hit the spotlight.

Much dialogue in the media this week has centered on how the Obama administration will address the extension of Bush-era tax cuts to top-tax-bracket taxpayers. Underscored as part of that conversation is the impact the withdrawal of those tax breaks will have on small business.

Beazer Homes is the latest company to institute a poison pill to protect its valuable deferred tax losses.

The home builder Monday said it adopted what is known as a Section 382 stockholder rights plan, which is designed to preserve the value of certain deferred tax assets primarily associated with net operating loss carryforwards under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Tuesday's election was, of course, the first since the Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case, which allowed corporations, as well as as union and other groups, to spend however much they want on political campaigns. And sure enough, during this election, the faucet opened wide and millions of dollars were spent on political ads.

But for companies, the big question is, what does this activity mean for business? And there's some indication the answer isn't as positive as you'd think.

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index—put together by non-partisan global organization Transparency International—was released last week, and the United States has slipped in the rankings.

Most of the top 20 is made up of European names, with a few notable additions. New Zealand and Australia are both in the top 20, along with Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Barbados. And Qatar came in at number 19.

In a survey of public sector CFOs by consultancy Grant Thornton, along with the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT), finance executives expressed deep concern over effectively managing changing reporting requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

This not only affects the public sector finance execs that must report under the ARRA, but also affects all levels of businesses that received funds under ARRA programs by requiring more data and reporting—some of which they may not easily be able to provide.

Timothy Ryan, president and CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), explained in a piece Wednesday on The Huffington Post some of the challenges that face regulators in the long and complicated process of implementing regulatory reform.

That process is fraught with potential pitfalls and challenges. The question is how those that are responsible for implementation will roll it out and what it will mean for all the companies and industries that will be affected.

Companies are focused on compliance with new proxy disclosure rules, but they may not be providing the whole picture of the company’s risk management strategy, according to a new report out by corporate advisory firm Deloitte.

In analyzing proxy statements by 398 S&P 500 companies, Deloitte found that although companies were meeting basic compliance requirements for risk oversight, they fell short of providing vital information on risk management practices—information which could provide greater comfort to regulators, investors and other stakeholders into risk mitigation efforts at the company.

International accounting standards convergence has taken another small step forward with the FASB's announcement on Tuesday of a request for input on the timing of new accounting and reporting standards.

Comments on the board's discussion paper on convergence timing must be in by January 31 next year, although comments on certain sections of the current convergence plan must be in sooner than that.