Senior financial executives and tax directors say they lack formal policies and procedures to manage the IRS exam process effectively, despite reporting a noticeable uptick in IRS corporate audit activity over 2008 levels, according to a recent survey by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax, and advisory firm.

In the KPMG survey, 40 percent of the more than 270 senior executives and tax directors polled said that their companies did not have a formal policy or procedure in place to manage the IRS exam process, yet 40 percent said their companies were involved with more IRS corporate audit activity such as exams and appeals than two years ago.  Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents said the level of their audit involvement was unchanged from 2008.

"As jurisdictions face budget deficits and seek new sources of revenue, companies will find that being unprepared can make the audit process extremely time-consuming and strain resources," said Sharon Katz-Pearlman, principal-in-charge of KPMG LLP's Tax Controversy Services practice.

High Priority for Companies, Boards

"The increased likelihood of an audit by taxing authorities can be a significant tax risk that should be high on the priority list of tax directors, CFOs, and corporate boards," Katz-Pearlman said.  "Companies of every size should regularly review their accounting methods, tax returns, risk assessments, and the like and develop or review policies and procedures so they are ready if they receive an audit notification."

Although many survey respondents reported that they did not have formal procedures or processes in place to manage the IRS exam process, many do conduct the necessary due diligence related to tax filing reviews.  For example, the majority (72 percent) of respondents in the KPMG survey say they proactively review their tax filings to help identify potential issues that might arise during an IRS examination.

"It also is important that companies identify the documents, people, time and resources that might be needed to handle a potential tax audit," added Katz-Pearlman.

Furthermore, when asked about their processes for handling an IRS exam specifically, 68 percent of the respondents indicated they designate a single point of contact to interact directly with the IRS agent.

"Designating a single point of contact who deals with the tax authority directly during the audit can help smooth the process," said Katz-Pearlman.  "It also is critical to be diligent about providing the exam team with all of the information they need in a timely fashion, which can sometimes be difficult for audits related to transfer pricing and international tax issues.  For this reason, developing robust information gathering processes before an audit occurs is important."

Post-Audit Considerations

"If all issues are not resolved during the examination, there are many options available to resolve the case at a higher level of review," added Katz-Pearlman.  "Therefore, it is critical that companies understand their choices -- appeals, mediation, and early referral to name a few -- and the necessary procedural steps for each of the options.

"Companies also may uncover new insights during the audit process that can help refine their information gathering and reporting processes and identify areas of potential concern.  They should use these new-found insights to both help enhance future compliance and pave the way for a smoother examination in the next cycle."

The KPMG survey of more than 270 senior financial executives and tax directors was conducted on June 29 in conjunction with a KPMG TaxWatch event series covering tax controversy issues and trends.  For more information, please visit: http://www.kpmginstitutes.com/taxwatch.

About KPMG LLP

KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm (http://www.us.kpmg.com), is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International").  KPMG International's member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries.

The views and opinions expressed in the survey results are based on the responses of the survey participants and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of KPMG LLP.

SOURCE KPMG LLP

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MKM Partners today announced that Aaron Schwartz, CFA, has joined as Executive Director in its Equity Research department to cover enterprise software companies.  He will be based in MKM's Stamford headquarters.  Mr. Schwartz has covered the software industry as an equity research analyst for 10 years. He has a wide range of industry knowledge, with previous company coverage across a range of subsectors, including virtualization, network and systems management, storage and security software.  Aaron was most recently a Senior Vice President at Ladenburg Thalmann.  Prior to that, he spent 10 years at J.P. Morgan, where he served as a Senior Equity Research Analyst covering the software industry. Aaron holds a B.A. from Rollins College and is a CFA charterholder.

"I am excited about joining the proven and growing team at MKM Partners," Aaron remarked.  "I look forward to providing the high-quality and insightful research that MKM's research team is known for."

"Aaron brings a combination of bulge-bracket research experience and high-touch, independent thinking to MKM's highly regarded institutional equity research franchise," MKM Partners CEO Richard R. Castellano said.  "This maps directly onto MKM's client-facing strategy."

ABOUT MKM PARTNERS

MKM Partners is an institutional equity research, sales and trading firm.  Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York City, Boston and across the U.S., MKM provides clients with actionable and unbiased economic, technical, derivative, event-driven and fundamental research and has trade execution abilities in U.S. and foreign equity markets and in U.S. options markets.  In addition to offering timely access to its traders and analysts, MKM focuses on delivering exceptional service to institutional clients across its trading and research platforms.  More information about MKM Partners can be accessed at www.mkmpartners.com.

SOURCE MKM Partners LLC

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AllianceBernstein Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ACG), a closedend management investment company, declared on this date, July 27, 2010, a monthly distribution of $0.04 per share of Common Stock, payable August 20, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 6, 2010.  Ex date will be August 4, 2010.

AllianceBernstein Income Fund, Inc. is managed by AllianceBernstein L.P.

SOURCE AllianceBernstein Income Fund, Inc.

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Unified Fund Services, a leading provider of fund administration and accounting, distribution, and transfer agency services, will adopt the new name "Huntington Asset Services" on August 1, 2010. Unified Fund Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN; www.huntington.com).

"Unified has been part of Huntington since 2006 and it makes perfect sense to align the name and brand with that of the parent and partner that provides integrated custody services," said Daniel B. Benhase, senior executive vice president of Huntington Bank.

"This is more than changing the name on the door," added Brian L. Blomquist, president of the newly renamed Huntington Asset Services and director of Huntington Institutional Custody. "I believe the name change demonstrates our commitment to invest in and dramatically grow our business."

Blomquist explained that through the company's strategic planning process, Huntington Asset Services will expand its services for registered investment advisors, enhance service for collective investment trusts, and provide administration of municipal pooled funds.

Unified Fund Services, Inc. and Unified Financial Securities, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Unified Financial Securities, Inc., which provides statutory underwriting and distribution services to its mutual fund clients, will retain its current name.

On August 1, the company's website, www.ufsonline.com, will change to www.HuntingtonAssetServices.com.

About Huntington Asset Services

Based in Indianapolis, Huntington Asset Services has been providing mutual fund service solutions for more than 40 years. Huntington's fully integrated services include fund administration, accounting, transfer agency, compliance, distribution and custody for clients with combined assets of more than $40 billion. Huntington's comprehensive solutions support both standalone and series trust structures. Huntington Asset Services, Inc. and Unified Financial Securities, Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN), a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. More information is available at www.ufsonline.com.

About Huntington

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $52 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Through its affiliated companies, Huntington has been providing a full range of financial services including checking, loans, savings, insurance and investment services to customers for 144 years. Huntington has more than 600 banking offices. Huntington also offers retail and commercial financial services online at huntington.com; through its telephone bank; and through its network of over 1,300 ATMs.

Huntington® is a federally registered service mark of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated.  

SOURCE Huntington Bancshares Incorporated

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Founders Fund, the venture backer of companies including Facebook, Spotify, and SpaceX, has closed its third venture fund.  The Founders Fund III LP and its parallel funds were oversubscribed, reaching the firm's cap of $250 million in commitments, making the Fund III suite the firm's largest yet.  The substantial majority of commitments came from limited partners of the firm's prior funds, joined by a small number of new investors.

Founders Fund is managed by Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek, and Sean Parker, all of whom were company founders before becoming venture capitalists.   Founders Fund seeks to eliminate the traditional tensions between venture capitalists and start-ups through a unique, founder-friendly approach.  "Our goal is to provide as much support for a company as it requires, without interfering with an entrepreneur's vision for that company," said Peter Thiel.  "In our experience that leads to the best returns for our investors."  "Founders Fund has been an incredible partner for Quantcast; they've offered outstanding advice and guidance while giving us the freedom to grow the business in the ways we think best.  Quantcast's tremendous growth testifies to the effectiveness of that model," said Konrad Feldman, CEO of Quantcast, the audience insights and targeting company backed by Founders Fund.  

Fund III intends to leverage the firm's experience in consumer-internet, as well as to expand its investments in companies pursuing revolutionary solutions to major science and engineering problems.  "As companies like Spotify make clear, consumer internet continues to present tremendous opportunities," said managing partner Sean Parker, who previously served as the founding president of Facebook and co-founder of Causes (both Founders Fund investments), and who also co-founded Napster and Plaxo. "And as the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 demonstrates, ambitious engineering projects can also generate terrific value," said Luke Nosek, a Founders Fund managing partner and a director of SpaceX.  

According to Ken Howery, "Despite years of cynicism and low returns in the industry, our companies show that there are compelling opportunities in several categories for bold investors."  "I worked with the partners of Founders Fund when I was at PayPal, and their expertise in consumer internet is second to none.  Having worked with them at Palantir and now at RoboteX, I can say that they are the rare VC that understands both consumer-side and hard engineering and that they invest with conviction," said Nathan Gettings, CEO of RoboteX, which makes multi-purpose robots used by police agencies, SWAT teams, and civilian users.  Gettings is also CTO of Founders Fund portfolio company Palantir, the analytical software firm that helped track down the perpetrators of the attacks on the Dalai Lama's computers.  

"We're delighted that our limited partners have backed us for a third fund," said Howery, "and we'll use that fund to continue supporting transformational companies."    

ABOUT FOUNDERS FUND

Founders Fund is managed by seasoned entrepreneurs Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek (co-founders, PayPal) and Sean Parker (founding president, Facebook; co-founder Plaxo, Causes, Napster) to support early-stage companies.  Founders Fund has made early investments in some of the most prominent ventures of the past decade, including Facebook, Causes, Palantir Technologies, Quantcast, and SpaceX.  The firm, headquartered in San Francisco, pursues a founder-friendly investment strategy that provides maximum support and minimum interference to world-class entrepreneurs.  

SOURCE Founders Fund

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