In recent speeches, members of the SEC have suggested that some within the accounting industry may be returning to a pre-Sarbanes-Oxley practice of providing certain services to audit clients – an arrangement that would compromise auditor independence.

I recently chatted with Stanley Jozefiak, the practice director and general counsel of True Partners Consulting LLC, to get his thoughts on this this issue. Jozefiak, who has a strong point of view on this issue, warns that many companies may be courting “auditor independence” risks.

Eric Krell: What types of services have you seen that would put companies at the most risk?

Stanley Jozefiak: Tax consulting services. For the first few years after SOX, many companies stopped using their audit firms to provide tax consulting services. Today, most companies have returned to that practice. We have seen numerous situations in which the audit firm provides tax consulting services that result in a tax position that must be evaluated and reserved under ASC 740-10 “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” (formerly known as FIN 48). In some cases, the audit firm assists in this evaluation. In all cases, the auditors must analyze these tax reserves. Eventually, the audit firm will find itself in a position of reviewing its own work and can be viewed as advocating their client’s interest. Consequently, the independence principle may be impaired. more

Figuring out your taxes and paying what you owe may not be enough anymore.

Tax is increasingly being drawn into discussions of corporate sustainability – broadly defined as all those factors that tend to promote an enterprise’s longevity in constantly fluctuating economic and social, as well as environmental, conditions. If tax activists have their way, anything less than full public disclosure of your organization’s tax strategies may soon be as uncool as tossing depleted uranium into your local wetland or not having a cafeteria waste composting program. more

It’s not that the decline in the number of paper checks ever was in doubt. However, a new study highlights the pace of the decline. U.S. Bank and International Accounts Payable Professionals surveyed nearly 300 company execs last summer. Nearly two-thirds of them said that their paper check volume dropped in 2010. The drop was even more pronounced among companies whose revenue topped $5 billion — three quarters of those respondents reported a decline.

What’s more, respondents said that they’ll double their use of e-payment vehicles, such as p-cards, ACH transfers, and electronic funds transfers over the next three years.

As a result, paper checks may account for less than one-third of payments by 2014. Again, the drop is even more dramatic for large firms, who predict that it will account for only 13 percent of payments by then.

To be sure, the shift isn’t entirely smooth. Hurdles to overcome include supplier resistance to electronic payments and concerns about organizations’ capacity to manage the conversions, survey respondents said.

For more on the survey, click here. ###