FIRMA®
The Fiduciary and Investment Risk Management Association, Inc. (FIRMA) is the leading provider of current and relevant fiduciary and investment risk management education and networking opportunities to risk management professionals of banks, trust companies, investment advisors, broker-dealers, insurance companies and other providers of financial services. FIRMA has the objective of providing fiduciary risk managers with the tools and knowledge needed to perform their functions in the rapidly changing financial services landscape. Become a Member Today!
SAVE THE DATE!
2012 CONFERENCE!
Save the Date!
FIRMA National Risk Management Training Conference
March 25 - 29, 2012
Fort Worth, TX
February 16, 2012
FIRMA/ABA Telephone Briefing -- "IRAs -- Do's, Do Not's, Did Not's"
March 9, 2012
FIRMA/IIA/ACFE Seminar -- Philadelphia
March 25 - 29, 2012
FIRMA National Risk Management Training Conference - Fort Worth
April 28 - May 2, 2013
National Risk Management Training Conference - Las Vegas
April 27 - May 1, 2014
FIRMA National Risk Management Training Conference - Orlando
Page Posted: 2012 Conference Scholarship Application
Posted: Monday, Jan 23, 2012
EBSA Aims to Improve Access to Unbiased Advice
Posted: Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued a final regulation regarding a new prohibited transaction exemption. Read the article at PLANSPONSOR.com.
Cost Basis Reporting: The Role of Financial Intermediaries in Helping to Cure US Budgetary Woes
Cost Basis Reporting:
The Role of Financial
Intermediaries in Helping
to Cure US Budgetary Woes
By Trace Bronstone and Raymond Hrin
The debt ceiling crisis this summer brought home to Middle America, and to the world, the notion of a US
debt ceiling, the need for or scrutiny over government spending, and the threat of US default. Common
sense dictates that income revenue should exceed, or at least meet, expenditures; reality though sometimes
presents a gap. When the challenge is revenue, the focus is collection. Well before the US Congress passed
the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and discussed the prospects of trillion dollar budget
deficits, the academic community and research think tanks published recommendations to address tax code
inefficiencies that would lead to greater governmental revenue collection.
A great deal has been said about Congress and taxes:
"What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist takes
only your skin." – Mark Twain, Notebook, 1902
"Income tax returns are the most imaginative fiction being written today." – Herman Wouk
"The United States has a system of taxation by confession." – Hugo Black
Perhaps the most eloquent comment made, was crafted during the Great Depression:
"Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized
society." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
If you put all the quotes and commentary together, there will no doubt be more than 1040 opinions reflecting
the pros and cons of taxation!
Heretofore, the US government has relied on tax filings to generate revenue. The responsibility of accuracy
has always sat squarely with the taxpayer, with the threat of levies, fines, and jail time looming as a
deterrent. With technology, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sought new inputs to analyze and enhance
opportunities for revenue.
Bessemer Trust - Compliance Surveillance Analyst
Posted: November 11, 2011
Union Bank - Audit Manager: Trust, Broker/Dealer, Mutual Funds
Posted: August 9, 2011
Contact FIRMA to advertise your position.
2011 CONFERENCE!
Thanks to all who attended our
25th Anniversary
FIRMA National Risk Management Training Conference
April 17 - 21, 2011
Atlanta, GA
INDUSTRY NEWS
Euro Officials Discuss Greek Budget Veto Powers - Bloomberg
Business - Google News 28 January 2012, 8:11 am
Even Ford's Mulally Can't Fix Everything - TheStreet.com
Business - Google News 28 January 2012, 7:53 am
US Airways said to be in Delta's cross hairs - Bend Bulletin
Business - Google News 28 January 2012, 7:04 am
Editorial: Trapped in debt - Ocala
Business - Google News 28 January 2012, 6:33 am
Facebook Gets Ready For Its IPO Filing
WSJ.com: US Business 28 January 2012, 4:41 am
Delta Weighs a US Air Deal
WSJ.com: US Business 28 January 2012, 4:37 am
Compliance: Annual Privacy Notice for discretionary Personal Agency Accounts Roy Kim posted on October 11, 2011, 10:38 am:
Privacy notices apply to certain consumers, which is defined as an individual, who obtains from a financial institution, financial products or services used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The definition also includes the legal representatives of such an individual.
You are correct that beneficiaries of trusts are excluded from the rule. Also excluded are participants of employee benefit plans that the bank either sponsors, or for which it acts as trustee or fiduciary. The rationale is that the trust/plan itself is the customer and not an individual.
An investment management agency relationship with a business or a trust would not fall under this regulation. However, in the case of an individual who selects a financial institution as custodian of securities or assets, as in an IRA, the individual is viewed as a consumer. Another example is an investment management agency with an individual(s).
I located this information from the FDIC's website, but I think the same applies to banks/ trust companies regulated by other banking regulators.
Visit the discussion forum to exchange ideas with your peers today! >>