When a group of 86 large U.S. companies came out in late October in favor of fixing the debt it was seen as a rare example of corporate unity, and a wake up call on just how urgent an issue the growing federal deficit has become for business.

In a new report, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS),  a liberal Washington think tank,  argues that the group, called “Fix the Debt” is basically a larger version of an earlier Washington corporate lobbying group called “Win America”, and shares its focus on getting corporate money now being held overseas back into the United States with little or no taxes taken out.

Financial Times  columnist Lucy Kellaway has published a piece encouraging UK regulators to see the positives in the fact that many leading financial executives come from one of the Big Four audit firms – Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KMPG and PwC. 

Following on a UK Competition Commission report published last week that found two-thirds of all chief financial officers used to work for a Big Four firm,  hampering competition, Kellaway writes that there could be under-appreciated benefits to such closeness. Someone who once worked at an audit firm — or a newspaper — knows more about how their work is done and where the potential weaknesses lie, she writes.

Last Sunday, 1,586 priests and pastors stood up before their congregants across the United States and endorsed a candidate running for public office.  They were purposefully breaking the portion of the tax code which prohibits non-profits from making such endorsements, something they see as a violation of freedom of religion and speech. 

A tax-exempt group may take positions on political issues and argue for them, that  is allowed under U.S. law. Recommending a vote for or against a certain candidate, however,  is not permitted.

Welcome to the top tax and accounting headlines from Reuters and other sources.

 * Foreign profits can create earnings illusion. David Reilly – The Wall Street Journal. Foreign-cash stashes and their impact on U.S. tax revenue are garnering increased attention given the looming presidential election and “fiscal cliff.” Investors should be concerned about the potential for these profits to distort earnings. Companies in the S&P 500 had $1.5 trillion parked outside the U.S. for which they hadn’t accrued tax expense in 2011, more than double the amount five years earlier. Link  

* The math behind Obama camp’s tax changes. Damian Paletta – The Wall Street Journal. One of the most divisive issues between the Obama and Romney campaigns is the math behind the Republican candidate’s proposal to overhaul the tax code. The debate has left many Americans’ heads spinning, given the large numbers and the complexities of the tax code. But it still remains one of the most important questions facing voters in the Nov. 6 election and comes down to this – whose math do voters trust? Link