[Dialup Llama]

>>Improvements in technology mean that software code or tax forms can be written or processed in India or elsewhere -- at a substantial savings.

>I can't even begin to describe what a phenomenally bad idea the outsourcing of tax return preparation to India is.

Earnst and Yound is doing this. There is one question EY has forgotten to ask. If their business decisions are so routine that they can pack it up and ship it to India, why hire E&Y at all? Why not just use a computer program?

[independentmind]

I have another question. There have been many suggestions that public companies be required to release annual tax returns as well as financial statements. Differences in reporting certain items for tax and financial statement purposes can often indicate book-cooking. They also allow the public to ascertain exactly how "creative" a company's tax reduction efforts are.

One of the main arguments against requiring public corporations to release tax returns has been that they contain highly sensitive information that a competitor might use to its advantage.

So what are the Big Four doing to ensure the confidentiality of this highly sensitive information? Are they so sure that an Indian raised in a culture very different from our own will share our concept of what constitutes ethical behavior? I've worked with a few people from that area of the world, and I have my doubts about this.