Love refers to the AICPA statement that "accountants who provide audit services cannot be held to a fiduciary standard given their duty to the public." My point is that we have an inviolate
fiduciary bond with the public and, because of the impact of corporations on global citizens (see below), our obligation extends to all stakeholders both within and outside the corporate enterprise, including shareholders/bondholders, investors, employees, suppliers, communities where employees live, and the community where the company resides.
The final regulations further add a nonexclusive list of other fiduciary expenses that are not commonly or customarily incurred by individuals: probate court fees and costs,
fiduciary bond premiums, legal publication costs of notices to creditors or heirs, the cost of certified copies of the decedent's death certificate, and costs related to fiduciary accounts.
The original 2007 regulations provided a list of costs that were unique to an estate or trust: fiduciary accountings, judicial or quasi-judicial filings required as part of the administration of the estate or trust, fiduciary income tax and estate tax returns, the division or distribution of income or corpus to or among beneficiaries, trust or will contests or construction,
fiduciary bond premiums, and communications with beneficiaries regarding estate or trust matters.
Even if Farinelli's will says that all the works bequeathed to him by Queen Maria Barbara should be "kept together as main and essential part of his
fiduciary bond", Matteo Pisani, Farinelli's nephew who inherited the lot, taking advantage from new legal rules, did not observe Farinelli's will.
The DoL says those inquiries should include "the identity, experience, and qualifications of professionals who will be handling the plan's account, any recent litigation or enforcement action taken against the firm, and the firm's experience or performance record." You will want to know their status as a fiduciary to the plan, and you will want to know what kind of
fiduciary bond they have in place, what it covers, and to what extent.
Although the Secretary of Labor is authorized to exempt plans from the bonding requirement in specified situations, depositing plan-owned assets with the Secretary of Labor in lieu of obtaining a
fiduciary bond from a corporate surety company does not satisfy the bonding requirement of ERISA.
This creates the
fiduciary bond and establishes the fiduciary duties of professionals that govern the relationships between health professionals and the patients and society they serve.
The regulations also provide that certain other fiduciary expenses are not commonly or customarily incurred by individuals and thus are not subject to the 2% floor, including (without limitation) the following: probate court fees and costs,
fiduciary bond premiums, legal publication costs of notices to creditors or heirs, the cost of certified copies of the decedent's death certificate, and costs related to fiduciary accounts [Treasury Regulations section 1.67-4(b)(6)].
The proposed regulations provide the following nonexclusive list of items as unique products or services: (1) those rendered in connection with fiduciary accountings; (2) judicial or quasi-judicial filings required as part of the administration of the estate or trust; (3) fiduciary income tax and estate tax returns; (4) the division or distribution of income or corpus to or among beneficiaries; (5) trust or will contest or construction; (6)
fiduciary bond premiums; and (7) communications with beneficiaries regarding estate or trust matters.
CNA has become the nation's largest provider of commercial surety bonds, particularly license and permit bonds,
fiduciary bonds and public official and court bonds.
