Accounting

A group of international accounting organizations is calling for improved reporting and action on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to hit the ambitious goals set for 2030. The organizations include the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), Chartered Accountants Australia and

A little off the top; noted; over the Edge; and other highlights of recent tax cases. Hemet, California: Preparer Dennis L. Reed II, 31, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for defrauding the IRS out of more than $2.1 million by submitting phony tax returns, including ones that maximized fraudulent refunds through child

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are offering a safe harbor to provide relief to taxpayers who borrowed money to attend a nonprofit or for-profit school and had their student loan debts discharged. Revenue Procedure 2020-11 provides a safe harbor extending relief to additional taxpayers who took out federal or private student loans

The new credit losses accounting standard is not expected to have a major impact on the loan loss reserves of most large publicly listed U.S. banks, according to Moody’s Investors Service. In a new report, the New York-based credit-rating agency said the accounting change is unlikely to alter Moody’s assessment of a bank’s credit strength.

As I speak to CPAs around the country, it’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that many accountants and business owners view the Financial Accounting Standard Board as something of a villain. Three different audience members — all mild-mannered accountants — at different events have actually said out loud to me, “FASB is the villain!”

Citrin Cooperman, a Top 25 Firm based in New York, has continued its recent expansion streak in Southern California, snapping up LGSH LLP, its third firm in the Los Angeles area in recent months. The deal, which took effect Jan. 1, will give Citrin a location in the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles and add

Finance and accounting professionals are under constant pressure from the C-Suite to “lift up” and elevate the strategic relevance of their function. At the same time, they are under day-to-day pressure to help their organizations stay ahead of audit and compliance requirements, report on financial results, and manage ongoing accounting activities. These activities are all

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation Monday giving small businesses in the Garden State a workaround for the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax Act, which passed the New Jersey legislature last month, permits flow-through businesses in New Jersey,

I always prepare for client meetings. Sometimes I overprepare because I don’t want to be unprepared and also because I want to control the pace, direction and timing of the meeting. Occasionally, the agenda is hard to determine, so here is a method of preparing and starting the meeting. As soon as you start, ask

The American Institute of CPAs has written a letter to the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department asking them to issue a notice clarifying that reporting relief on certain reporting under Section 465 will also apply to S corporations. Last month, the IRS and the Treasury released Notice 2019-66, which delays some of the

In a recent PwC study, Financial Services Technology 2020 and Beyond: Embracing Disruption, PwC advises public accounting firms to prepare for significant changes to their revenue in the near future. Specifically, the study predicts that due to advancements in financial technology, 28 percent of the banking and payment business, and 23 percent of the insurance,

Joseph Rust (pictured), managing partner for the western region, was named strategic innovation officer at Prager Metis, New York. In this role, Rust will oversee and advise on all aspects of strategic focus, direction and execution of a culture of innovation. Marks Paneth announced several promotions to partner. The firm promoted, in the Long Island

Armanino, San Ramon, announced that the Armanino Foundation provided $50,000 in grants to six nonprofit organizations in celebration of the firm’s 50th anniversary. The winning organizations and their grants were: Discovery Cube Orange County, Irvine, California, for $10,000; 13th Street Cat Rescue, San Jose, California, for $10,000; Little Tokyo Service Center, Irvine, California, for $10,000;

Thomson Reuters has introduced a new product, GoSystem Tax RS, which provides virtual currency organization for 1040 preparation. While legislation around cryptocurrencies have been slow, the IRS has introduced a new question on the 1040 form around whether an individual has invested in cryptocurrency. Now there is no way around it: Cryptocurrency investments must be

Consumers in 2019 were more likely to say plans to hike taxes on the wealthy would harm economic growth than they were in prior years, despite it being a key campaign pledge for nearly every Democratic presidential candidate, according to a new University of Michigan survey. About 43 percent of consumers surveyed in the final

Accounting firms are beginning to wade into the use of blockchain technology for audits, but with caution as the technology spreads beyond the cryptocurrency space where it’s been used for digital assets like Bitcoin. “I don’t know that blockchain is going to necessarily make things easier for auditors,” said Amy Steele, an audit and assurance

The controversy keeps mounting over a new tax break for investing in poor U.S. communities. But investors keep piling in. They just pumped $2.26 billion into funds that are planning to take advantage of “opportunity zone” tax incentives, a 51 percent jump from early December, according to a survey released Thursday from tax adviser Novogradac.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has released a set of revisions to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, making some changes in the independence standards for assurance engagements, other than audit and review engagements. The revisions to Part 4B of the code of ethics fulfill a commitment announced by IESBA in

The Internal Revenue Service’s new anti-fraud filters are unnecessarily flagging millions of tax returns and delaying legitimate tax refunds for weeks or months, according to a new report from the acting National Taxpayer Advocate’s office. Bridget Roberts, who took over the job last year from Nina Olson, the longtime head of the IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate

While tax professionals are preparing for the January 27 start to the 2020 filing season, they should also be planning their marketing strategy for the year ahead, according to Chuck McCabe, president of Peoples Income Tax and The Income Tax School. “Every year a tax practice will lose some clients, so marketing is vital just