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Most Recent News
5.7.13 PCAOB Reproposes Auditing Standard, Related Parties, and Related Amendments, Including Amendments Regarding Significant Unusual Transactions - The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today reproposed for public comment an auditing standard, Related Parties, and related amendments to other standards to address areas that have been contributing factors in a number of financial reporting frauds........click here for the article.
4.24.13 Services tax is dead - At the start of the legislative session in February, Democrats promised — at the very least — an early and public discussion on tax reform. Beyond just a discussion, early bipartisan support seemed to be forming around a sales tax on services — potentially applying it in a revenue-neutral way by lowering the overall rate of the tax ....click here for the article.
4.5.13 AICPA Comments on Employer Shared Responsibility Under Health Care Act - In response to the Internal Revenue Service’s notice of proposed rulemaking, the AICPA submitted comments on employer shared responsibility for health insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The comments were centered on the request for additional guidance and clarification related to the determination of “full-time employee” as well as an “applicable large employer.”
4.5.13 Winning The Final Four - Three proven strategies to enhance client service and profitability in the final four weeks of tax season.
4.5.13 Survey Reveals Taxpayers Who Procrastinate Pay 33 Percent More than Early Filers - Taxpayers who procrastinate getting their returns prepared or who file for an extension will pay about one-third more in tax preparation fees than those who filed in January or February.
4.5.13 AICPA Calls For Relief from Steep Penalties for a Late Form - In 2009, the IRS began imposing an automatic penalty of $10,000 for each Form 5471 filed with a delinquent corporate tax return. (The 5471 is an Information Return required for companies that do any business overseas.) In assessing this penalty, the IRS does not distinguish between large public multinational companies, small companies or companies that have only insignificant overseas operations. The AICPA has recommended that the IRS provide taxpayers a 30-day grace period from the time the IRS provides written notice for a taxpayer to submit a request for reasonable cause relief.
4.5.13 Tax Tools: Tax Materials Checklist and 10 Tips for Last-Minute Filers - Sometimes obtaining the information needed for filing clients’ tax returns can be the hardest part of the process, especially as the Apr. 15 deadline approaches. Your members can help their clients by using the AICPA’s Tax Materials Checklist and 10 Tips for Last-Minute Tax Filer.
4.5.13 IASB Proposes Simplified Accounting For Certain Defined Benefit Contributions - An International Accounting Standards Board proposal would simplify accounting for contributions to defined-benefit plans under IAS 19, Employee Benefits. It provides an alternative when contributions payable in a particular period are linked just to the employee's service provided during that period. Comments are to be made by July 25.
4.5.13 FASB Provides More Time To Compare Credit Loss Proposals - The Financial Accounting Standards Board has extended the comment period of its expected-credit-loss proposal in its financial-instruments project to May 31. Meanwhile, because FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board have not reached a resolution on how to revise standards for loan losses, the financial community is trying to help members make sense of the divergent approaches. The American Bankers Association says the new proposal is an improvement, but concerns remain. Fitch Ratings says the FASB's proposed model would likely spur U.S. banks to take a more conservative approach to reporting asset values.
4.5.13 Hoogervorst: IFRS Performs Well During A Crisis - The chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, Hans Hoogervorst, is a staunch defender of International Financial Reporting Standards, despite the many critics of the standards that emerged during the financial crisis. He dismisses critics who contend that fair-value accounting caused the financial crisis, or that IFRS rules added volatility to the banking system, in this wide-ranging interview.
4.5.13 Cutting-Edge Case Study Zeroes in on Financial Reporting Fraud - In the fight against financial reporting fraud, members of the financial reporting supply chain have a new tool to advance their fraud deterrence and detection capabilities
4.3.13 FASB Extends Comment Deadline on Proposal for Accounting for Credit Losses - The FASB has extended the comment deadline for its proposal to improve financial reporting on expected credit losses on loans and other financial assets held by banks, financial institutions, and other organizations.
4.3.13 How Finance Leaders Can Extend Their Shelf Life - You've reached the top, but how long can you stay there? CFO turnover is on the rise, due to a mixture of oustings and a more active job market in some regions. Experts offer the keys to longevity.
4.3.13 Rotation Model A Challenge To Internal Audit Independence - A trend of rotating finance function employees through the chief audit executive (CAE) position can be viewed as a barrier to internal audit's objectivity. Read about five ways to decrease risks and boost independence when employees are rotating through the CAE post.
4.3.13 Skill Demands Challenge Internal Audit Priorities - In addition to expanding their roles to include enterprise risk management and strategic adviser duties, internal auditors need to keep up with an expanding list of competencies to perform their jobs.
4.3.13 The Core Priorities for North American CFOs - Supporting strategy is the No. 1 business focus for North American CFOs in the next year, according to Deloitte’s quarterly CFO Signals survey. In addition to business priorities, respondents were asked their top finance priorities – the “operator” and “steward” roles, according to the report. Read the CGMA article here.
3.27.13 Eight Major Risks To Your Clients' Retirement - Everyone wants a safe, stable and certain flow of income to sustain their ideal retirement. But if you were to ask five different relatives and friends what retirement means to them, you would likely receive five different answers. Read more about 8 major risks to client retirements here.
3.27.13 Tax Stumbling Blocks To Starting A CPA Practice - The problems include an insufficient client base and partner mismatch.
3.27.13 Kicking and Screaming Into The Cloud - How many times have you heard someone say, "I'd rather chew nails than go to the dentist?" Believe it or not – with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek – there are still some accounting professionals who would rather chew nails than move some or all of their practice to the Cloud. Why you should reconsider.
3.27.13 Tax Season Materials Are Available for AICPA Members - Many CPAs and their clients are concerned about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s impact, as some of the law’s key provisions will kick in next year, including mandatory employer coverage. In a recent letter to the IRS, the AICPA commended the Treasury and the IRS for developing rules to ease employers’ administrative burdens, but also voiced concerns that additional guidance and clarifications are needed. The AICPA asked, among other things, that the regulations governing employers’ responsibility for coverage include clearer definitions of “full-time employee” and “applicable large employer” as they relate to certain situations. For a helpful timeline of when the law’s provisions take effect and other resources for CPAs, visit the AICPA’s Health Care Reform Center.
3.27.13 Tax Season Materials Are Available for AICPA Members - With the delayed start of tax season and delayed availability of forms, this is a very challenging time for your members who prepare tax returns. To assist them, please share AICPA resources such as the Top 12 Tax Resources blog and the newly updated checklist, a comprehensive list of both free and paid products that your members may find useful.
3.27.13 Research Finds Internal Auditors Must Reach for New Heights or Risk Losing Relevance - On March 18, PricewaterhouseCooper's (PwC) released its 2013 State of the Internal Audit Profession Study. PwC surveyed 1,100 chief audit executives and more than 630 stakeholders worldwide for the company's ninth annual survey on the role of internal auditors, and found that changing conditions make it imperative that auditors reach for new heights in their work.
3.27.13 New Report Shows Changing Fraud Environment - The latest Kroll 2012-2013 Global Fraud Report shows the incidence and cost of fraud have decreased over the last year, yet fraud still remains an important issue for all companies around the world. And a DOJ suit against Standard & Poor's highlights the need for oversight of the credit rating industry.
3.7.13 Annual Report of AICPA Disciplinary Activity Released - The statistical report of AICPA Disciplinary Activity includes cases investigated by the Professional Ethics Division, cases handled by the Joint Trial Board Division and actions taken under the automatic provisions of the AICPA bylaws.The report for the period covering the 2012 calendar year, with comparison to 2011, is now available.
3.7.13 Health care law presents new opportunities for CPAs -Becoming an expert on the numerous and complex provisions of the 2010 health care legislation that affect your individual and business clients can increase business and may be essential to a successful practice.
3.7.13 CGMA Webpage Provides One-Stop Destination for Risk and Innovation - Risk and innovation—the latest theme from the CGMA innovation agenda—focuses on how companies must embrace innovation while understanding and managing risk in order to stay competitive in today's fast-paced and complex world. The AICPA and CIMA recently launched a new webpage on CGMA.org to house the myriad CGMA resources on risk and innovation. This comprehensive roundup of the latest reports, tools, videos and other thought leadership and best practices in risk and innovation will help your management accounting members navigate this critical space.
3.7.13 Stopping Tax Identity Theft: Practical Advice For CPAs and Clients - Learn preventive actions and ways to correct problems after a thief has struck in this Journal of Accountancy article.
3.7.13 Economists Predict U.S. Growth Will Pick Up By Summer - The U.S. economy is poised to accelerate beginning at midyear, generating enough growth to produce a self-sustaining recovery, according to economists surveyed by USA Today. Meanwhile, a consensus is growing among economists that the minor fourth-quarter shrinkage reported for the U.S. economy will be revised to reveal growth, albeit at a sluggish pace.
2.27.13 How To Develop and Publish a Mobile App - When and how should CPAs develop mobile apps, and how can they find their way safely to an app store? This Journal of Accountacy article shows the way.
2.27.13 Depreciation and education credit forms can soon be filed with the IRS - The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that it would start accepting tax returns that include Form 4562, Depreciation or Amortization, and returns with Form 8863, Education Credits. It also said that it will start accepting other delayed forms sometime in early March, but did not specify a date. Read more.
2.27.13 NASBA Releases CPA Examination Statistics - The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) recently released the Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Performance Book and the School Performance Book which feature comprehensive statistical data from all (4) testing windows of the 2012 Uniform CPA Examination.
2.27.13 AICPA Establishes 2 "Windows on Washington" to Guide Members - The AICPA has established two Web pages to help members monitor what is happening in Washington and the impact its actions, or non-actions, will have on the profession, writes Michael Ramos, AICPA's director of CPE and Training. Dubbed "window on Washington," the pages will keep readers abreast on issues related to healthcare reform and adoption of the Affordable Care Act and tax legislation, sequestration and the debt-ceiling debate, respectively.
2.20.13 SEC Developing New Fraud Detection Technology - The Washington Post reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission plans to launch computer software this year to spot accounting anomalies, including potential fraud, in the financial statements that companies file with the agency.
2.20.13 Stopping Tax Identity Theft: Practical Advice for CPAs and Clients - Tax return and other tax-related identity theft is a growing problem with which CPAs can help their clients-both in taking preventive actions and in correcting problems after an identity thief has struck. Read More.
2.5.13 IRS Closes PTIN System Due to Court Ruling on Preparer Registration - Last week the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down the Internal Revenue Service’s registered tax return preparer program. As a result of the ruling, the IRS also had to close the PTIN system, which will remain closed while the courts consider the IRS’s appeal of the decision. Without the PTIN system available, it is impossible for CPAs or staff to obtain or renew a PTIN, which is still required to be added to a tax return if signed by a paid tax preparer. The AICPA realizes the confusion the shutdown has caused and has voiced its concerns to the IRS. As soon as additional information is available, the AICPA will alert members. In a statement Jan. 29, the IRS said it is working diligently to resolve issues surrounding the issuance of PTINs.
2.5.13 Senate Votes to Temporarily Suspend Federal Debt Limit - Senate votes to temporarily suspend federal debt limit - Congress gave final approval January 31 to a plan to temporarily suspend the legal limit on the national debt, permitting the Treasury Department to keep borrowing and lifting the threat of a government default until August. The measure, approved by the Senate 64 to 34, now goes to the White House for President Obama's signature. Without congressional action, the administration had been warning that the Treasury would run out of money to pay the nation's bills by early March.
2.5.13 IRS Tax Return Preparer Regulation Struck Down - A federal district court has struck down the Internal Revenue Service's registered tax return preparer program as exceeding the IRS' statutory authority. The court granted summary judgment to three tax return preparers who had sued, claiming they would lose revenue and perhaps be forced out of business by the rules. The court enjoined the IRS from enforcing the regulations. Read this JournalofAccountancy.com article for more information. The IRS intends to appeal and has filed a motion to suspend the injunction.
UPCOMING CPE
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