News

Tax

IRS to Refund Tax Preparers for Canceled Certification Tests

The IRS announced on May 16 that it's issuing refunds to tax return preparers who registered for certification tests that were canceled due to a court-ordered injunction in late March. Fees collected from tax preparers who tested on or after January 18, the date the tests were enjoined, are also being refunded.
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Technology

Farewell, Lotus 1-2-3

IBM recently announced that Lotus 1-2-3 will no longer be available for purchase. Most readers of this article will likely have one of two reactions: "What is Lotus 1-2-3?" or "Lotus 1-2-3 was still on the market?"
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Tax

Obama Names Daniel Werfel Acting IRS Commissioner

The current controller of the US Office of Management and Budget has been appointed by President Obama as the new acting commissioner of the IRS, effective May 22. Daniel Werfel will take over the position vacated by Steven Miller, who resigned on May 15.
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Technology

Are Mobile Devices Causing a Digital Divide in the Workplace?

Each day when Bill Walter hops on the elevator in the building that houses his CPA firm, a majority of the people riding with him have their smartphones in hand – checking e-mails or surfing the Internet – before arriving at their particular floors.
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Education & Careers

Summer Construction: Rochester CPAs Ramp Up Fundraising to Build Habitat Home

The CPA community in Rochester, New York, is channeling its naturally competitive spirit into selfless cause this summer. They're trying to see who can raise the most money to break ground on a local Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) home.
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Tax

California Keeps the Kings and Millions in Tax $$

UPDATE: The battle with Seattle is over. For twenty-seven months, a group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have pursued the Sacramento Kings, hoping to move them north to become the Seattle SuperSonics. But on May 15, the NBA Board of Governors voted down the sale.
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Tax

Crime Watch: May 16, 2013

A man who perpetrated a million-dollar investment fraud from California that defrauded New Jersey victims was sentenced May 14 to forty-six months in prison for crimes related to the scheme, US Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
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Tax

IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller Resigns Over Scandal

Steven Miller, a twenty-five-year veteran of the IRS who has been the agency's acting commissioner since November 2012, resigned from his post on May 15, less than a week after the IRS admitted to and apologized for improperly scrutinizing the federal tax-exempt status of conservative groups.
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A&A

Hewlett Packard Faces $1 Billion Lawsuit from Shareholders

Hewlett Packard (HP) shareholders are suing the company for $1 billion over the "vastly overvalued" acquisition of the British software firm Autonomy. According to claims brought against the multinational, HP tried to pull out of its $11.1 billion takeover of Autonomy before the deal closed.
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Tax

Tax Breaks for Film Producers Lure 'Star Wars' to United Kingdom

It was recently announced that Walt Disney Company–owned Lucasfilm Ltd. is planning to shoot and produce the next Star Wars movie in the United Kingdom. Chancellor George Osborne said the announcement is "clear evidence" the country's film tax incentives are working.
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Tax

IRS Grant Helps Organizations Provide Free Tax Help to Seniors

The IRS TCE program offers free tax help to individuals who are sixty or older. The IRS provides grants to eligible organizations, which use the funding to purchase equipment and to reimburse volunteers for out-of-pocket expenses.
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Tax

Justice Department Investigating IRS' Targeting of Conservative Groups

Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, one day after he announced the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of the IRS for improperly scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of groups with conservative titles, such as "tea party" or "patriot," in their applications.
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Tax

GAO Identifies Weak Links in IRS' Internal Controls

It hasn't been a very good week for the IRS. First, a firestorm has erupted over its efforts to target conservative "tea party" groups applying for tax-exempt status. Now the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a new report saying that the IRS has to improve its internal controls.
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Education & Careers

New MACPA e-Book Focuses on CPA Leadership, Foresight, and Lifelong Learning

The conversation among CPAs today has gone well beyond technical issues. Today's CPAs need to know how to collaborate, connect, innovate, and inspire.
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A&A

SOX Compliance Survey Shows Need for More Scrutiny on High-Risk Processes

Demand for added attention to high-risk processes, growing costs, and the increasing role of IT controls and testing reports are some of the key changes and challenges companies faced over the last year.
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Education & Careers

MACPA Features Innovative Technologies and Social Media at Innovation Summit

The Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), representing its 9,000 members, will introduce four new innovative collaboration technologies on May 17 at its Innovation Summit at Martin's West.
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Tax

2013 NFL Draft: Who's #1 . . . After Income Taxes?

Nobody wants to come in second instead of first. But depending on how the pieces of the tax puzzle fit together, second place could be a lot more profitable. Take a look at this recent scenario in which the number two draft choice netted well over a quarter million dollars more than the number one.
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A&A

COSO Issues Updated Internal Control-Integrated Framework, Related Illustrative Documents

COSO – an organization providing thought leadership and guidance on internal control, enterprise risk management, and fraud deterrence – issued its updated Internal Control-Integrated Framework and related illustrative documents.
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Education & Careers

Dickinson State Accounting Club Helps Local People in Need

Thanks to a recent doughnut sale fundraiser and household items drive, the Dickinson State University Accounting Club donated much-needed goods for people in need and nearly $200 to a not-for-profit charitable organization in Dickinson, North Dakota.
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Tax

Obama: IRS' Targeting of Conservative Groups 'Outrageous'

President Barack Obama says he will not tolerate political bias at the IRS and promised to get to the bottom of the agency's admitted targeting of conservative groups. The IRS apologized on May 10 for scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of groups with conservative titles, such as "tea party" or "patriot," in their names.
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Pages

Voice of the Editor

Even though any accounting auditor would tell you it seems like there are an awful lot of tax accountants out there, surely one-third of the country isn't made up of tax preparers, so it's rather startling news to learn that one-third of Americans like to do their taxes. Who knew?
Read more
Gail Perry, CPA
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AccountingWEB
editor@accountingweb.com
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This Week on AccountingWEB

Bill Walter of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates and Harold Gaar of TravisWolff LLP weigh in on mobile technology use while employees are at work.
WestArk RSVP and Fayette County Community Action Agency – organizations that received grant funding through the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program – spoke with AccountingWEB about how they assist senior citizens in their communities.
CPA Robert Raiola, who heads the Sports & Entertainment Group of Fazio, Mannuzza, Roche, Tankel, LaPilusa, LLC, talks NFL player income taxes with AccountingWEB.
Retiring KPMG Centennial Professor of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Robert May, PhD talks with AccountingWEB about his rewarding forty-three-year career.
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