News

Tax

Controversy Swirls Around Hearings on IRS Scandal

After the initial round of hearings held by three Congressional committees this week, at least we know the IRS wrongfully targeted conservative "tea party" groups applying for tax-exempt status. But precious little else has been revealed.
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Tax

Jackpot! Ten Pieces of Financial Advice for New Powerball Winner

There's one person – or maybe a group of people – who has yet to claim the largest Powerball jackpot in history: an estimated $590.5 million. The ticket was purchased on May 18 from a Publix supermarket in Zephyrhills, Florida.
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A&A

Feedback Sought for FASB/IASB Lease Accounting Proposal

Interested individuals and organizations have until September 13 to offer their input on a revised exposure draft – "Proposed Accounting Standards Update - Leases (Topic 842)" – from the FASB and the IASB.
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Tax

IRS Official Lois Lerner Pleads the Fifth before House Oversight Committee

Lois Lerner, director of the IRS Exempt Organizations division, chose to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on May 22.
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Tax

Crime Watch: May 22, 2013

Michael Parker of Baltimore, Maryland, who was the COO of TransCapital Corporation, a tax-advantaged investments company based in Virginia, was sentenced May 20 to fifty-four months in prison in KPMG tax shelter case.
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Tax

IRS Extends Tax Deadlines for Oklahoma Tornado Victims

Following Monday's disaster declaration for individual assistance issued by FEMA, the IRS announced May 21, 2013, that affected taxpayers in Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma, and Pottawatomie counties will receive special tax relief.
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A&A

US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Green-Lighted by SEC

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted the 2013 US GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, which allows companies to use eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) in reporting financial statements.
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Education & Careers

New York Accounting Foundation Awards $183,750 in Scholarships

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants' Foundation for Accounting Education has announced the sixty-seven New York State students who will receive Excellence in Accounting Scholarships for the 2013-2014 school year.
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Tax

Beyoncé's Father and Former Manager under Heavy Tax Debt

Matthew Knowles, music executive, television producer, father, and former manager of Beyoncé Knowles, is into the IRS for more than $1.2 million. The tax debt relates to income earned in 2010 and 2011, the same years he managed his daughter's career.
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Tax

Rapper Ja Rule's Tax Evasion Time Served, Mostly

Rapper Ja Rule spent the last nearly two years in prison at Ray Brook Correctional Facility in upstate New York on charges that included illegal gun possession and tax evasion. Now he'll finish his sentence on home confinement.
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A&A

LA Jeweler Pleads Guilty in KPMG Insider Trading Case

Los Angeles jewelry store owner Bryan Shaw faces a maximum of five years in prison after he pleaded guilty May 20 for his role in an insider trading case involving a former senior audit partner at KPMG LLP.
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Education & Careers

CPA Firm Sponsors Yearlong Push for Employee Health, Fitness

Healthy living is a year-round commitment at Herbein + Company, a 110-person CPA firm in Pennsylvania where employees are encouraged to participate in the firm's wellness program throughout the year.
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Education & Careers

BDO and Ernst & Young Named Top Workplaces for Recent Grads

BDO USA LLP and Ernst & Young LLP were among twenty-five companies that were included in the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads 2013 report from ConnectEDU Inc., a technology company committed to transitioning learners from school to college to career.
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Practice

Survey Finds Small Businesses Slowly Increasing Economic Activity

Small business owners are showing a willingness to hire more employees amidst signs of expanding business activity, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey released by Insperity, Inc., a provider of human resources and business performance solutions.
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Practice

The Tools That Build Brands

What identity do you want your firm to have? What do you want people to think of when they hear the name of your firm? Once you've identified your firm's desired positioning, the next step is to plan the branding strategy that will make it a reality.
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Tax

New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton Settles Tax Credit Lawsuit

Twenty-seven investors, including Saints coach Sean Payton, wanted to reduce their overall state income tax liabilities by investing in movie production tax credits. But the film studio was defunct, and the tax credits didn't exist.
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Practice

Three Indicators of Creditworthiness for Your Business Clients

Are your business clients applying for a loan? Sageworks Research Specialist Mary Ellen Biery outlines three indicators of creditworthiness and how your clients can improve them.
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Practice

Company Announcements: Week of May 20, 2013

Following is the latest roundup of community news for the week of May 20, 2013.
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Tax

IRS Is Sued for Seizing Medical Records

The IRS has come under fire recently for reportedly authorizing intrusions into e-mails and online postings without obtaining a search warrant. Now it appears medical records might not be safe from the prying eyes of the nation's tax collection agency.
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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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Pages

Voice of the Editor

What would you do if one of your clients won the lottery? We asked several accountants to weigh in with their advice for the lucky Powerball winner, and the tips we received are useful for anyone who receives a windfall, whether it's a lottery win, an inheritance, a big bonus on the job, or a killing in the stock market.
Read more
Gail Perry, CPA
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AccountingWEB
editor@accountingweb.com
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This Week on AccountingWEB

CPAs Mira Finé, Scott Hitchcock, Rob Keasal, Kathy Scorcio, and Ken Travis offer ten pieces of financial advice for the newest Powerball winner.
Hang Bower of BDO USA and Dan Black of Ernst & Young share their perspectives on why their firms made the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads 2013 list.
Herbein + Company, Inc. firm members talked with AccountingWEB about their year-round employee wellness program.
Bill Walter of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates and Harold Gaar of TravisWolff LLP weigh in on mobile technology use while employees are at work.
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