AT Think

The finance and accounting function can play a critical role in helping organizations navigate through a crisis.

In a March 4 letter, the AICPA urged the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS to delay the estate basis reporting due date from March 31, 2016 until May 31 due to proposed regulations covering the new reporting requirements not issued until March 2, 2016.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) announced their 2016 Call for Proposals last week for its Accounting Education Research Grants Program. Since its inception in 2011, the program looks to further research on educational issues impacting CPAs and the public accounting profession at large.

Helen Brand, chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, is on a mission to expand accounting education across the world.

UC Berkeley announced this week that a new accounting program, the "Berkeley Charter of Professional Accountancy" (BCPA) will be offering summer courses at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business over the next two summers, open to all members of the community. The program allows students to earn 30 units in accounting-related coursework - a requirement for those taking the CPA Exam.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new lease accounting standard could have some positive payoffs for companies if they take a careful approach to implementing it.

The Illinois CPA Society announced on Thursday that they are now accepting scholarship applications for the 2016-17 academic year. Approximately 30 individual tuition and textbook scholarships will be available to college students who have demonstrated "hard work, academic success, and financial need," per the Society's announcement.

Business executives and other financial leaders' optimism concerning the U.S. economy has fallen to its lowest level in more than three years, according to the first quarter AICPA Economic Outlook Survey, released on Thursday. The Survey polls various CEOs, CFOs, controllers and other CPAs in U.S. companies who hold executive and senior management accounting roles.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting said it has been selected by the Internal Revenue Service to provide tax law and expert guidance and analysis handbooks to support the IRS staff in their research responsibilities.

KPMG announced on Wednesday that a team of students representing the University of Michigan are the U.S. national champions of the 2015-2016 KPMG International Case Competition (KICC) – the business case study competition open to select colleges and universities of business students.