WebCPA Staff

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sending notifications to approximately 1 million tax return preparers to remind them that they must renew their Preparer Tax Identification Numbers if they are still paid preparers, and posted videos on YouTube in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

Volunteers who prepare income tax returns at the Internal Revenue Service’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program sites improved their accuracy during the 2010 filing season, according to a new report that found a 90 percent accuracy rate, compared to only 59 percent a year ago.

Vice President Joe Biden indicated that the White House could be ready to make a deal with Republicans on expanding the level of income that would qualify for the Bush tax cuts extension.

Lambda Legal has published a short guide aimed at tax professionals and California’s registered domestic partners explaining the consequences of a significant shift in federal tax policy as they file their tax returns for 2010.

The U.S. Department of Labor and the American Institute of CPAs have launched an interactive website to help small businesses select a retirement plan suitable for their employees.

Brett Siegfried has joined Weaver as a partner in assurance services in the firm’s San Antonio office, and the firm also added industry practice leaders in several of its other Texas offices.

CPA and consulting firm Jackson Thornton has promoted two accountants in its Montgomery, Ala., headquarters and created a new marketing position there.

A new academic study has found evidence that Sarbanes-Oxley 404 audits of companies’ internal controls significantly reduce the likelihood of issuing materially misstated financial statements.

Only 29 percent of CFOs and senior controllers in a new survey by Grant Thornton plan to hire over the next six months.

Mark Ernst, the former chairman and CEO of H&R Block who went on to become deputy commissioner for operations support at the Internal Revenue Service, will be leaving the IRS later this year, according to an announcement Thursday by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

Tax preparer Kertena Seabrook has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $171,152 in restitution after she was convicted on 20 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.

Accounting firm Citrin Cooperman has changed its logo and other branding for the first time in 30 years.

The largest Microsoft Dynamics reseller in the country, and one of the biggest in the world, is losing its long-time leader as Tectura Corp. founder, president and chief executive Terry Petrzelka will be retiring and leaving the company at the end of this year.

Asking the right questions when considering accepting new audit clients, or continuing a relationship with an existing client, is the key to establishing a quality relationship, according to a new paper issued by a group of audit firm networks.

A senior executive of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone who is also a tax preparer has pleaded guilty to submitting false and fraudulent tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service and cashing approximately $250,000 in fraudulently obtained tax refund checks.

States and localities continued to raise their sales tax rates last quarter in order to generate more revenue to close their budget deficits, according to a new report.

Sage North America has released Sage Simply Accounting 2011 for the United States, a bilingual edition of the software aimed at Hispanic small and midsized businesses in the U.S.

A new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that many small businesses are still being denied access to credit by lenders.

A Buffalo, N.Y., pizzeria owner who failed to pay New York State over $100,000 in sales taxes has been ordered by a judge to deliver 12 free pies a week to a local charity that serves the poor.

An Internal Revenue Service advisory committee has issued a report calling for a number of changes in the IRS’s information reporting rules, including the controversial provision in the health care reform bill that mandates expanded 1099 information reporting for businesses.