WebCPA Staff

The State of California, struggling with a $19 billion budget deficit, is considering legalizing and taxing marijuana in a referendum on the November ballot.

The Group of North American Insurance Enterprises, an association representing the CFOs of major life insurance companies in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States, has joined with four other insurance industry trade associations based in North and South America, to urge the International Accounting Standards Board to reconsider its decision to apply a single measurement model to both life and non-life insurance contracts.

CPAs are increasingly being asked to solve the information technology problems of their clients and prospective clients, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs.

The Swiss Parliament’s upper house voted Thursday in favor of Switzerland’s deal with the U.S. government to share the identities of 4,450 U.S. clients of UBS with numbered bank accounts.

Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 431,000 in May, largely reflecting the hiring of 411,000 temporary employees to work on the 2010 census, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Accounting firm Clifton Gunderson announced its latest merger Friday, with the St. Louis-based firm of Humes & Barrington, expanding its footprint to the Gateway City.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a private letter ruling recognizing California’s community property laws in regard to the tax treatment of registered domestic partners, potentially benefiting same-sex couples.

The Supreme Court unanimously reversed a federal appeals court decision in a case challenging Ohio’s taxation of independent marketers of natural gas, and said the case should be tried in state court.

The shareholders of Elliott Davis, PLLC, one of the largest accounting, tax and consulting services firms in the Southeast, have admitted Lee E. Haynes as shareholder in the firm’s Charlotte, N.C. office.

Reznick Group has named Jphn Mackel a senior manager in the firm’s Valutation and Transaction Advisory Group.

Former Congressman Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., has joined the specialty tax firm alliantgroup as a senior advisor.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has released a new report urging businesses to focus more on their ethical responsibilities and prioritize the recruitment of senior executives and financial staff with strong ethical compasses.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has upgraded its Sabrix Managed Tax Service to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics GP, versions 9 and 10.

Private sector employment increased by 55,000 last month, according to a report by payroll giant ADP.

A series of monthly live webinars will examine “The Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management,” starting next week.

The strength of the U.S. economic recovery will rest on how well small and midsized businesses fare, according to a new report.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board said they intend to prioritize the major convergence projects ahead of them as they try to reach the goal of melding U.S. and international accounting standards, with some projects pushed back further next year.

Small business owners' confidence increased for the second straight month in May, rising to its highest level in seven months, according to a new survey.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has told the Internal Revenue Service it should withdraw its proposed rule that would require companies with more than $10 million in total assets to disclose uncertain tax positions on a new schedule.

Commercial open-source accounting, enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software provider xTuple has introduced the xTuple Web Portal, which enables users’ Web sites to work directly with customers, suppliers and other business partners.