Practice Management

Switzerland’s 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes.

’Tis the time of year when children daydream of possibilities. And, if you have ever seen a letter to Santa written by a seven-year-old, you know that the little ones often swing for the fences.

Accounting firms need to recognize the important differences between “client satisfaction” and “client loyalty,” according to a new whitepaper.

Accounting Today is in the midst of compiling its annual lists of the Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders, and is looking for more top-notch accounting firms to consider.

The Senate has voted to confirm John Koskinen as the next Internal Revenue Service commissioner, succeeding acting commissioner Daniel Werfel, who was brought in to help reform the beleaguered tax agency.

President Obama has nominated Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., as the next ambassador to China, potentially setting back efforts at comprehensive tax reform.

“It’s never too late for tax planning,” a wise CPA once told me. “You’ve got till the ball drops to take action, and if you do it later than that, then you’ve got an early start for next year.”

CCH has introduced a program to help accounting professionals represent collections clients before the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service was unable to keep up with demand for telephone and correspondence services last tax season despite efficiency gains from processing more tax returns electronically, adding Web services, and shifting resources away from enforcement, according to a new government report.

The U.S. has signed six more intergovernmental agreements with a half dozen jurisdictions, including several traditional offshore tax havens, to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.