Practice Management

The Internal Revenue Service, under a congressional microscope for conference spending and improper scrutiny of small-government groups, has fired fewer workers for misconduct this year than at any time since 2002.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has sent a letter to committee chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., urging him to stop making unsubstantiated allegations about the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal being traced back to the White House.

The Internal Revenue Service reminded tax professionals Monday that its offices will be closed on June 14, July 5, July 22 and August 30 due to the current budget situation, and the closure will also affect the IRS’s Modernized eFile System.

The Internal Revenue Service said in an email to tax professionals Friday that it plans to retire and remove its Disclosure Authorization and Electronic Account Resolution applications from its online eServices on August 11, largely because of low usage and budget cuts.

Bob Moritz, chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP since July 2009, sat down with Accounting Today on Friday to discuss some of the issues facing the accounting profession and how PwC has been adapting to changes in the economy and accounting, as well as his encounter with Michelle Obama when handing her the envelope for the Academy Awards.

Mergers, manufacturing integrations, and partnerships were abound this week plus my take on what to expect at the upcoming AICPA Tech + Symposium.

The House Ways and Means Committee plans to hold a hearing next Thursday on the use of tax havens by multinational corporations to shift their profits.

While generally notices and other communications from the IRS are considered received by the taxpayer if they are delivered to the home by certified mail and signed for, such was not the case with a Letter 1153, received by and signed for by the taxpayer’s son but ultimately determined not to have made its final step on its journey from the IRS into the taxpayer’s hands.

CPA firms are increasing their email marketing, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service executive who portrayed Spock in the agency’s Star Trek video parody apologized to lawmakers for inappropriate spending on a $4.1 million conference in 2010.