Practice Management

Change is scary. There's no doubt about it. I often tell my clients that whenever I am facing a major change, I feel like I am at the edge of a diving board and just can't jump into the water.I guess I'm no different than any of you when it comes to change. Sometimes I have been forced into it, and other times I have led it.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has selected the accounting firm Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Co. to do forensic accounting on his tax returns and congressional disclosure forms.

The Internal Revenue Service has not developed sufficient processes to ensure that more than 61 million tax refunds were directly deposited last tax season to the correct bank account, according to a new report from the Treasury's inspector general.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that the IRS places responsibility for compliance with federal direct deposit regulations on the taxpayer, and indicated that it is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that their tax refunds are directly deposited only into their accounts. TIGTA and representatives from the Treasury's Financial Management Service, however, believe that the IRS is responsible for enforcing the requirement.

The Financial Accounting Foundation advised President Bush and other U.S. and world leaders attending the G-20 summit to safeguard fair value accounting and the independent standard-setting process in a strongly worded letter.

Financial Executives International has written to House and Senate Leaders urging lawmakers to consider relief for small and closely held business in the event of any future stimulus packages.

The Rehmann Group accounting firm said it plans to merge with another Michigan firm, Pridnia LaPres, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to have problems with its internal controls and financial management systems, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Electronic tax filing for individuals and businesses set a record in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the department's Troubled Asset Relief Program would begin to focus more on relieving tight consumer credit markets and shift away from the original plans to buy mortgage-backed securities.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service have accused a senior executive at UBS of helping U.S. taxpayers evade income taxes on approximately $20 billion in assets.