Practice Management

A pair of Michigan accounting firms -- Lewis & Knopf in Mundy Township and Rachor, Purman & Tucker of Flint Township -- have merged.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined firm will operate under the name Lewis & Knopf CPAs.

WHK Group is set is to acquire Australia’s Grant Thornton Perth, according to published reports.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that the commissioners of the Australian, Canadian, U.K., and U.S. tax administrations will open a second office of the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Center in London this fall.The commissioners have said that exchanging information in real-time is making a significant difference to the complex task of tracking tax avoidance and abusive cross-border transactions. In recent months, center members have identified and challenged the following fraudulent arrangements:

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson announced that the Internal Revenue Service has awarded almost $8 million in matching grants to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics for the 2007 grant cycle.

There’s no real question that something needs to be done about the fate of the alternative minimum tax.

The House of Representatives passed a bill to shore up oversight of home mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federally backed businesses that have been mired in accounting scandals and restatements.Under the legislation, a new, independent regulator will be created to oversee the businesses, and a portion of their profits will be set aside for an affordable housing fund (capped at $520 million). In the first year, the money would be earmarked for victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Two accounting firms with presences in Long Island and New York -- Nussbaum, Yates & Wolpow PC and Berg Klein Salomon LLP -- announced that they will merge.

The Supreme Court has ruled that only the U.S. Tax Court can review refusals by the Internal Revenue Service to reduce interest payments on people who underpay their taxes.

GAO TO IRS: FORGET SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENTThe Government Accountability Office said that the Internal Revenue Service doesn't appear to be in a position to develop its own software for tax preparation anytime soon.

NET@WORK BUYS CONNECTICUT VARNEW YORK - Net@Work, a regional New York Accpac and MAS 90/200 and 500 reseller, has acquired Apptech Inc., a Cheshire, Conn.-based consulting firm specializing in Sage Pro ERP (formerly SBT/Accpac Pro Series) sales and support. Terms were not disclosed.