Practice Management

Pitney Bowes Inc., a manufacturer of postage meters, mailing systems and other equipment, agreed to a $1.1 billion tax settlement with the Internal Revenue Service.

Recently, we asked marketers nationwide to share their firms' evaluation forms; we were surprised to learn that many respondents do not have a formal evaluation process similar to those that are conducted for their CPA staff.Instead, they said that they summarize their efforts, and offer a report card to firm management. Unfortunately, these subjective reporting efforts frequently feel inadequate, because they are created without much partner support or understanding of the marketing process, its value and its results.

Who needs risk management? All firms do.The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has resulted in significant legal and regulatory changes affecting auditors of publicly traded companies. Given the current litigious climate, the inherent danger of auditing nano- and small-cap firms, and most firms doing larger and larger engagements, risk management may soon become one of the top five issues in managing an accounting practice.

IRS LAUNCHES ONLINE PAYMENT AGREEMENTS: Tax professionals will help launch a new system allowing many individuals who owe delinquent federal taxes to apply online for a payment agreement, the Internal Revenue Service announced.The IRS is implementing the new Online Payment Agreement application through national partnerships with the tax professional community. The application will eliminate the need to write or call the IRS toll-free number for assistance. The goal of the program is to provide an easier way for taxpayers to voluntarily resolve tax liabilities.

There have been three fundamental, evolutionary changes in the corporate tax function over the past 20 years with respect to its mission, its alignment with corporate strategy, and its influence on organizational behavior and resource allocation.The first, in the 1980s, focused on using technology applications to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax preparation, with cost reduction acting as the driver for improving business processes. The second, in the 1990s, involved value creation and developing holistic approaches to sustain tax minimization, which proved that the corporate tax function could positively affect the bottom line through effective tax planning.

Tax and accounting software and products provider CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, has agreed to acquire ATX/Kleinrock, a provider of tax preparation and research materials. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.ATX/Kleinrock, headquartered in Rockville, Md., supplies tax preparation, accounting and tax research software products to more than 48,000 tax professionals and CPAs throughout the country.

Schedule M-3 is part of the effort by the Internal Revenue Service to get a better handle on abusive tax shelters and other aggressive tax techniques by getting sufficient detail on book/tax differences that it can guide IRS auditors to transactions in need of further examination.The IRS is sufficiently confident in its ability to track book/tax differences on Schedule M-3 that earlier this year it removed book/tax differences as a criteria required for reportable transactions. While the former Schedule M-1 required only 10 lines of information, Schedule M-3 expands that to 90 lines of information, with an emphasis on making a distinction between temporary and permanent book/tax differences.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that long-distance telephone customers will be able to seek refunds ranging from $30 to $60 on their 2006 tax refunds.

Boston-area firm Braver PC announced an investment in a majority interest of Mansfield, Mass.-based Andrews Computer Systems Inc.Andrews serves more than 250 clients working in a range of applications and industries. The acquisition will gives Braver's clients access to a full-service computer technology company. The 10-member Andrews team will join the accounting firm's technology group and be marketed as Braver Technology Solutions LLC.

In an August letter, the Internal Revenue Service said that the NAACP did not violate its tax-exempt status when the civil rights group's chairman gave a speech criticizing President Bush.