Practice Management

Camarillo, Calif.-based Farber & Hass LLP has merged with Granada Hills, Calif.-based Hurley & Co. CPAs to solidify both firms' stake in conducting Securities and Exchange Commission audits.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson said that lawmakers should consider making corporate tax returns part of the public record in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.

About 10 percent of General Service Administration contractors owed roughly $1.4 billion in unpaid taxes between the years 2004-05,according to an investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

Cochran, Head & Co. PC in Kansas City, Kan., will merge with the smaller Prestia Vick & Associates LLC based in Kansas City, Mo.

Financial planning concerns, Wedel & Associates and The Yanker Group have combined to create a single entity -- Four Seasons Wealth Management.

Crowe Chizek and Co. LLC announced that it will combine practices with Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Madsen Sapp Mena Rodriguez & Co. CPAs & Advisors.

The Internal Revenue Service awarded contracts to a trio of firms to participate in the first phase of its private debt collection initiative.

Outsourcing company Accenture will acquire the assets of software and services vendor Savista , in a bid to expand its back-office business process outsourcing capabilities.

Professional preparation of a non-itemized Form 1040 will cost a taxpayer about $110, while an itemized 1040 with Schedule A will run about $201, according to a survey from the National Society of Accountants.

Taxpayers doesn't seem to be returning to pencil and paper after the Internal Revenue Service discontinued its TeleFile service.