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The unanimous vote by the Securities and Exchange Commission to propose a "roadmap" for convergence towards the use of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. companies is a positive first step.The eventual use of global, country-neutral financial reporting standards for U.S. public companies will be superior in quality to both current U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and IFRS.

Governments at all levels are faced with the need to raise more revenue in the wake of the current fiscal crisis. Both the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Government Accountability Office have issued reports addressing the weakness in unpaid tax collection, the role of private debt collectors in attempting to collect some of that debt, and the misreporting of rental real estate activities that contribute to the tax gap.The GAO said that while collecting unpaid tax debt is part of any strategy to help ensure compliance and confidence in the tax system and reduce both the annual tax gap and the cumulative unpaid tax debt inventory, Congress and other stakeholders have raised questions about the effectiveness of the Internal Revenue Service collection process in helping ensure compliance.

IRS TO ADDRESS PTP TERMINATIONSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service plans to issue guidance on technical terminations of a publicly traded partnership resulting in multiple short tax years within one calendar year.

This year-end is proving to be one of the most difficult for investors in many years. There's the uncertainty resulting from the financial credit crisis and government reactions to the crisis. There's the uncertainty from the close presidential election. There is also the uncertainty from the existing tax laws, under which the tax rates for capital gains and dividends and the top marginal tax rates for ordinary income would increase in 2011 under current law even if nothing were done by Congress.Faced with this uncertainty, the market has been in retreat, evaporating gains and producing potential losses. While most investment advisors are advising clients to remain in the market, and even use downturns such as this as an opportunity for further investment, taxpayers facing investment losses should keep in mind some tried and true tax planning opportunities, as well as some potential new developments in the tax law.

IRS OFFERS GUIDANCE ON ARSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service issued a revenue procedure that provides guidance on the treatment of taxpayers who accept certain types of settlements of potential legal claims relating to auction rate securities.

JEFFERSON WELLS OFFERS IFRS READINESS CALCULATORMilwaukee - Consultancy Jefferson Wells has introduced an online IFRS Readiness Calculator to help companies assess their preparedness for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession has released its final report with recommendations on how to improve the sustainability of the profession - but not without some dissension.The committee approved the report by a vote of 14-1, with the lone dissenting vote cast by Lynn Turner, a former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The way things are going in Washington and Wall Street, we fully expect a decree from Congress that henceforth all photographs and mirrors will be outlawed.Why on earth would they do that? Well, it turns out that various powerful individuals are growing dissatisfied with their diet and personal fitness programs. They are growing a bit paunchy around the middle, and they're picking up wrinkles, while more of their scalps are showing than they would prefer.

As the turmoil continued to wreak havoc with the markets and Congress mulled the mammoth $700 billion bailout package for Wall Street, five high-profile CPA financial planners holding the American Institute of CPAs' Personal Financial Specialist credential advised concerned investors to take a calm approach to savings and investments amid the present financial crisis.While their individual investment strategies may differ slightly, all agreed that clients should not lock in market losses through panic selling.

IPRO BUYS INTEREST IN TEGRAiPro One said that it has acquired a minority ownership interest in Tegra Financial Partners, an affiliate of Georgia accounting firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne.