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The American Institute of CPAs passed a resolution at its Spring Council meeting voting to recognize the International Accounting Standards Board in London as the international accounting and financial reporting standards-setter.

What’s the first thing to know when considering membership in a professional services firm association?It’s not just about writing a check.

The Internal Revenue Service is facing a troublesome manpower drain, as a whopping average of 16 percent of its total workforce is now leaving the agency each year.The soaring employee turnover rate has raised eyebrows and concerns among members of the IRS Oversight Board, which warned that the tax service is losing a distressingly large number of talented workers who “possess skills and institutional knowledge that are extremely difficult to replace.”

Despite the availability of free searches and materials over the Internet, proprietary online tax research platforms continue to grow.“We [do] use free services such as the IRS Web site and the various state Web sites, and they’re very helpful,” explained Jake M. Bodenheimer, manager in the tax department at Atlanta-based HLB Gross Collins. “And occasionally, I’ll Google something. But you have to have access to the services. If you depend solely on the free sites, you’ll miss something. There’s always something different. You pick up something from one service that you don’t get on the other, and merge the information. We have a complicated society with complicated laws.”

PCAOB ADOPTS ETHICS/INDEPENDENCE RULEWashington, D.C. — The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to adopt a new ethics and independence rule concerning communications with audit committees, as well as an amendment to its existing tax services rule.

Despite the fact that I’ve traveled to Las Vegas something on the order of 15 times over the past three years, I’m the furthest thing from a seasoned gambler that you’re likely to see.Not only do my hands tremble almost uncontrollably when I sit down to play a hand or two of blackjack or other games of chance, I’m not very lucky at it to boot. As some wag once told me, “Bill, you probably would have bet Germany and seven points in World War II.”

The preliminary report of the U.S. Treasury Committee on the Auditing Profession was released in March.It’s a well-prepared wish list of how to improve the auditing profession. Unfortunately, the report envisions solutions that have little or no chance of being instituted any time soon.

Coinciding with the end of tax season, House lawmakers last month passed a bill that promises to make tax preparation easier, while also repealing the Internal Revenue Service’s often controversial Private Debt Collection Program.By a margin of 238-179, the House approved the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008, which repeals the outsourcing program. The program had come under heavy fire — particularly from Democrats — for spending $75 million to collect just $35 million for the IRS. Under the agreement, three private firms took a 24 percent cut of the taxes they collected.

IRS COMMITTEE SEEKS ADVISORSWashington, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service is looking for new members to apply for its Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee, including tax preparers. The committee offers recommendations on information reporting and administration issues to the IRS.

While the Internal Revenue Service has had an informant program for years, only recently have legislation and administrative developments put significant teeth into it. Most notable are the mandatory monetary awards now required for significant information equal to between 10 percent and 30 percent of the tax, interest and penalties collected.“The new rules have the potential to bring billions of dollars into the Treasury,” predicted Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on the passage of the enabling provision within the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. At least several law firms that specialize in Federal Claims Act litigation are now branching out into whistleblower representation, reporting several billion dollars in suits already pending.