Practice Management

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., dropped efforts to temporarily extend the estate tax at its current level in the face of Republican opposition.

A new report from the Bay Street Group research firm describes the key factors driving new opportunities for accounting firms in this difficult business environment.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations under a new law that will require reporting of basis and other information by stock brokers and mutual fund companies for most stock purchased in 2011 and all stock purchased in 2012 and later years.

Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn has merged in Bernard B. Cohen & Co., expanding the firm’s real estate practice in the Baltimore area.

CCH has issued a Special Tax Briefing on the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 that was approved this month by the House.

Promoters have been marketing on the Internet the use of 401(k) funds to purchase franchises or startup businesses, which normally require up-front material sums of monies to launch.

You'll be seeing a few changes on Accounting Tomorrow in the coming months. We'll still have our own URL, www.accountingtomorrow.com, but we'll be amping up our blog to engage and promote reader discussion. We'll also be unveiling a new logo that will mesh better with Accounting Today's brand.

Chicago - Baker Tilly Virchow Krause has merged in Beers + Cutler to create what it expects to be the 13th largest accounting firm in the U.S., with over $250 million in revenue.

MICHIGAN

The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has given hard-pressed businesses a generous pre-holiday gift in its extension and expansion of the enhanced five-year net operating loss carryback provision under Code Sec. 172. Many economists predict an eventual windfall to businesses far in excess of the $10.5 billion 10-year cost estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Even so, the Joint Committee forecasts front-loaded benefits of over $33 billion in 2010. To maximize this windfall, however, each taxpayer must carefully evaluate how its own facts and circumstances relate to certain variables and recommended strategies.