WebCPA Breaking News Blog

Treasury Inspector General Faults IRS Security

Busy day for TIGTA in releasing reports! A report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the IRS had inadequate controls on its routers and switches, potentially allowing a disgruntled employee, contractor or hacker to reconfigure the network equipment to disrupt operations or steal taxpayer information. On the other hand, another report released by TIGTA found no significant problems with the way the IRS has been processing tax returns this season. A third report found that the IRS has sufficient guidance for handling joint filer collection activity information requests. A fourth report released by TIGTA today covered the restrictions on whether the IRS complied with legal guidelines on directly contacting taxpayers and their representatives, but the results were inconclusive. TIGTA also released a fifth report that audited the IRS's Federal Financial Management remediation plan and found that 10 of the 35 remedial actions open at year end were extended by six to 18 months.

Intuit Announces 2008 Accounting Professionals User Conference

Intuit is planning to hold a pair of two-day conferences in Orlando and San Diego for accounting professionals who use its QuickBooks and Lacerte products. The Orlando conference takes place June 19-20 at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, and the San Diego conference convenes June 26-27 at the San Diego Mission Valley Hotel. Visit http://accountant.intuit.com/conference/index.aspx for more information.

Windham Brannon Adds Business Development Director

CPA firm Windham Brannon has added Carl Alper as the Atlanta-based firm's director of business development. He has over 22 years of direct sales and sales management experience in various industries and markets.

Halt, Buzas and Powell Names Director of Business Management Systems

Accounting firm Halt, Buzas and Powell has appointed Robert A. Keuroglian, CPA, as director of business management systems. He will help clients with implementations of Microsoft Dynamics and CRM software.

McKee Nelson Expands Tax Practice

Law firm McKee Nelson has appointed Natan Levya to partner in its international tax practice. Levya was formerly an associate at the firm and is based in its Washington, D.C., office. The firm also announced that municipal financial products lawyers Joyce J. Gorman and Thomas Glushko, and transactional finance and structuring lawyer Richard Davis, have also been elected as partners.

Human Rights Campaign Launches GLBT Financial Campaign

In advance of Tax Day, the Human Rights Campaign will launch its new "7 Days to a Better Financial You" educational campaign. The campaign will highlight the disparities and complications that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community faces as a result of being legally barred from marrying. The campaign is designed to educate same-sex couples about the tools and resources available to navigate tax laws and ensure good financial decision-making. 

Clintons Release Tax Returns

Bill and Hillary Clinton released their tax returns Friday. The returns showed that the couple earned a combined $109 million in the past eight years since Clinton left office. Much of the money came from over $52 million in speaking fees, as well as $30 million from best-selling books and $15 million from an investment partnership. The couple paid $33 million in taxes and donated $10 million to various charities.

Senate Adds Extra Tax Break to Housing Bill

Senators George Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., added an extra tax break for businesses to the bipartisan housing bill that the Senate has been assembling. The amendment would allow money-losing companies to elect to use accumulated AMT and R&D credits early to make new investments that will create jobs in lieu of the bonus depreciation provision in the recently enacted stimulus bill. The amendment passed overwhelmingly by a 76-2 vote on Friday.

(more)