Practice and client management

Accounting and advisory firm Baker Tilly has joined the NetSuite Solution Provider program and will use the Web-based service as part of its own cloud computing consulting practice.

The Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to do more oversight of paid tax preparers will not be fully operational until 2014 and needs to happen sooner, according to a new government report.

Organizations are expected to invest more money to protect personal information in response to increased government regulation and enforcement and to stem the rising tide of risk, according to a new report released Wednesday by Ernst & Young.

With many indications showing that the Internal Revenue Service is behind in the number of tax returns filed so far this year compared to last year, Liberty Tax Service reported positive growth Wednesday in revenue, same-store sales and tax returns filed.

Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., have introduced similar but competing amendments to repeal the expanded 1099 information reporting requirements in the health care reform bill, intending to attach the amendments to a re-authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The American Institute of CPAs has developed new reporting standards aimed at cloud computing providers, health care claims processors, and other information system service organizations, which will ultimately replace those offered through SAS 70.

The Internal Revenue Service has significantly improved its ability to identify and replace aging computers, according to a new government report.

Now that the drama has ended and year-end legislation to extend the Bush-era tax cuts has been enacted, work remains for those "in the trenches" to sort out appropriate reactions. For most businesses, the response will be multifaceted.

Struggling with the whole social media thing? Don't know a tweet from a twit? Can't decide if your company should have a Facebook page? Trying to understand the value of LinkedIn? I know a guy who's figured it all out. His name is Bill. "I'm a social media god," he told me recently.

How relevant is the classic line from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," in today's world of marketing and business development for accounting firms?

Marketing doesn't have to consume a great deal of your time, but putting in some upfront thought can save you many hours and the expense of campaigns that land in the "flop" pile.

IRS ADJUSTS RULES ON HEALTH DEBIT CARDS

Recently issued guidance from the Internal Revenue Service provides answers to a number of questions on tax return preparer registration, and fills in some of the details left unaddressed by recent regulations.

Like others, we're watching the trumpeted "Blue Ribbon Panel" on accounting standards for private companies. Unlike others, our expectations are very low because we aren't confident this group understands what reforms are needed.

IMGCAP(1)]Because of challenging economic times and confusion in the audit review process, impairment testing has become a hot topic.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service filed a lawsuit Monday against H&R Block claiming that Block is disseminating “false, misleading and highly disparaging advertising claims about Jackson Hewitt.”

The former CEO of Quellos Group and the head of its private clients group were sentenced in a federal court on charges connected with the offshore tax shelters set up by the former investment firm.

The Obama administration is expected to propose permanently eliminating capital gains taxes on some types of small business investments held for over five years.

The Internal Revenue Service has recently received an anonymous complaint challenging the tax-exempt status of the National Hot Rod Association.

California CPA Steve Green is accusing the Internal Revenue Service of “gross negligence” in the way it has responded to correspondence with him.