Practice and client management

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said it could not render an opinion on the 2010 consolidated financial statements of the federal government, because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations.

An Internal Revenue Service employee in New York has been charged with stealing over $160,000 in unclaimed tax refunds.

When asked to compare their financial situation to last year, 42 percent of Americans say they feel less secure now, according to a new Harris Poll.

H&R Block shares fell Monday after it received notice from HSBC that the bank is immediately terminating refund anticipation loans and refund anticipation checks for Block as a result of a regulatory directive from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The Internal Revenue Service today issued new guidance Thursday allowing the continued use of flexible spending arrangement and health reimbursement arrangement debit cards for the purchase of prescribed over-the-counter medicines and drugs.

Personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise and tax brackets will widen due to inflation in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

Following last week’s tax law changes, the Internal Revenue Service announced Thursday the upcoming tax season will start on time for most people, but taxpayers affected by three recently reinstated deductions need to wait until mid- to late February to file their individual tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service’s information security program is not fully effective, according to a new government report, even though it generally complies with the Federal Information Security Management Act.

The Internal Revenue Service said a one-year grace period for enforcing new security, privacy and business standards for online tax processors will be ending next week.

BNA Software has released a new version of its income tax-planning application to help the clients of accountants and tax practitioners plan around the changes in the tax cut extension law.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a permanent rule requiring municipal advisors to register with the agency.

IMGCAP(1)]The Internal Revenue Service wants all paid tax preparers to register for a Preparer Tax Identification Number in time for next tax season, and is requiring many preparers to undergo continuing education and testing. But how much CPE is too much?

Changes to tax provisions in a bill providing health coverage for 9/11 emergency responders helped enable the legislation to pass Congress despite the opposition of some leading Republican lawmakers.

The Internal Revenue Service has released a new form that will allow tax preparers to request a hardship waiver to exempt them from the IRS’s new electronic filing requirements.

Donovan CPAs and Advisors, a local Indiana CPA firm, said it has helped several of its biotech company clients receive over $730,000 in tax credits and research grants.

The Internal Revenue Service has prohibited tax preparers from electronically filing tax returns before it receives all W-2, W2G and 1099-R forms.

Congress has passed legislation exempting accountants from the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule requiring businesses to implement a written identity theft protection program.

A UBS client in Seattle has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return that did not disclose his holdings in secret Swiss bank accounts.

To help bolster technology governance among its nonprofit and government clients, CPA firm Wipfli has launched TechPro, a risk management tool for information security.

IMGCAP(1)]As busy season arrives, the focus turns toward long hours, back-to-back client meetings, stacks (or electronic drawers) of files, and the frantic pace of filing deadlines.