Wealth management

Cetera Financial Group plans to acquire Genworth Financial Investment Services, a unit of Genworth Financial that partners with tax and accounting professionals who provide financial planning and investment advice to clients.

The SEC has charged an Illinois-based investment advisor and former CPA with using LinkedIn and other social media channels to attempt to sell $500 million in fictitious securities.

President Obama may have run afoul of the Constitution in using a recess appointment to appoint Richard Cordray as the director of the nascent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but the need for the bureau to take action has been growing.

Retirees will be receiving a 3.6 percent increase in their monthly Social Security and Supplementary Security Income benefits in 2012.

The Treasury Department has stopped selling paper U.S. savings bonds at banks, ending a tradition stretching back to 1935.

High-volume broker-dealer Securities America has announced the members of its 2012 Advisory Council.

COST-BASIS CHANGES SIGNAL 'MESSY' TAX SEASON AHEAD

When it comes to charitable giving, there are those who are purely philanthropic and would donate as much as they can afford regardless of the tax consequences. the other side of the spectrum is the purely tax-driven contribution.

IMGCAP(1)]As if our financial system hasn’t suffered enough — or caused enough suffering — economists worry that more difficulties lie ahead in the student lending sector.

The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging more taxpayers to take advantage of the "saver's credit."

The Internal Revenue Service is offering some tips to help taxpayers lower their 2011 taxes before the calendar page changes to 2012.

Members of Generation Y are managing to save for retirement more conscientiously than Boomers, according to a new survey.

IMGCAP(1)]As the SEC’s limited liability provisions on Extensible Business Reporting Language data begin to expire, public companies find themselves looking for answers about how current and future legislation will affect their filings.

A new survey finds that 77 percent of business owners say they started their companies to provide for their families, yet less than half of them feel confident with their current financial situation.

Financial data, analytics and disclosure management services provider Edgar Online Inc. has launched I-Metrix Enterprise, the latest version of its I-Metrix professional risk analysis technology.

The Senate and the House’s tax-writing committees held a rare joint hearing on reforming the tax treatment of financial products such as derivatives.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has acquired the assets of portfolio optimization software provider Folio Technologies, effectively acquiring the company.

Senior-level CPA executives are planning to increase their spending next year, but lingering pessimism about the pace of the recovery means they remain reluctant to expand hiring.

IRS TRIES TO KEEP UP WITH FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES

Taking the PFP practice of most CPA firms to the next level should be easily accomplished for any firm with a good client base, a good leader who is a good communicator and a business plan incorporating some of the best practices utilized by many of the nation's top financial advisors. But you would be amazed at how many CPA firms cannot take the next step.