Michael Cohn

The IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate Service has developed several online tools to help taxpayers and employers estimate their tax credits and payments related to the Affordable Care Act.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has sanctioned seven audit firms for violating independence requirements in connection with audits of brokers and dealers, and sanctioned engagement partners at two of the firms for causing the violations.

The Institute of Internal Auditors and the Auditing Roundtable, Inc. have signed a merger agreement after more than a year of negotiations.

Mary Schapiro, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality.

The consulting and internal audit firm Protiviti has released its annual Internal Audit around the World outlook.

A scammer who organized a scheme in which taxpayers were threatened with calls purporting to come from the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI demanding payment has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Whistleblower Office received more claims last fiscal year than in any prior year as the program has begun paying out larger awards to tipsters with information on tax evaders.

The American Institute of CPAs has posted new information on its Web site for auditors who are asking for further information from attorneys.

The Senate Finance Committee released a series of reports Wednesday from five bipartisan tax working groups working on various aspects of tax reform.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is increasingly relying on administrative hearings for its enforcement actions, according to a new report.

A group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to roll back guidance from the Treasury Department that prohibits employers from using stand-alone health reimbursement arrangements to reimburse employees for health care-related expenses.

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board, are reassessing its structure and effectiveness.

A Bulgarian hacker has admitted to participating in a $6 million fraudulent tax return scheme in which he used tax-filing information stolen from at least four major CPA firms in the U.S.

New research indicates that many investors tend to overlook the vague misgivings that auditors might express in letters included with their audit reports, even though those warnings often turn out to be a predictor of future trouble with a company’s financial statements.

Accountants are getting ready to implement the new revenue recognition standard, even though a one-year delay on the date it takes effect seems all but certain.

KPMG LLP announced Monday the incoming leaders of the U.S. firm’s audit, tax and advisory businesses, along with the new heads of operations and its Innovation & Enterprise Solutions unit, and other key roles.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has enhanced its International Professional Practices Framework, which has provided internal auditors worldwide professional guidance in various forms since 1947, in response to more recent risks, while also releasing a report on the current pulse of the internal audit profession.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has reappointed Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Lewis H. Ferguson to a second term on the board.

The Justice Department said Friday that British Petroleum has agreed to pay a record-breaking $18.7 billion settlement to resolve claims related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, but advocacy groups are warning that the settlement is largely tax deductible for BP.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 jobs in June, sending the unemployment rate down two-tenths of a point to 5.3 percent.