Michael Cohn

The Internal Revenue Service has decreased its oversight of charities in recent years due to budget cuts and political pressure.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has announced a settled disciplinary order against a partner of Grant Thornton Taiyo ASG LLC, Grant Thornton’s member firm in Japan, for his failure to properly address numerous risks of material misstatement of which he was aware in a 2010 audit of Baldwin-Japan Limited.

The $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by Congress this week and signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday contains a provision directing the Treasury Department to implement uniform standards for taxpayers claiming refundable credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit to stem improper payments.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board has released a set of provisional sustainability accounting standards for 10 industries within the services sector.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed sanctions against Baker Tilly Hong Kong Limited and two of its accountants for failing to properly audit year-end financial statements of a company that the SEC has charged with fraud.

Congress’s long-awaited passage of tax extenders legislation provides a short-term extension through only the end of this year of dozens of familiar tax breaks for businesses and individuals, along with a new savings program for the disabled.

Gallina LLP is expanding to Utah by combining with the public accounting firm Leverich Group in Midvale, near Salt Lake City.

The Internal Revenue Service received fewer phone calls from taxpayers this year than in recent years, according to a new government report, but the percentage of callers seeking help who received it remained low while wait times remained high compared to prior years.

Payroll service provider Paychex has highlighted five key tax provisions that small business owners should evaluate before the end of the calendar year that could benefit their businesses.

Members of the Institute of Financial Accountants in the United Kingdom have voted to amalgamate with Australia’s Institute of Public Accountants to form one of the largest international organizations of accountants who focus on small and midsize enterprises and accounting practices.

Federal prosecutors in Iowa have agreed to drop a controversial civil asset forfeiture case in which the Internal Revenue Service seized nearly $33,000 from the owner of a Mexican restaurant whose cash deposits at her bank had aroused suspicion of criminal activity.

New York accounting firm O’Connor Davies has launched a new Risk Advisory Group with the help of two veteran accountants formerly with Rothstein Kass, which is now part of KPMG.

Payroll giant ADP provided a set of year-end tax and payroll tips and reminders to small business owners, their accountants and other advisors, to help streamline the tax-filing process.

The American Institute of CPAs is looking for advice on ways to revamp its peer review program for the future to leverage technology to do continuous monitoring of how CPA firms perform audit and accounting work.

In the waning days of the congressional term, a lawmaker has introduced legislation that would offer a reduced tax rate of 8.75 percent on corporate profits repatriated from abroad and use the money to pay for infrastructure improvements.

The Internal Revenue Service released a revenue procedure Friday providing rules for the nationwide rollout of post-appeals mediation for both Offer in Compromise and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty cases.

Financial data provider Powerlytics has crunched the numbers and created a ranking of the most profitable states in which to operate an accounting practice.

The Internal Revenue Service used its legislative authority to hire employees at salaries higher than those typically given to senior executives in the federal government, according to a new government report that found the practice appropriate, even though Congress has now stepped in to change it.

Outgoing House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., officially introduced Thursday the comprehensive tax reform package he has been laboring over in recent years.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has released a report highlighting billions of dollars in tax breaks for “special interests.”