Michael Cohn

The Internal Revenue Service plans to substantially change the regulations it proposed last fall for tax-exempt “social welfare” organizations and their political activities before moving ahead with a public hearing.

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday its new Web-based system, IRS Direct Pay, has been used by more than 150,000 taxpayers so far.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Employee Plans Compliance Unit recently looked at whether employee benefit plan sponsors had completed all the necessary steps after filing a Form 5500-series return showing they had adopted a resolution to terminate the plan, and found that many did not.

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday it will begin a one-year pilot program in June to help small businesses with retirement plans that owe penalties for not filing reporting documents.

Financial stress among employees increased significantly last year, according to a new survey, with 23 percent reporting "high" or "overwhelming" levels of financial stress compared to only 18 percent in 2012 and 19 percent in 2011.

The Association for Financial Professionals has introduced a global credential for corporate financial planning and analysis professionals.

The American Institute of CPAs is working with the College Board to develop an advanced placement course in accounting for high school students.

Twenty-five percent of Americans across all age groups admit they are not saving at all for retirement, or are unsure, according to a new survey.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Free File Alliance, have signed a one-year extension of their partnership to makes free tax software available to taxpayers.

The balances of Roth IRAs grew at more than double the rate of traditional individual retirement accounts from 2010 to 2012, according to a new analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Organizations across the globe are losing an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues to occupational fraud, according to a new report from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, with total losses estimated at about $3.5 trillion.

A new report from the advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice finds that 301 Fortune 500 companies hold a combined $2 trillion offshore, collectively avoiding $550 billion in U.S. corporate income taxes, while a contrasting report from the Tax Foundation found that U.S. multinational corporations reported paying more than $128 billion in corporate taxes to foreign countries on $470 billion of taxable income in 2010—an effective rate of 27.2 percent before also paying U.S. taxes.

The economic benefits of the income exclusion for U.S. citizens working abroad are uncertain, according to a new government report.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the former chief risk officer at Deloitte LLP with violating auditor independence rules by accepting casino markers from a casino gaming company client.

Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, a CPA, has introduced a bipartisan bill to bring more accountability and transparency to the federal government’s financial statements by making the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board more independent.

Thomson Reuters has released a tax act overview and monthly client marketing newsletter focused on the Affordable Care Act that tax, accounting and employee benefits firms can provide to clients, prospects and other contacts.

Democrats in the House and Senate introduced legislation Tuesday to tighten the restrictions on corporate tax inversions, limiting the ability of U.S.-based companies to avoid U.S. taxes by combining with a smaller foreign business and moving their tax domicile overseas.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to better adhere to requirements to justify and document noncompetitive contract awards, according to a new report.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has released for public comment an exposure draft on proposed changes to certain provisions of the ethics code related to non-assurance services for audit clients.

A task force at the American Institute of CPAs is urging CPAs to embrace new ways of learning and professional development to compete better in a rapidly evolving global marketplace.