Michael Cohn

The Center for Audit Quality and the American Institute of CPAs have issued a member alert discussing regulatory changes for audits and attestation engagements of brokers and dealers and futures commission merchants, including entities that are dually registered.

A tax preparer in Rochester, N.Y., faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $853,766 after creating fictitious employers for clients and filing tax returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit on their behalf.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a revenue procedure and notice to provide temporary penalty relief to plan administrators who don’t file their Form 5500 or 5500 EZ forms on time.

Congressmen Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Scott Peters, D-Calif., along with 21 other House Democrats, have introduced legislation to lower all federal student loans to 4 percent and allow borrowers to refinance their student loans at a lower rate.

A pair of Democratic senators said they intend to close loopholes in the corporate inversion tax rules that encourage multinational corporations to move their headquarters outside the U.S. by acquiring a company overseas.

The Internal Revenue Service said it is looking at a plan to realign compliance operations inside its two largest business units, Wage and Investment (W&I) and Small-Business Self Employed (SB/SE).

The Internal Revenue Service has agreed to turn over the rest of the outstanding emails from Lois Lerner, the former director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations unit, to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Internal Revenue Service is putting the focus on small businesses next week in connection with Small Business Week with a pair of webinars on independent contractors and major tax mistakes.

Thomson Reuters has formed a strategic relationship with Avention to give users of its ONESOURCE Transfer Pricing software access to Avention’s industry report module.

The Financial Accounting Foundation has issued its 2013 Annual Report, entitled “The Road Ahead,” outlining the future direction of the FAF and the standard-setting boards it oversees, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed accounting standards update on “pushdown accounting” from FASB’s Emerging Issues Task Force.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen testified before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee on Wednesday about the 2014 tax filing season and other matters, including problems with administering the Earned Income Tax Credit and oversight of tax preparers.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued a supplemental request for comments on its proposal to reorganize the existing PCAOB auditing standards, while also providing an online demonstration of the proposed reorganization, presenting the existing auditing standards as they would look if reorganized according to the proposed framework.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has announced settled disciplinary orders against two audit firms and four individuals for violating federal securities laws, including one case of fraud, and violating PCAOB rules and auditing standards relating to auditor independence, quality control and audit documentation.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters kicked off its seventh annual series of Partner Summits series Wednesday in Minneapolis.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the International Integrated Reporting Council said Wednesday they are creating a public sector pioneer network to promote the implementation of integrated reporting in the public sector.

The House Ways and Means Committee may have broken the law when it publicly disclosed confidential taxpayer information in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Nearly two-thirds of corporate tax leaders are skeptical about the two-year timeline set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for curbing multinational tax avoidance, according to a new survey by KPMG.

Making partner at a Big Four accounting firm in the United Kingdom is no longer a privilege enjoyed only by those born in wealthy families, according to a new academic study.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an order staying the effective date for compliance with the some of the conflict minerals rules the agency had drawn up after an appeals court ruled that they violated the First Amendment.