Practice management

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice exempting enrolled retirement plan agents from obtaining a Preparer Tax Identification Number if they only prepare Form 5300 and 5500 series returns.

A group of Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee has introduced a bill to extend federal unemployment insurance through 2012 and provide tax relief to employers in states with outstanding UI loans.

Cloud accounting and finance education and advocacy are the goals behind the newly formed Cloud Accounting Institute, a group launched by Microsoft Dynamics GP and Intacct reseller and CPA Lindy Antonelli.

The 280 most profitable U.S. corporations are sheltering half their profits from federal income taxes, and 30 of them paid less than zero in the last three years, according to a new study.

IMGCAP(1)]Accounting firms typically have multiple partners, some of whom may want to retire or move on in the near future, and others who want to stay longer.

Greatland, a provider of W-2 and 1099 tax information reporting software, has issued a guide to help tax preparers navigate the tax changes enacted into law this past year.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job of managing the credit cards used by employees in the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed Division when they are visiting gas stations to enforce fuel excise tax laws.

The Internal Revenue Service has provided special transitional relief to banks and other payment settlement entities required under a 2008 law to begin withholding 28 percent of payments if they are unable to verify a taxpayer identification number for a retailer.

The Internal Revenue Service increased the number of fraudulent tax refund claims it detected and stopped during the 2011 tax-filing season by 171 percent over the previous year.

A federal judge has ruled against H&R Block to prevent the tax prep giant from moving forward with its $287.5 million acquisition of 2SS Holdings, whose 2nd Story Software unit develops TaxAct software, after the Justice Department objected to the deal.

Most accountants involved in tax preparation are already involved in financial planning, even though they might not realize it.

In an era of constantly changing tax laws where provisions expire annually and congressional tinkering is constant, the worker classification system - whether a worker should be treated as an employee or an independent contractor - has remained relatively unchanged for years. Yet that system has generated so much uncertainty that calls for reform have been continuous over the same period of time.

Years ago I used to work for a guy named Mike. He was the chief financial officer at the company where we both worked, and I was his controller. Mike, if you're reading this, you know who you are. You were the ultimate CFO.

Research indicates that firms with marketing plans have higher revenues than firms without plans.

The accounting profession has traditionally attracted high-caliber candidates, those with top-flight financial and technology skill sets and long on ambition.

IRS TO BEGIN FINGERPRINTING SOME TAX RETURN PREPARERS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

As an accountant, I have a unique vantage point to observe how entrepreneurs change their decisions based on tax policy.

IMGCAP(1)]Accountants whose practices help manage client wealth often rely on experiences that cumulatively shaped their judgment and supported their confidence with respect to giving advice.