Practice management

The Internal Revenue Service will get closer to its goal of providing state-of-the-art individual taxpayer account processing and technologies if it improves the processes it follows for developing its customer account software, according to a new government report.

IMGCAP(1)]With the support of the unwritten writers prerogative, how relevant is the classic line from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” in today’s world of marketing and business development for accounting firms?

The Internal Revenue Service has opened the 2011 tax season by announcing that taxpayers have until April 18 to file their tax returns as a result of a Washington, D.C., holiday.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her annual report to Congress on Wednesday, focusing on the need for tax reform as the No. 1 priority in tax administration.

Every few years, as regularly as clockwork, Washington starts talking about “simplifying” the Tax Code.

The American Institute of CPAs told the Internal Revenue Service that tax preparers who will be visited under the IRS’s 2011 compliance program need more information about how client confidentiality will be protected.

The American Institute of CPAs has written a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman urging more flexibility in implementing mandatory electronic filing of tax returns by tax preparers in 2011 for individuals, trusts and estates.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are gearing up for a fight over a bill that would repeal health care reform and the tax credits associated with the law.

IMGCAP(1)]Every day, many small and midsized business owners find themselves in need of new funding for all kinds of good reasons: working capital, business expansion, hiring and building additions, to name a few.

CCH has published a new tax briefing that provides an overview of the key tax law developments of 2010 and their impact on taxpayers.

Significant problems remain with efforts by the Internal Revenue Service to identify and prevent tax refund fraud by prisoners after the passage of a 2008 law aimed at curbing such issues, according to a new government report.

The House Republican leadership plans to introduce rule changes that would make it harder for Congress to pass tax increases or close tax loopholes.

The Internal Revenue Service has published updated guidance on the circumstances under which tax disclosures are adequate to avoid penalties for taxpayers and preparers.

THE FUTURE OF ACCOUNTING MARKETING

The ground inside many CPA firms is beginning to shake as the first wave of over 76 million Baby Boomers (those born from 1946 to 1964) reaches retirement. The result of this quake is an expansion in the generational divide within firms - especially between Baby Boomers and their up-and-coming Generation X (those born from 1965 to 1981) partners, principals and senior managers.

Okay, we'll admit it up front: We are inveterate wordsmiths who love using words to make our points. Over the previous 15 years that we've produced this column, we've even invented a few to describe some financial reporting issues, such as "pfooling of interests," "volatilaphobia" and, more recently, "duh-preciation."

CPA Dave Roberts finds it baffling that some accountants express reluctance—or even fear—about pursuing a niche practice.

So, you've come to the conclusion that in order to grow your practice or the firm you need to increase the number of referrals you receive. What took you so long?

The Internal Revenue Service is aiming to provide more Fast Track Settlements to small businesses and self-employed taxpayers and retool its Offer in Compromise mediation and arbitration procedures.

The principal owner of The Kettle Black, a popular sports bar and restaurant in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.3 million in city and state sales taxes over a five-year period.