Wealth management

A large cache of secret documents reveals that tens of thousands of people, including government officials from around the world, are using offshore companies and trusts to avoid taxes.

The current rollover process for 401(k) plans favors distributions to individual retirement accounts rather than the 401(k) plan that a new employer might offer, and a new government report suggests the Internal Revenue Service and the Labor Department could be doing more to make the process easier.

More than a third of U.S. adults expect to spend their tax refunds this year on meeting everyday expenses, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs, as the expiration of the payroll tax cut takes a bite out of workers’ take-home pay.

How one wealth manager is industrializing his approach to partnering with CPAs

There are several ways to serve your clients in the financial planning world. No model is wrong or right -- but there are some that may work better than others depending upon the makeup of your firm.

Responding to concerns about their allowance model and in an attempt to simplify impairment guidance for financial institutions, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued several exposure drafts of proposed models to take into account “expected losses” rather than the current “incurred loss” model.

More than half of working Americans either have not noticed or been unaffected by the January 1 expiration of the payroll tax cut, according to a new survey.

— The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released a staff document that provides answers to questions about FASB’s recently issued proposal on expected credit losses.

Back in 1925, a taxpayer won the first case in the Board of Tax Appeals involving the deduction for horse-breeding activity expenses. Deducting expenses related to the “sport of kings” was so attractive that the estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt tried, and lost, two years later. In the intervening 88 years, about 200 taxpayers have litigated the issue, most with unattractive results. The IRS and the courts have essentially told taxpayers to “stop horsing around.”

The House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee held a hearing this week to discuss possible tax reforms on financial products such as derivatives.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has added three new implementation guides to its series on using Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, interactive data tags in financial statements.

The Center for Audit Quality has released a new Guide to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting to explain to investors and the general public the process used by U.S. public companies to enhance the reliability of their financial statements by reducing the risk of material errors or misstatements.

In the world of trust and estate administration, where tax planning typically involves special attention to federal tax law compliance, it’s easy to lose focus on state income taxation issues. And while some states do not tax income related to trusts, states that do tax trust income have a variety of rules and criteria for which trusts are subject to tax.

The Tax Court recently settled the valuation issues of an estate that held 64 works of art.

Confidence in the ability to afford a comfortable retirement remains low, according to a new survey, reflecting a growing awareness of the challenges in saving enough money.

Europe’s drive to rescue Cyprus risks undermining a region-wide deposit guarantee plan, a key tenet in the battle to contain the debt crisis, and casts doubt on the ability of the weakest lenders to retain deposits.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking for public comments on a proposal from Nasdaq to require Nasdaq-listed companies to establish an internal audit function no later than Dec. 31.

Raymond James Financial Services has introduced a new compensation model for independent registered investment advisors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. needs to win back public trust after losses on a derivative portfolio swelled to more than $6.2 billion and eroded confidence in the largest U.S. bank, a company risk manager told lawmakers.

More than four out of 10 working Americans will have had an accountant prepare their taxes this year, primarily because they believe that that's the way to get the largest refund. More than half won't do their own taxes, instead going to an accountant, friend or family member.