Below please find daily updates pertaining to the latest in financial, business, and tax news:
Oklahoma tornado victims get tax filing and payment extensions
Posted: Tue May 21 18:00:00 PDT 2013On Tuesday, the IRS announced relief from filing and payment deadlines for victims of Monday's destructive tornadoes in Oklahoma (IR-2013-53). Because the tornado damage was so widespread, the relief has been granted for individuals and businesses in Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma, and...
How can diversity be improved in the CPA profession?
Posted: Tue May 21 08:30:00 PDT 2013Even as members of the recently created National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion work to improve opportunities for under-represented minorities in the CPA profession, they are reminded of just how much work needs to be done. During a panel discussion of commission members held Monday at the...
AICPA Council votes to offer specialized credentials globally
Posted: Mon May 20 10:00:00 PDT 2013Members of certain qualified accounting bodies outside the United States will be eligible to earn AICPA specialized credentials as a result of a resolution approved by the AICPA governing Council on Monday in Washington. As a result of the vote at the annual spring Council meeting, the AICPA will...
Change in definition of attest clears hurdle
Posted: Sun May 19 17:30:00 PDT 2013The AICPA governing Council on Sunday approved a resolution to change the definition of attest—a key step in an effort to promote the quality of services for both clients and the greater public. Although the exact legislative language has yet to be determined, the AICPA in partnership with...
IRS sends letters to taxpayers as it tries to close out inventory of Form 3520 processing issues
Posted: Fri May 17 11:30:00 PDT 2013The IRS has recently notified the AICPA's Foreign Trust Task Force that the IRS plans over the next few months to send out letters to taxpayers who filed Form 3520, Annual Return to Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts, or Form 3520-A, Annual...
IASB chair: Lease changes unpopular, but necessary
Posted: Thu May 16 12:00:00 PDT 2013International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Chairman Hans Hoogervorst on Thursday acknowledged the converged lease accounting proposal is bound to be unpopular with many companies. Indeed, less than four hours after FASB and the IASB formally announced the revised proposal, the U.S. trade...
IRS gives details of operations on furlough dates
Posted: Thu May 16 12:00:00 PDT 2013To help taxpayers plan for the upcoming furlough dates on which the IRS will be closed (see 'IRS Decides to Shut Down Completely on Furlough Dates'), the IRS issued a news release detailing how the shutdown days, the first of which is May 24, will affect operations (IR-2013-51). The...
Much-awaited leases proposal includes dual-recognition approach
Posted: Thu May 16 03:30:00 PDT 2013One of the most challenging international convergence projects attempted by FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) cleared an important hurdle Thursday with the proposal of a revised financial reporting standard for leases. FASB and the IASB released nearly identical, revised...
Acting IRS commissioner out in tea party scandal
Posted: Wed May 15 17:30:00 PDT 2013Speaking from the East Room of the White House on Wednesday evening, President Barack Obama announced the departure of Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller as a result of the ongoing scandal surrounding the IRS's controversial methods for determining which organizations applying for Sec....
SOX compliance costs rise for many companies, report finds
Posted: Wed May 15 17:00:00 PDT 2013New developments associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) have companies changing their compliance processes more than a decade after the law was enacted, according to a new survey report. Organizations reporting rises in SOX compliance costs and external audit fees in 2012 vastly...
