Tax, accounting, auditing news - Journal of Accountancy

August 15, 2018

FASB changes accounting for long-duration insurance contracts

Companies that sell products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long-term-care insurance and annuities will change their accounting under new rules issued by FASB.

August 14, 2018

Independence interpretation on hosting services gets new effective date

The effective date of the new “Hosting Services” interpretation in the AICPA’s “Independence Rule” has been extended 10 months by the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee.

August 13, 2018

FASB proposes lessor accounting amendments

Amendments proposed by FASB are intended to make implementation of the new lease accounting standard easier and less costly for lessors.

August 9, 2018

FinREC issues working drafts on credit loss accounting issues

The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) has issued working drafts of accounting issues related to implementation of FASB’s new standard for accounting for credit losses.

August 9, 2018

Tolerance for high risk puts Americans’ investments in jeopardy

Many Americans see a volatile stock market as a way to make a quick profit through short-term buying and selling, according to a new poll.

August 8, 2018

Qualified business income deduction regs. proposed

The IRS issued guidance on the new Sec. 199A deduction for qualified business income in the form of proposed regulations and a separate notice on how to calculate W-2 wages for those purposes.

August 7, 2018

Final regs. govern who can be a partnership representative

The IRS finalized proposed regulations under Sec. 6223 on the procedures for designating a partnership representative and the authority of the partnership representative under the centralized partnership audit regime.

August 7, 2018

Ninth Circuit withdraws Altera opinion

The order announcing the withdrawal says it is being done “to allow time for the reconstituted panel to confer on this appeal.”

August 6, 2018

IRS issues proposed regs. on 100% bonus depreciation

The IRS issued proposed regulations providing guidance on Sec. 168(k), which was amended by P.L. 115-97, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, to increase the allowable first-year depreciation deduction for qualified property from 50% to 100%.

August 6, 2018

GASB proposes new rules for reporting conduit debt obligations

Under new rules proposed by GASB, state and local governments would use a single method to report conduit debt obligations and related obligations.

August 1, 2018

Proposed regs. address several transition tax issues

The IRS issued proposed regulations on the Sec. 965 transition tax that requires U.S. shareholders of deferred foreign income corporations to pay tax on post-1986 deferred income.

August 1, 2018

Quiz: Test your knowledge of employee benefit plan audits

How well do you know the basics of employee benefit plan auditing? Take this quiz and find out.

August 1, 2018

2018 tax software survey: Individual product survey responses

Online-only: Contact information, basic packages and their features are shown below for the top seven products in the survey.

July 31, 2018

New AICPA technical corrections clarify independence requirements

Technical corrections issued by the AICPA clarify the definition of “covered member” in the AICPA Professional Standards and the independence rules for agreed-upon procedure engagements under the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements.

July 30, 2018

FASB attempts to make lease accounting implementation easier

FASB has issued targeted changes to its new lease accounting standard that are designed to make implementation easier and reduce costs for financial statement preparers.

July 30, 2018

Final rules govern adequate substantiation for charitable contributions

Final regulations address how taxpayers can comply with the requirements for adequate substantiation of charitable contributions of money or property.

July 26, 2018

Job growth helps push Americans’ financial well-being to record high

Stock market gains and increased job opportunities improved the financial outlook of the average American in the second quarter of 2018 despite rising inflation.

July 26, 2018

News quiz: Wayfair, cybersecurity, and a shorter 1040

See how much you know about the news (or catch up with recent developments) with this short quiz.

July 25, 2018

Stock-based compensation cost-sharing regs. valid

The Ninth Circuit reversed a Tax Court decision invalidating a cost-sharing regulation that requires allocation of stock-based compensation costs between related parties.

July 25, 2018

In unified voice, leaders reaffirm profession’s commitment to audit quality

Leaders in the auditing profession are committed to continuous improvement in audit quality at a time of significant change, seven prominent executives in the profession said in a joint statement.