Many children aren’t learning much about money from their parents, a new survey shows. Three in 10 parents never talk to their children about money or have had just one big talk with their children on the subject, according to a U.S. telephone survey conducted for the AICPA by Harris
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TIGTA: IRS encourages employees to ignore ITIN fraud
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report on Wednesday in which it confirmed allegations from IRS employees that their supervisors were urging them to ignore potential fraud in a program that reviews and verifies applications for individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) (TIGTA Rep’t No. 2012-42-081). ITINs allow
Fraud convicts cannot argue in Tax Court that payments did not result from fraud
Taxpayers who had been convicted of fraud were precluded from later arguing that payments they received were not the result of fraud, the Tax Court held in two related cases (Atkinson, T.C. Memo. 2012-226, and Boultbee, T.C. Memo. 2012-227). The court invoked the doctrine of collateral estoppel to prevent the
ASB to vote on whether to propose amendments to two clarified auditing standards
The AICPA Auditing Standards Board (ASB) will vote Aug. 16 on whether to issue an exposure draft to propose amending two clarified standards that take effect Dec. 15. In response to member requests for further clarity, the ASB plans to propose Omnibus Statement on Auditing Standards—2012. This proposed statement on
Auditing Standards Board issues Statement on Auditing Standards No. 126
The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board (ASB) issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 126, The Auditor’s Consideration of an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern (Redrafted), as a result of its Clarity Project to supersede SAS No. 59, The Auditor’s Consideration of an Entity’s Ability to Continue as
Protect “crown jewels” by integrating risk management into strategy
In an environment where risks are growing—and growing in complexity—few companies are fully considering risk in their business strategies. The percentage of companies adopting enterprisewide risk oversight has almost tripled in three years but remains small; implementation has yet to take place in more than three out of four organizations,
Notice permits charitable contributions to single-member LLCs
In Notice 2012-52, the IRS explained that contributions to disregarded single-member limited liability companies (SMLLCs) wholly owned and controlled by a U.S. charity (as defined in Sec. 170(c)(2)) will be treated as if made directly to the U.S. charity. This rule applies for purposes of the substantiation requirements under Sec.
Draft of not-for-profit guide scheduled for Aug. 15 release
CPAs performing work for not-for-profits will find guidance dedicated specifically to them in a working draft of a proposed audit and accounting guide, Not-for-Profit Entities, scheduled for release Aug. 15 by the AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC). The AICPA will be requesting that comments on the proposed guide be
Guidance examines how to respond to questions about clients’ loan applications
CPAs can find nonauthoritative guidance on how to respond to requests for client information in connection with a pending loan application from Technical Question and Answer (TPA) 9110.19, which was developed by the AICPA Accounting and Auditing Technical Hotline. Prospective borrowers are asked to furnish only limited information in connection
Guidance provided on health care accounting for ICD-10 implementation costs
The AICPA Health Care Expert Panel has developed nonauthoritative guidance on how health care entities should account for costs incurred in connection with the implementation of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). By Oct. 1, 2013, the U.S. health care system is scheduled for a transition
Most U.S. small businesses lack disaster-recovery plans
More than 60% of U.S. small businesses do not have a formal emergency-response plan and fail to back up their financial data off-site, leaving them vulnerable to catastrophic data loss in the event of a natural disaster. The Small Business Disaster Preparedness Study, conducted by software maker Sage North America,
Four steps to formalize internal audit’s strategic impact
Internal audit isn’t just about compliance anymore. Increasingly, the function’s role is being incorporated into the broader business strategy – from mulling over major capital projects to advising on mergers and acquisitions. But executives say they need to do a better job of formally describing the role internal auditors will
TIGTA recommends steps for IRS to reduce fraudulent refunds from identity theft
In a report released on Thursday, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) suggested that the IRS had missed 1.5 million tax returns with potentially identity-theft-related fraudulent tax refunds in excess of $5.2 billion for the 2011 filing season (TIGTA Rep’t No. 2012-42-080). The IRS itself reported that it
FAF reviewing FASB business combinations standard
The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) is gathering survey participants for a post-implementation review of a FASB standard on business combinations that generated controversy after it was issued in 2007. A joint project with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) resulted in FASB Statements No. 141(R), Business Combinations, and No. 160,
PCAOB gives audit committees guidance on inspections of audit firms
In an effort to help audit committees make informed decisions, the PCAOB on Wednesday released a 26-page report describing how its inspections of audit firms work and how to gather information from audit firms about those inspections. PCAOB inspection reports are partly public and partly private. In the release, Information
Regulations finalize rules on entertainment use of business aircraft
On Tuesday, the IRS issued final regulations relating to the disallowance under Sec. 274 of deductions for the use of business aircraft for entertainment (T.D. 9597). The final regulations adopt, with some modifications, proposed regulations issued in 2007 (REG-147171-05), which in turn followed principles first expressed in Notice 2005-45. In
Prop. regs. would clarify who is subject to Sec. 274(n) limit on meal expenses
The IRS released proposed regulations under Sec. 274 clarifying which party is subject to the rule under Sec. 274(n)(1)(A) that limits the deduction for meals to 50% of the expenses incurred (REG-101812-07). As the IRS emphasized, only one party is intended to be subject to the limitation, and there has
FASB releases recommendations for private company framework
FASB on Tuesday released its initial staff recommendations on whether and when it will be appropriate to adjust financial reporting requirements for private companies. The recommendations are contained in a paper, Private Company Decision-Making Framework: A Framework for Evaluating Financial Accounting and Reporting Guidance for Private Companies. FASB on Tuesday
Pathways Commission releases final report; three-year implementation begins
Culminating two years of study and insights from teams representing diverse viewpoints in practice and academia, the Pathways Commission released its final report Tuesday on the future of higher education in accounting. The report, titled “Charting a National Strategy for the Next Generation of Accountants,” is available on the commission’s
FASB simplifies impairment testing of indefinite-lived intangible assets
The guidance for testing the impairment of intangible assets such as indefinite-lived trademarks, licenses and distribution rights has been simplified by FASB. FASB on Friday issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) no. 2012-02, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment. The standard applies to testing the decline
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