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ASB Reaches Major Clarity Project Milestone

The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board has achieved a major milestone in its Clarity Project with the issuance of Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) nos. 122–124. The publication includes a total of 40 finalized clarified SASs in the following statements: SAS no. 122, Statements on Auditing Standards: Clarification and Recodification SAS

Mobile Technologies: Tablets and Smartphones

With 2012 just around the corner, the JofA gathered the three technology keynote speakers from the AICPA’s 2011 Practitioners Symposium/TECH+ Conference to talk about tech trends heading into the new year. The nearly 90-minute conversation covered a wide range of technical issues critical to all CPAs. Participating in the call

Final Regs Clarify Excise, Employment Tax Treatment of Disregarded Entities

The IRS issued final regulations (T.D. 9553) Tuesday clarifying the treatment of disregarded entities with respect to employment and certain excise taxes. The rules adopt proposed regulations issued in 2009 (REG-116614-08). Under Regs. Sec. 301.7701-2(a), business entities with a single owner may be disregarded as an entity separate from their

IRS Proposes Eliminating De Minimis Partner Rule

The IRS issued proposed regulations on Monday that, if finalized, would remove the de minimis partner rule in Regs. Sec. 1.704-1(b)(2)(iii)(e) (REG-109564-10). Sec. 704(b) allows a partnership to make special allocations as long as they have substantial economic effect. In 2008, the IRS issued final regulations under Sec. 704(b) that

President Signs Bill Increasing EITC Due Diligence Penalty

President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a trade agreement with South Korea (HR 3080) that increases from $100 to $500 the Sec. 6695(g) penalty for failure by preparers to exercise due diligence with respect to the earned income tax credit (EITC). Under another provision of the agreement, the IRS

FASB Proposes Fair Value for Investment Properties

FASB on Friday issued two Proposed Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs), one that the board said would improve and converge financial reporting by setting forth consistent criteria for determining whether an entity is an investment company and a second that would require an entity that meets certain criteria to measure its

PTIN System Opens for 2012 Renewals

The IRS on Thursday announced that it has opened its preparer tax identification number (PTIN) registration system to accept renewals for the 2012 filing season (IR-2011-105). Preparers are required to renew their PTINs annually and must do so before Jan. 1, 2012. Among the changes this year, CPAs will be

Inflation Adjustments Made to Many Tax Items for 2012

The IRS released on Thursday its annual revenue procedure making inflation adjustments to the income tax tables and many tax credits and other items for tax years beginning in 2012 (Rev. Proc. 2011-52). Separately on Thursday, the IRS announced the 2012 contribution limits and other figures for pension plans and

Cloud Computing

With 2012 just around the corner, the JofA gathered the three technology keynote speakers from the AICPA’s 2011 Practitioners Symposium/TECH+ Conference to talk about tech trends heading into the new year. The nearly 90-minute conversation covered a wide range of technical issues critical to all CPAs. Participating in the call

CPA Horizons 2025: A Road Map for the Future

The AICPA on Wednesday released the findings from a yearlong initiative to examine what’s on the horizon for CPAs and the accounting profession.  CPA Horizons 2025 leveraged insights from more than 75,000 comments from CPAs in all segments of the accounting profession, regulators, thought leaders and futurists to highlight key trends

Final Regulations Eliminate “Hot Stock” Rule for Certain Reorganizations

On Wednesday, the IRS issued final regulations that generally hold that the so-called “hot stock” rule is inapplicable in reorganizations where a subsidiary is a member of the distributing corporation’s separate affiliated group (DSAG) (T.D. 9548). The regulations finalize without change rules that were issued as temporary and proposed regulations

Survey Finds Most CPAs Support IFRS Option

A majority of CPAs support optional adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for public companies, according to a recent AICPA survey. Optional adoption would let publicly traded U.S. companies use IFRS, while the SEC decides whether to incorporate the standards into U.S. reporting requirements. The choice also would apply

AICPA Turns Up Volume on Call for Independent Board

The AICPA governing Council approved a resolution on Tuesday to voice its significant concerns about a Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) proposal released Oct. 4 that rejected a blue-ribbon panel’s recommendation for a separate board to set private company GAAP. The Blue-Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies was a

AICPA, CIMA Gearing Up for Jan. 31 CGMA Launch

The AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) have set Jan. 31 as the launch date for their new joint credential, the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).  “What we’re creating is a very significant global community,” Charles Tilley, CIMA’s chief executive, told members of AICPA’s governing council Monday.

CPA2Biz to Launch “CPA.com” Email Service

CPA2Biz plans to offer a CPA-branded email service for AICPA members beginning this fall. Eligible members of the AICPA will be able to get an email account in their own name ending in the cpa.com domain. John Smith, for example, could get the address john.smith@cpa.com. Members with common names can

Economist Predicts Moderate Growth

The economy is not sliding back into recession, but GDP will only expand at an annual rate of 2% to 2.5% until the housing market recovers, according to Martin Regalia, senior vice president–economic and tax policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Speaking Tuesday to the AICPA governing Council in

The Blue-Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting

FASB’s parent organization, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), is considering a report recommending a new standard-setting board to establish exceptions and modifications to U.S. GAAP for private companies.   This discussion follows the culmination of a year’s worth of work by a blue-ribbon panel, formed in December 2009 as part

Estate Tax Protective Claim Procedures Detailed

The IRS issued guidance Friday on filing a protective claim for refund of estate tax and notifying the IRS that the claim is ready for consideration. The guidance, in Rev. Proc. 2011-48, provides details on who may file a protective claim, methods by which the claim must be prepared and

Trade Bills Pass Congress With Tax Provisions

A tax preparer penalty relating to the earned income tax credit (EITC) will increase to $500, and the IRS will receive detailed information about federal and state prison inmates, both measures in a trio of foreign trade agreements Congress passed Wednesday. The trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama

Confidence in U.S. Capital Markets Down Significantly Since 2007

Investors’ confidence in U.S. capital markets continued a five-year trend of declines in 2011, according to the AICPA-affiliated Center for Audit Quality’s (CAQ) fifth annual Main Street Investor Survey, and confidence in investing in U.S. public companies declined for the first time since the survey started asking the question in

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