The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice containing a list of required amendments needed for Section 403(b) plans. A 403(b) plan, also called a tax-sheltered annuity plan, is a retirement plan for certain employees of public schools, employees of certain Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations and certain ministers. A 403(b) plan
Todd and Julie Chrisley, stars of the long-running cable TV series “Chrisley Knows Best,” received prison sentences of 12 years and seven years, respectively, on tax evasion and bank fraud charges. A jury in Atlanta convicted the couple in June on the charges (see story). According to prosecutors, the pair
New technology allows accountants to do far more for their clients, but with this increased capacity has come more ethical issues, especially with regard to objectivity, independence and competence. This was the conclusion of a recent report from the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. While the report said that
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that the Internal Revenue Service’s Taxpayer Digital Communication program, despite having existed for two years, could do more to improve communications with taxpayers, feeling that current efforts are a little unfocused. The recent report did note that, since the initiative was first
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed a set of significant changes in the requirements for auditing firms’ quality control systems, in a major update from the earlier standards in place for decades. The proposed standard is part of the PCAOB’s efforts to modernize the standards it inherited 20
The hybrid work model that has come into wider use since the advent of the pandemic can help organizations with their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to a recent study. For a report, released in September, KPMG interviewed DEI leaders at companies in various industries, including Cushman & Wakefield
As the hammer is for the carpenter, as the stethoscope is for the doctor, as the scissor is for the barber, so too is the spreadsheet indelibly associated with the accounting profession. For decades, accountants have relied on spreadsheets to the point where it’s difficult to imagine any sort of
When a municipal government loses the ability to appoint its own auditor, and is instead assigned one at random, financial performance tends to improve. This is the conclusion of a recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study drew on detailed data on all municipal budgets
The probability of Republicans gaining a narrow majority in the House after this week’s midterm election, combined with lingering uncertainty about which party will control the Senate next year, has tax experts hypothesizing what will happen in Congress during the lame-duck session through December and over the next two years.
For decades, the goal of increased government financial transparency has been widely shared across political parties and stakeholder groups. The Financial Data Transparency Act (S.4295), proposed by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, takes a major step toward openness and accessibility by directing seven financial regulators, including the