There’s more to appreciate in life than just the best Tax Season season ever.
Debbie Lessin, CPA (bio) D. J. Lessin & Associates, Inc.
Chicago, IL
I learned many years ago to manage my time and client load, stick to deadlines and know when to cut it off. I left the office at 5:00 PM last night with all the returns picked up and all extension checks in the office, including the one sent to the wrong suite in the building (I moved from there over 12 years ago), that I figured that we’d never see and I’d have to cover. All that’s left for this morning is to do the 4/15 extension ritual. I am writing from home when I am usually in the office already. I know I am done. READ MORE →
Too early to tell. But the S&L debacle cost auditors close to $1 billion in settlements and sped the contraction of the Big Eight into today’s Final Four.
In the first quarter of this year, PwC settled three lawuits — Metropolitan Mortgage and SmarTalk Teleservices, each for about $30 million, and Crocus venture capital, for $6.1 million, according to Public Accounting Report.
But those settlements don’t come close to any of the record payouts.
Here are the top 10 CPA firm lawsuit settlements of all time, according to PAR:
1. $456 million:KPMG — Tax shelter clients. August 2005.
CPA AGENDA: Critical Issues and Solutions for the Profession.
Loretta Doon (pictured), chief executive of the California CPA society (the nation’s biggest state society, by the way), is pushing hard for interstate mobility. But first California CPAs must bring their state regulations into line with the national 150-hour educational standard.
Here’s our Q&A with Doon for the CPA Agenda:
QUESTION: What’s the most important issue impacting your organization in particular, or your members in general?
DOON: Mobility. Achieving national uniformity on mobility is critical. It is necessary for consumers, businesses and CPAs in the United States to remain competitive in the global marketplace. In today’s economy, it is imperative that consumers and businesses be able to adjust strategies quickly by relying on CPAs to provide expert advice regarding tax laws and accounting issues around the world. READ MORE →
Congratulations! You survived another busy season.
It wasn’t always easy. There were last-minute changes to the AMT and client pressure for those economic stimulus rebate checks; plus, there were the usual software glitches, staff shortages, sudden departures and naive or ill-prepared clients. And don’t forget the usual personal and emotional crises of the season-spouses and kids who go too long without quality time, frayed nerves with partners and staff and your own health and welfare.
But all in all, most accountants are reporting a comparably better season than last year. We’ll get to the details in a column coming up as soon as we can crunch some season-ending data. So don’t forget to add your input to our ongoing busy season benchmarking project, here. You’ll be joining thousands of accountants who have participated over the last four years. READ MORE →
The IRS has shifted audit resources from larger to smaller corporations, according to government watchdogs at TRAC.
TRAC further reports that, in an unprecedented action, the IRS also is seeking a court order to bar future access to agency statistics that are essential for TRAC reports. To read the report, go to: http://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/newfindings/current/
Are you approaching an ethical gray area? If you need to ask, it’s probably too late.
Marianne Jennings (pictured), a professor of legal and ethical studies in business at W. P. Carey School of Business, frets about the subprime mess.
Back in the day, the author of “The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse,” notes that scandals cropped up about once a decade. Now, she says, “Enron and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 — which tried to reform American business practices — were only five years ago, so we are seeing scandals more frequently and the same pattern over and over.” READ MORE →
Restatements began to accelerate in 2001 — before the accounting scandals that launched SOX — particularly for companies trading off the major exchanges.
Thomson Tax & Accounting reports a Treasury Department study that reviewed 10 years of data found that the dramatic increase in financial restatements began long before the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
“The uptick in the amount of restatements started before Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002, and yet a lot of people said [it] was the cause of the increases,†said David Nason, the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, in an April 9, 2008, briefing in Washington, DC.
The key driver seems to be the economy. If history repeats, then we could be seeing another surge with this downturn. READ MORE →
McGladrey has sold its captive accounting unit for $50 million to an India BPO.
McGladrey’s some $18 million in billings and its 600 or so staffers, including 200 in the U.S., are joining buyer Quattro BPO Solutions, bringing Quattro’s headcount to about 2,000, according to the Economic Times in New Delhi. READ MORE →
Just in time for Tax Day: Syd Barrett’s accountant, Alan Kaufman, offers his services to all “unintelligible rock stars.” When they aren’t being chased by groupies, these music icons are getting chased by the IRS. Featuring Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Cher, Bono, and more. Directed by Dan Meth.
Debbie Lessin, CPA (bio)
CPA AGENDA: Critical Issues and Solutions for the Profession.
Colleen Cunningham (pictured) is featured in a 
