Partner capital account reporting gets transition penalty relief [Journal of Accountancy] The IRS provided transition penalty relief Tuesday to partnerships in complying with new rules for reporting partners’ capital account balances. 7 Reasons Accounting Firms Should Embrace Cannabis Clients in a Post-COVID World [CPA Practice Advisor] Cannabis use is up, especially with more people at […]

A Glass or Two of Red Helps Square the Numbers [Bloomberg Opinion] Good long read on Deloitte and Autonomy: “The Deloitte partner leading the Autonomy work sent his client an email from his wife’s account saying that “after a glass or two of red wine” and a plate of her “medieval pasta” he’d drafted an […]

Can the Dolphins win this one? Former VP sues the team in federal court. [South Florida Sun Sentinel] A former accountant who says he served as vice president of the Miami Dolphins sued the football team in federal court Thursday, claiming the organization incorrectly classified him as a contract worker—not an employee—and owes him unpaid […]

Atlanta accountants plead guilty to $1.2B in fraudulent charitable deductions [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] Brothers Stein Agee and Corey Agee, partners at the Sandy Springs firm AgeeFisherBarrett, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, an offense that carries up to five years in prison. A sentencing date has not been announced. […]

PwC’s UK partners to take 10% pay cut as profits fall [Financial Times] PwC’s UK partners are to take a 10 per cent cut in their pay following a move by the accountancy firm to protect jobs and bonuses for other staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Four firm said on Thursday that revenue […]

BDO will not repay £4.5m furlough money despite paying partners £137m [The Guardian] BDO, one of the UK’s leading accountancy firms, is refusing to pay back £4.5m in furlough money it received from taxpayers despite paying its 264 partners an average of £518,000 each. In total the company paid its partners £137m. Tips for auditing […]

EY hits back at German audit watchdog over alleged misconduct [Financial Times] EY has lashed out at Germany’s audit watchdog for prematurely reporting suspected criminal misconduct by its partners to prosecutors in an escalating battle over the Big Four firm’s audit work at defunct payments company Wirecard. New Jersey Society of CPAs Announces 10 CPA […]

CPA Exam gets refresh after practice analysis [Journal of Accountancy] Emphasis on understanding business processes and data analytics is being expanded while other topics are being phased out as the CPA Exam undergoes a refresh designed to maintain its relevance to the evolving work that newly licensed CPAs perform. New CPA Exam Blueprints released Friday […]

Deloitte’s COVID ‘bonanza’: this is how much the British public has paid so far [openDemocracy] The Department of Health handed £38.8 million to accountancy firm Deloitte in July this year, for unspecified “services” relating to Test and Trace, new figures reveal. This is the first time we’ve known how much Deloitte is being paid for […]

Things to consider for companies preparing for 2020 year-end audits [Compliance Week] The end of 2020 is on the horizon, and auditors at calendar-year companies are already planning and beginning their audits. The usual annual challenges of implementation of new accounting standards and related internal controls persist, but this year-end is unlike any other, as […]

Tax Change Needed to Level the Playing Field for Small Businesses, Minorities and Women in Cannabis Marketplace [NJCPA] Deducting business expenses is a routine and integral part of operating a business and is critical for a company to be profitable. However, cannabis businesses do not have access to this tax benefit even though it is […]

Ed. note: Happy Halloween, y’all. Remember October 31st is the early application deadline to register for .cpa domains. Stay safe inside or out whatever you decide to do this weekend. BOO! Former New York City accountant convicted of aiding al Qaeda to be released from prison early [Jurist] A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday ordered […]

Ed. note: Happy 10/23 to my fellow Fallout fans out there. Only 57 years to go! The Accounting Professional of Tomorrow [The CPA Journal] A long (but good) read that tries to answer the following questions: Is the accounting professional of tomorrow an endangered species? Supply and demand seems to be a key issue; why […]

String of Firms That Imploded Have Something in Common: Ernst & Young Audited Them [Wall Street Journal] This year, $2 billion is missing at a German fintech company, $300 million of sales has been found to be fabricated at a Chinese coffee chain and $5 billion in undisclosed debt has been uncovered at two related […]

KPMG bank auditor avoids prison for ‘regulatory corruption’ [Reuters] A Manhattan federal judge sentenced former KPMG audit partner David Britt to home confinement on Friday over his role in a scheme to get access to a regulator’s audit inspection plans, saying his deportation to Australia after living for decades in the United States was itself […]

FASB Further Delays Accounting Rule on Insurance Contracts [Wall Street Journal] The rule maker, which sets accounting standards for companies and nonprofits in the U.S., in June proposed a delay of another year for the new rule amid the economic harm caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The rule was first delayed by a year last […]

AICPA and CPA.com See Strong Initial Response to New .CPA Internet Domain [Business Wire] Thousands of CPA firms, including many of the nation’s largest, have moved quickly to reserve their existing branded domains under the new restricted Internet domain, .cpa, according to CPA.com. Well over half of the 100 biggest U.S. firms – as well […]

Ed. note: we are continuing to experience some intermittent website issues, so please be patient while these are addressed on our end. Even the server has a touch of the ‘rona mental breakdown going around, it happens.  EY chairman admits ‘regret’ over Wirecard failures in letter to clients [Financial Times] The global chairman of EY […]

2020 CPA CFE successful despite hotel room exam setting [Canadian Accountant] CPA candidates were not allowed to sleep in the rooms but could book the rooms in the same hotel. While they were anxious about this new format and possible technological problems, the three-day exam appears to be a success. “It was amazing, I got […]

Commerz, Deutsche Money Management Arm Fire Auditor In Case They Decide To Sue It [Dealbreaker] Commerzbank is on the lookout for a new auditor. Deutsche Bank’s asset management business, having already chosen one, has changed its mind. The loser in both cases is Ernst & Young, which has found itself with a bit of egg […]

More Workers Testing Positive for Drugs [CPA Practice Advisor] Relevant, maybe: The rate of workforce drug positivity hit a sixteen-year high in 2019, according to a new analysis released today by Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services. Positivity rates in the combined U.S. workforce increased in urine drug tests, climbing to […]

AICPA Makes Recommendations on IRS Guidance Priority List [CPA Practice Advisor] AICPA’s high priority recommendations relate to guidance on regulations found in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA); the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act; and the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. These recommendations address many significant tax […]

CPA Group Pushes for Clarity on Trump’s Payroll Tax Deferral [Bloomberg Tax] Treasury and the IRS should issue guidance on President Donald Trump’s order delaying collection of some payroll taxes to clear up confusion among accountants and businesses, the American Institute of CPAs said. The group said one of its biggest remaining questions is whether […]

Major League Baseball taps KPMG diversity exec to lead HR [The Business Journals] Major League Baseball has named Michele Meyer-Shipp to oversee all of MLB’s human resources activities, including talent processes and programs, workplace culture and diversity and inclusion. Meyer-Shipp joins MLB from KPMG LLP, where she served as chief diversity and inclusion officer. While at […]

As new pot licenses delayed indefinitely, global accounting firm pockets $7M from state to rank applicants [Chicago Sun-Times] KPMG was awarded nearly $7 million in no-bid contracts [in Illinois] to grade applications for new recreational pot licenses. State officials didn’t open the contracts up to competitive bidding to speed up the process. But as it […]

After Google, PwC India declares a company-wide holiday for its employees this Friday – offers time off for a ‘well-deserved’ break [Business Insider India] After Google, PwC India has introduced a ‘Pens down Day’ on Friday, turning into a Three-Day Weekend for its employees. With the ‘Pens down Day’, PwC has asked its employees to […]

AICPA Digital Assets Practice Aid Examines Client Acceptance and Continuance [CPA Practice Advisor The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has updated its Practice Aid Accounting for and Auditing of Digital Assets, to include nonauthoritative guidance on how to audit digital assets. This new material will complement accounting guidance issued last year. It is based on […]

Strategies for CPAs to encourage positive changes in diversity [Journal of Accountancy] The racial injustice taking place throughout the United States has hit home hard for members of the AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, who spend much of their time developing strategies and resources for improving the diversity of the accounting profession. Commission […]

EY failed to ask for Wirecard bank statements for 3 years [Financial Times] EY failed for more than three years to request crucial account information from a Singapore bank where Wirecard claimed it had up to €1bn in cash — a routine audit procedure that could have uncovered the vast fraud at the German payments […]

EY faces an existential threat [Reaction] Let’s play guess which firm: “Auditing is little more than an entry ticket to the boardroom. Inevitably, there are many conflicts of interest, as one firm is brought in to investigate the failures of another, but one of the four seems particularly accident prone.” How to deliver the news […]

NASBA proposes changes in CPA requirements [Accounting Today] The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy has proposed a set of revisions to the Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rules for CPAs, including the addition of more course content on data analytics and digital acumen, and the ability to take courses outside a school of business. […]

AICPA Council supports advancement of new CPA licensure model [Journal of Accountancy] An effort to transform the CPA licensure model took a step forward Wednesday when the AICPA governing Council voted to support its advancement during its virtual spring meeting. Council voted to support the CPA Evolution initiative, which is being undertaken by the AICPA […]

KPMG LLP Introduces Dynamic, Risk-Based, Policy And Technical Framework To Help Organizations Safely Reopen Their Workplaces [PR Newswire] “Reopening organizations and bringing employees back on-site presents technical challenges complicated by the fluidity of the situation, public policy responses, and different challenges faced by businesses, their suppliers and their individual employees,” said Atif Zaim, Customer and […]

EY orders consultants to take time off as work slows [Financial Times] EY has ordered consultants whose work has dried up during the pandemic to take the last week of May as annual leave as it attempts to ease a “holiday backlog”. The Big Four accounting firm sent an internal email on Thursday saying consultants […]

What Should Your CPA (Really) Know About Blockchain? [Forbes] Taxation, financial reporting and disclosure, and helping to instill confidence, via audits, in valuations of cryptoassets, are at least partially dependent on accountants being able to handle the workload associated with blockchain. Simultaneously there has been debate about what blockchain, and what blockchain as it connects […]

The indirect impacts of COVID-19 on CPA firms [Journal of Accountancy] In this megapost from the JofA, CPAs in all areas of practice across the profession are offered some “what-ifs” related to COVID-19 they may not have considered. Recommended reading for firm leaders. IRS proposes rules for unrelated business income for tax-exempt groups [Accounting Today] […]

EY Must Pay $10.8 Million to Auditor Who Blew Whistle on Refiner [Bloomberg] Ernst & Young must pay $10.8 million to an auditor who blew the whistle on wrongdoing at a Dubai gold refiner in another black eye for the U.K. accounting industry. Former EY partner Amjad Rihan had told the court that the accounting firm […]

COVID-19 Turns CPAs into Emergency Workers [CPA Trendlines] Donny Shimamoto writes: “The impact of COVID-19 on many of our lives will be told for years or decades to come. Through social media, I saw a lot of accountants (because I’m friends with so many of them) express concern for their clients and communities as well. […]

Ernst & Young Says It First Found Accounting Issues at Luckin [Wall Street Journal] EY said it uncovered the problems at China’s Luckin Coffee Inc., which hammered the stock price of the upstart challenger to Starbucks Corp. in the country and cast doubt over a large part of its sales last year. Luckin’s Nasdaq-listed shares […]

EY Israel puts staff on unpaid leave [Globes] With the spread of the [coronavirus] and the new orders in the matter issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Health, management has decided on a number of additional steps, including a substantial cut in compensation for all of the firm’s partners and putting […]

CPA business executives worried about coronavirus [Accounting Today] CPAs who are also business executives are concerned about the potential global fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, although their outlook on the U.S. economy has risen in recent months, according to a new survey by the American Institute of CPAs. CPAs gather at State Capitol [Edmond Sun] […]

Coronavirus forces EY to go virtual with some student hiring [Financial News] EY, one of the UK’s Big Four accountancy firms, has gone virtual with parts of its student recruitment process in response to the spread of coronavirus. The group, which hired 918 graduates and apprentices in 2019, has switched its in-person EY Experience Days […]

Nearly Half Of CPA Advisors See Dementia In Some Clients [Financial Advisor] Nearly half of CPA financial planners report seeing a client with dementia for the first time ever in the past year, but only 17% of planners say they have created plans for dealing with client incapacitation, a new report says. The AICPA’s Personal […]

How Regulators and PwC Fooled Reporters—Again [Pro Market] Francine McKenna is on the war path, as usual. CPAs would be happy to help state government plot a strategy to finance education [Baltimore Sun] In which Maryland Association of CPAs CEO Tom Hood throws down in a letter to the editor: “Our opposition is not reactive […]

U.S. House Subcommittee Scrutinizes Accounting Rule Maker [Wall Street Journal] The new chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets is targeting U.S. accounting rules in a move to increase oversight of a U.S. accounting rule maker, despite a potential battle to enact legislation or alter its […]

Ed. note: Happy Valentine’s Day, kids! If no one loves you, remember I always will. Sort of. ~AG Botham Jean’s Colleagues Pledge To Combat Workplace Racial Violence [BET] “As chief executives and business leaders, we may not have the power to stop tragedies like what happened to Bo from happening again,” wrote PwC Chairman Tim […]

Deloitte Top Participant in H-1B Foreign Worker Program—By Far [Bloomberg Law] Deloitte’s use of skilled foreign workers under the H-1B program, which is largely associated with technology companies, is far greater than any other applicant, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of fiscal year 2019 Department of Labor data. A total of 57,259 H-1B visa […]

As Tax Season Begins, Hackers Target Tax Pros and CPAs [CPA Practice Advisor] It’s not from the “mob” or street criminals. These criminals are likely sitting behind a desk, glued to computer monitors, chugging energy drinks and developing the most effective ways to steal today’s version of gold. As you know, this bounty is data […]