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Compensation Season
It’s not looking good, salary bros. We’ll have more on this later.
Compensation season is starting off with a bang if our inbox is any indication pic.twitter.com/Bw7ZJjupNS
— Going Concern (@going_concern) August 1, 2025
Tax
AICPA supports bill that lets married domestic violence victims file taxes as single [Journal of Accountancy]
In a letter to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the bill’s sponsor, the AICPA said that S. 2129, the Survivors Assistance for Fear-Free and Easy (SAFE) Tax Filing Act of 2025, would provide fairness, safety, and equality to survivors of spousal abuse or abandonment. Laws now require married survivors of domestic abuse or spousal abandonment either to file their taxes jointly with their abuser or to file as married filing separately. Filing as married filing separately generally is less advantageous than filing as single. The bill “would remove the control that abusive or absent spouses may have over survivor spouses and would empower survivors to take back control when it comes to tax returns and tax benefits,” the AICPA said in the letter.
Ex-EY tax chief’s interspousal asset transfers are shams [ICJG]
Sounding a clear warning against the use of artificial asset protection devices to defeat creditors, the High Court has ruled that former Ernst & Young (EY) managing partner John Dixon’s purported transfer of his wealth to his wife under was a sham designed to defeat creditors, including HMRC. In her detailed 225-paragraph judgment handed down yesterday (30 July), Judge Sally Barber declared six declarations of trust (DoTs) and an accompanying loan agreement void and ineffective, rejecting Mr Dixon’s claim that he had become “a man with no assets” long before his 2017 bankruptcy.
Former IRS acting commissioner joins KPMG’s tax practice [Consulting.us]
Douglas O’Donnell, former acting commission of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), has joined KPMG’s Washington national tax practice as a senior managing director. O’Donnell spent four decades at the IRS, joining the agency in 1986 as a revenue agent and eventually holding its most senior roles – including acting commissioner, deputy commissioner, and commissioner of the large business and international division.
No, Tariffs Are Not Similar to Consumption Taxes Like a VAT [Cato Institute]
Some tariff supporters have tried to rebrand tariffs as nothing more than a consumption tax, arguing they’re just like the value-added taxes (VATs) that many other countries use. See, for example, here and here. The implication buried in these claims is that because other countries use VATs, they should be offset by US tariffs—and that any such tariffs would be a common way to raise government revenue just like VATs are.
When Tax Exempt Status is at Stake: Lessons from Harvard for Tax Exempt Public Charities [Ellin & Tucker]
For nonprofit leaders, understanding Harvard’s situation is more than a cautionary tale.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Freed Maxick, P.C. Joins Practice With Withum [Withum]
Withum is excited to announce that on August 1, 2025, Freed Maxick, P.C., a public accounting, tax and business advisory firm headquartered in Buffalo, NY, joined its practice with Withum. Freed Maxick’s 36 partners and approximately 325 team members will join the Withum roster and remain at their three locations in Buffalo, Rochester and Batavia, NY.
Talent
Most firms still grappling with accounting talent crunch [CFO Dive]
Recruitment remains a pressing challenge in the accounting industry, with eight in 10 companies struggling to hire skilled professionals, according to survey results released Wednesday by finance software firm Intuit. While the accounting talent crunch has eased slightly — down from 94% last year — the industry continues to grapple with shortages across experience levels, according to a report on the findings. “Securing junior level candidates with more than one year of experience proves especially challenging, noted by 42% of respondents, followed closely by hiring talent with five or more years (38%),” the report said.
Jefferson Parish president says staffing shortages led to loss of bond rating [WDSU (Louisiana)]
Jefferson Parish has lost its bond rating with major credit rating agencies. Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng responded to the situation, saying staffing shortages led to the withdrawal of the rating, not financial instability. Sheng said the withdrawal is not a reflection of the parish’s financial strength. “The withdrawal of our bond rating has to do with staffing shortages we have been dealing with for quite some time and not an indication of our financial strength,” she said.
CFOs
One in four CFOs expect to adopt crypto by 2027: Deloitte [CFO Dive]
Nearly one in four (23%) CFOs anticipate their treasury departments will accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method, or purchase such assets as investments, within the next two years, according to a recent survey by Big Four firm Deloitte found. That percentage jumps to 39% of finance chiefs at companies with revenues at $10 billion or higher, the Q2 2025 North American Signals survey found.
People
EY promotes Jerry Ward to head of Long Island office [Consulting.us]
Ward, who has been with EY since 2003, succeeds Cathy Verrelli, who is moving to a new role at the Big Four firm. In his new position, Ward will oversee a team of more than 250 professionals.
Office Space
Ernst & Young LLP Moves to Bottleworks District in Indianapolis [Building Indiana]
The Bottleworks District announced that Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), one of the world’s largest professional services firms, plans to relocate its Indianapolis office from Monument Circle to the Bottleworks District, marking a significant move for both the company and the thriving downtown district. The new office, located in the heart of Phase II, will span 15,440 square feet and will be situated in Suite 1125, occupying a prime position between the district’s Phase I and Phase II spaces. “We are ecstatic about our move to the vibrant Bottleworks District and our people are excited about all the amenities it has to offer,” said John Federici, Indianapolis Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP.