Happy Monday! I’ve gathered a little news for you to start your week.
Hot off the Journal of Accountancy presses this morning, the AICPA has asked the government to delay a September 30 deadline to eliminate paper checks “to and from America’s bank account.”
Treasury should extend the time frame for mandating the end of paper checks for federal disbursements or at least set rules that make the transition easier for taxpayers, the AICPA said in a letter about Executive Order 14247, Modernizing Payments to and From America’s Bank Accounts.
While the AICPA supports the transition to electronic payments for federal disbursements and receipts, it believes challenges exist that will make it difficult to meet the Sept. 30 deadline without some changes.
“For many years, the AICPA has advocated for and supported the modernization of the IRS and its payment systems; although this executive order is a step in the right direction, there are many considerations before implementing changes, which means updated processes and carefully tailored rules will need to be developed,” Daniel Hauffe, J.D., AICPA senior manager–Tax Policy & Advocacy, said in a news release. “The AICPA’s recommendations allow for the modernization of the IRS’s tax payment systems while mitigating the impact of the administrative burden on taxpayers, tax practitioners, and the IRS that could be caused by this executive order.”
The executive order mandating the end of paper-based payments was issued on March 25.
Business Insider ran this headline on Friday: EY exec: ‘This idea of up-skilling the entire workforce to use AI, I think it’s kind of silly’. The interview-style article with consulting CTO Jason Noel is basically an ad for EY’s AI expertise but here’s what he said about upskilling:
Q: What’s the value of up-skilling here? How much do employees need to learn about AI?
A: They just know that they have a screen and an application that says, “Here’s how much stuff you have now of this,” and “Here’s how many you have coming inbound,” maybe. They don’t need to know how the technology works. This idea of up-skilling the entire workforce to use AI — I think it’s kind of silly.
This Deloitte CFO survey has some sad news to share on the first Monday following Independence Day, we’re not #1 in foreign investment attractiveness:
The UK has overtaken the United States and Japan as a more attractive country to invest in, according to executives at some of Britain’s biggest businesses.
Despite volatile markets and concern about the public finances, business directors have turned more bullish on the UK as a country to invest in and have a bigger appetite for risk, according to Deloitte’s latest survey of chief financial officers.
The closely watched quarterly survey, which canvasses opinion from the finance chiefs of 61 of Britain’s biggest companies, found that executives viewed the UK and India as the most attractive destination when it came to investment, with a net balance of 13 per cent of respondents describing Britain as very or somewhat attractive.
“These results reveal a shift in sentiment with the UK now viewed as a leading global investment destination,” said Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK. “This renewed confidence, coupled with a rise in risk appetite, is welcome and underscores the considerable investment potential the UK offers.”
Crain’s Cleveland explains how EY leaving their fancy old building downtown A) was a big downgrade for them and B) has messed up the entire downtown commercial real estate market:
In November 2023, EY left what was then known as EY Tower in the Flats, a sparkling 23-story, glass-curtained jewel built at an undisclosed cost with the accounting firm as its initial marquee tenant. Real estate professionals say it’s the sort of “highly amenitized” Class A building that is most in demand among choice tenants.
That move was cost- and needs-driven, but still surprising, said Terry Coyne, executive vice chairman of Newmark in Cleveland.
“What surprised me about the EY deal was they went from a Class A building with a lot of amenities, to a building off the beaten path with no amenities at North Point,” Coyne said. “It’s almost like a suburban building. It has good parking and a very competitive lease rate. But if you wanted a building with good amenities that’s going to attract your employees, North Point was not a good choice.”
Yeah they don’t care about Cleveland, they’re focusing on the real estate that matters thousands of miles away.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer of Georgia has done an interesting deep dive on the rot within the city government’s finance department and how a certain event in 2020 concealed it for years:
This year, former Columbus city manager Isaiah Hugley was fired. There have been two arrests related to criminal charges from an investigation into the city’s finance department, and outside attorneys have been hired as the threat of a racial discrimination lawsuit looms.
A 118-page administrative report from the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, filled with transcripts of interviews with city officials, local activists and whistleblowers details allegations of toxic work environments, potential cover-ups and pressure to present misleading results to the Columbus Council. Columbus got to this point through a years-long ordeal involving business tax issues.
Several years of strain within the finance department allow the saga to be traced back to July 25, 2023.
Read the rest if you’re into it.
The Government Accountability Office discovered a little billing issue related to non-government space launches:
As the Defense Department ramps up national security space launches, it could soon start collecting millions more dollars from commercial launch providers — including two with significant operations in north Alabama.
A recently released audit from the Government Accountability Office found U.S. Space Force has failed to fully bill commercial launch providers, including SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance, for their use of federal launch facilities. Existing legislation prevents Space Force – the main Pentagon arm involved in procuring launch services – from fully recouping indirect costs associated with these launches, auditors found.
GAO report here: National Security Space Launch: Increased Commercial Use of Ranges Underscores Need for Improved Cost Recovery
Nearly three-quarters of professional services firms in Australia expect good or better growth, reports Accounting Times:
Professional services firms expected a better growth outlook than other small to medium enterprises (SMEs), NAB found. Over the coming financial year, 71 per cent of professional services firms expected “very good” or “good” revenue growth, compared to just 55 per cent of all SMEs.
A majority (79 per cent) of professional services firms planned to grow through hiring, retaining and training staff.
A smaller proportion (36 per cent) planned to acquire new businesses, 33 per cent planned to invest in new technology or systems, while 17 per cent planned to launch new products or services.
Accounting firms said they were focused on fostering staff development to ensure retention as the labour market remained tight.
If you’d like to check out the whole report you can do so from NAB here.
That’s enough of that. Email or text if you’ve got something for us and have a wonderful week, you.
