Taxes

The IRS has started a new voluntary program that it says is intended to encourage education and filing season readiness for paid tax return preparers who are not credentialed. The program will be in place to help taxpayers during the 2015 filing season.

Tax and accounting technology developer Wolters Kluwer, CCH has made its new CCH IntelliConnect Direct available to all professionals. The system, which provides a universal research interface that offers anytime, anywhere access to accurate, reliable, and continuously updated U.S. and global tax, accounting and regulatory information and guidance, had been in limited beta availability. It works on desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile devices.

During the first decade or two of my accounting and tax life, I always felt that everyone knew more than I did. I was always a bit intimidated by the depth of knowledge other CPAs, EAs and attorneys seemed to have – and prayed that I could know just a little more of what they knew.

On Tuesday, July 15, CPA Practice Advisor is hosting a free webcast titled, "Electronic Signatures and the IRS ... Everything You Need to Know." Sponsored by Wolters Kluwer CCH, the CPE-eligible webcast will cover the latest changes to electronic filing, including topics that are especially important for tax professionals and their clients.

The Internal Revenue Service’s proposed voluntary certification program for tax return preparers “would cause significant legal problems that may ultimately frustrate the IRS’s goals, confuse the public, and lead to litigation,” according to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

The IRS Office of Professional Responsibility will be sending out letters asking practitioners to stop using disclaimers required under Circular 230 (Regulations Governing Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service).

The Accountancy Board of Ohio and the Ohio Society of CPAs has approved a new CPE program that offers certified professional education in 10-minute increments. Ohio joins the Maryland Association of CPAs in the new 10-minute CPE program, which it announced on May 30 of this year, following approval by the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy.

According to the complaint, Gingell embezzled $697,000 from the summer of 2010 to March 2011 by sending money by wire transfer to her bank account and making money orders payable to herself and others. One of the wire transfers paid the remaining $40,000 balance of her mortgage, according to the complaint. Gingell made 71 wire transfers totaling $620,000 alone, according to the complaint.