Friday Footnotes: Modernizing CPA Requirements in Pennsylvania; Master’s Degrees Are Hot Again; Don’t Dog the PCAOB | 5.9.25

Posted on by Going Concern News Desk
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Accountants Behaving Badly

N.J. accountant filed 177 false tax returns on behalf of clients, feds say [NJ.com]
A Bergen County woman was sentenced to three years in prison and must pay back over $1 million after admitting to filing 177 false tax returns on behalf of clients, officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Joshlyn Raye, 49, of Elmwood Park previously pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in preparing false tax returns, tax evasion and filing a false declaration regarding a quarterly employment statement on behalf of her company.

Education

Master of Accounting programmes in US report rise in 2024 [The Accountant Online]
New data from the US Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) has revealed an increase in applications to Master of Accounting programs. The GMAC 2024 Application Trends Survey indicates that 72% of US Master of Accounting programs reported higher application levels in 2024, compared with 43% in 2023. This marks a five-year high in application growth for these programs.

News

EY India asks employees to work from home as India-Pakistan conflict escalates [Moneycontrol]
“In light of the security situation and keeping well-being of our employees in mind, all our employees in Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ahmedabad offices are advised to work from home on Friday, 9th May 2025,” an internal memo sent out to the employees said. “For offices at other locations – employees may consider working from home. The situation continues to be monitored closely, and further updates will be shared over the weekend.”

Hutchinson proposes license reforms for CPAs [Times Observer]
The region’s state senator is sponsoring legislation to boost the number of certified public accountants in the state. Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-Oil City, and Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-Monroeville, have introduced Senate Bill 719, a proposal the lawmakers have been working on with the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the Pennsylvania Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals (PSTAP). The bill will modernize the licensure process in Pennsylvania, which Hutchinson and Pisciottano say will address the evolving needs of the accounting profession.

FASB to issue final ASU on software cost accounting [KPMG]
FASB completes redeliberations on software cost accounting changes and directs staff to draft final ASU.

Are you aware of this May 30, 2025, filing deadline? [Journal of Accountancy]
Do you have a client with a 10% or greater interest in a foreign business enterprise? If so, there is an upcoming mandatory filing requirement under the rules of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). A U.S. person with one or more reportable foreign affiliates is required to file forms for the BE-10 Benchmark Survey for U.S. Direct Investment Abroad for the affiliates’ fiscal year ending in 2024 by May 30, 2025, or, for certain reporters with more than 50 foreign affiliates, June 30, 2025.

Tax

The IRS has lost almost one-third of its tax auditors after 2 months of DOGE cuts, report says [CBS News]
The Trump administration’s plan to trim the IRS workforce has resulted in almost one-third of its tax auditors leaving the agency through March, according to a report from the U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog.

Trump says he’s OK with taxing the rich but warns of political fallout [Reuters]
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he was “OK” with raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, as his fellow Republicans consider scaling back the scope of the ambitious tax-cut package they aim to pass this year. “Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m OK if they do!!!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.

PCAOB

The Coming SEC-PCAOB Merger? Arguments Against Abolishing the PCAOB [JD Supra]
Writes Broc Romanek:
I can see a lot of downsides to an SEC-PCAOB merger and hardly any advantages. The PCAOB is funded mainly by assessments paid by the largest public companies – and since it doesn’t receive any taxpayer funding, there is no fiscal justification for a merger.

PCAOB Continues Efforts To Help Firms With Implementation of New Quality Control Standard With Release of Additional Staff Videos [PCAOB]
Led by staff in the PCAOB’s Office of the Chief Auditor, the presentations are the latest in a series of videos aimed at assisting firms with the implementation of QC 1000. They cover the following topics: Roles and responsibilities, Ethics and independence, People resources, Technological and intellectual resources.

Related Posts

Accounting News Roundup: Deal for Tax Cuts, Unemployment Benefits Looks Likely; Emerging PCAOB Chair Candidates; Snipes Still Avoiding Prison | 12.06.10

Tax Deal Within Reach [WSJ]
White House officials and congressional Republicans are closing in on a deal that would extend current income-tax rates for all Americans as well as a benefits program for the long-term unemployed, staving off tax increases for middle-class and wealthy taxpayers alike that are set to take effect after this year.

Leaders of both parties appeared optimistic over the weekend about reaching an agreement on a broad tax package by midweek, following the failure of two Democratic-sponsored tax measures in a rare Saturday session of the Senate. Those measures would have extended current tax rates for ars. Failure of the proposals paved the way for the two parties to continue negotiating toward a package that could gain enough votes to pass.

SEC Considers Former Insiders to Head Audit-Industry Watchdog [Bloomberg]
James R. Doty, who served as SEC general counsel from 1990 to 1992, and John J. Huber, who headed the agency’s corporation finance division in the 1980s, are the leading candidates to head the Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board, said three people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because the process isn’t public.

Madoff trustee sues HSBC for $9bn [BBC]
Iriving Picard, who is seeking to recover funds for Madoff’s Ponzi scheme victims, is alleging 24 counts of fraud and misconduct against HSBC. He alleges that HSBC aided Madoff’s scheme through the creation of a network of international feeder funds.

A Loan Accounting Problem to Make “Amortized Cost” Proponents Squirm [The Accounting Onion]
Loaning money to plaintiffs to fund their lawsuits is a tricky enough proposition without getting into the accounting.

How College Students Should Use Linkedin [The Summa]
Dave Albrecht explains that this should not be Facebook redux.

“Cloud is bullsh*t” – HCL’s CEO, Vineet Nayar, explains why he said just that [Horses for Sources]
Maybe it’s a just attempt to be contrarian.


McGladrey Expands Washington National Tax Office [McGladrey]
“We are thrilled to add Bob’s knowledge and expertise to our firm at such an exciting time. Over the next few years, we plan to more than double the size of our D.C.-based teams with additional strategic hires to better serve our clients,” said C.E. Andrews, president of RSM McGladrey. “Our new office in the heart of our nation’s capital and Bob’s relationships within the IRS will, no doubt, prove invaluable for our clients as we create a ‘gateway of connectivity’ for them with policymakers influencing the tax world.”

Wesley Snipes Asks To Delay Jail For Holidays With Kids [Janet Novack/Forbes]
This guy really doesn’t want to go to jail, ‘In an “Emergency Motion To Stay Self Surrender’ filed Friday, Snipes argues that as the father of four children, aged 4 to 9, he shouldn’t be forced to turn himself in ‘in the middle of the holiday season.’ ”