Deloitte announced today that Anna Taylor — former tax and economic policy principal advisor to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — has joined Deloitte’s Washington National Tax practice as the deputy managing principal of the Tax Policy Group. KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said the key emerging obstacle that the firm found in its annual survey of 473 senior executives was business growth. A PCAOB inspections leader offers his insight to auditors at a conference: “The role of the financial statement auditor and the auditing profession continues to be a noble endeavor that has never been more needed and vital to our economic stability and the well-being of our capital markets,” said George Botic, CPA. “Like oxygen, audit quality may not be fully appreciated when it is present, but I think you can definitely tell when it’s missing.” Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has issued its fourth Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme (FRSP) report, which has identified that knowledge gaps and insufficient due diligence remain the main root causes contributing to material non-compliance with accounting standards; Another root cause was the lack of action taken on issues raised by auditors. Here’s a rundown of accountant-client privilege vs. attorney-client privilege as explained by a tax lawyer.
Michael Love believes that every law student should take a course in tax law. “There’s a misconception that it’s a dry accounting exercise, but ultimately tax law is a very rich moral discussion,” he says. “When there are presidential elections, candidates talk at length about tax policy proposals, which are fundamentally about who bears the burden and who enjoys the benefits of our public finance system. It’s a reflection of our values as a society.” [Columbia Law School]
EY plans to go shopping if the split goes forward:
EY is setting aside $2.5bn to fund an acquisition spree for its consulting arm following its planned separation from the Big Four firm’s audit business, as it presses ahead with preparations for the historic split.
The war chest will allow the new company, which EY is aiming to float in New York, to double the pace of dealmaking as it battles to win market share from its Big Four rivals and standalone consulting firms, according to people familiar with the plan.
Bosses have also earmarked a budget of up to $400mn to be ploughed into building a new brand for the consulting business, which will no longer use the EY name after the split.
While you were cramming in CPE, NFT investors spent the last moments of 2022 dumping their worthless tokens to claim tax losses:
Thousands of investors with nearly worthless nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, rushed to tax-loss-harvesting marketplaces during the final days of last year, dumping their once pricey digital collectibles to offset gains elsewhere in their portfolios.
That created an opportunity for at least two online platforms launched to do something counterintuitive—create liquidity for assets that are, by design, illiquid, and nonfungible. While most markets capitalize on growth opportunities for tradable assets, these platforms quickly launched to help investors realize losses during a year in which NFTs saw both a boom and a bust.
Business was brisk on both platforms as investors raced the year-end tax deadline to sell their one-of-a-kind digital assets for a fraction of a penny after purchasing them for hundred, or thousands, of dollars earlier in the year.
What is the secret to a good PPT? r/accounting reveals all:
Today in Wild Ideas on Twitter:
How about no licensing, just a professional certification.
— Todd Schanel (@Advisor_Jupiter) January 8, 2023
With changing tax regulations becoming more complex and a growing economy, job opportunities for CPAs will remain high for the foreseeable future. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that job opportunities for accountants and auditors will increase by 6% from 2021 to 2031, which is as fast as other occupations.
The agency approximates 136,400 job openings annually for accountants and auditors, with CPA professionals having the best prospects. The median annual salary for CPAs was $77,250 in May 2021.
“From where I sit the profession is completely useless“: a play in four acts
I leave you with this. It’s never good when an accountant ends up in The Daily Mail:
Have a better week than that lady is having, everyone!