In order to survive in the tax or accounting industry, one needs to stay updated at every step. However, the continually changing tax laws and regulations can make it challenging to keep up. It can further result in inaccuracy during tax filing, delayed returns, or lack of documentation.
Tax preparers need to remain updated with news from reliable sources to stay aware of the accounting and tax reforms.
So, in order to help tax and accounting professionals, here is a list of the accounting/tax news that has made headlines in the last few months.
Directly Jump To:
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
September 2020
1. QuickBooks Desktop 2021: What To Expect
Sep 21st, 2020- The parent company of QuickBooks, Intuit, has recently updated its new Desktop 2021 version with impeccable features like customizable payments, improved bank feeds, and consumer groups.
2. IRS Announces Guidelines for COVID-19 Testing
Sep 10, 2020– The Internal Revenue Service(IRS), on Thursday, issued guidelines regarding the COVID-19 testing and diagnostics, which have put an effect on small and medium enterprises’ tax-paying strategies. Under the released Notice 2020-66, testing and Medicaid services would not be considered as essential coverages.
Learn More about IRS Guidance on COVID-19 Testing
3. Illinois CPA Society Have Conferred 2020 Women To Watch Awards
Sep 09, 2020- Illinois’ society of CPA has announced women to watch awards in partnership with the state’s women committee. The annual awards were presented to women who have shown some immense contribution to the accounting world.
4. QuickBooks to Be the “Hot Topic” for Free Webinars
Sep 09, 2020- In recent announcements by Catawba Valley Community College in North Carolina, QuickBooks, two webinars will be hosted where QuickBooks and its versions will be the area of debate among panelists. This webinar will be hosted for the small and medium-sized business owners and startups on how QuickBooks will be instrumental in bringing more revenue to the enterprise. For more insights,
5. Ace Cloud Hosting Brings Automation Of Tax Compliance In Partnership With Avalara
Sep 01, 2020 – Ace Cloud Hosting brings a webinar for all the tax enthusiasts and accountants in partnership with Avalara. Featuring Matt Hammond, Senior Sales Personnel from Avalara, and Mohit Jain, Senior Solutions Consultant from Ace Cloud Hosting. This webinar will be about tax compliance and discuss issues businesses majorly face.
6. AICPA and CPA Have Launched the Long-awaited CPA Domain
Sep 01, 2020- The American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and it’s technical branch CPA.com, have begun an early-phase rollout of .cpa, a restricted Internet domain that allows CPAs to connect with clients and the general public with greater trust, security, and verification.
CPA Domain Launch Announcement
August 2020
7. IRS Issues Guidance On Payroll Tax Deferral
Aug 29, 2020– The IRS issued a new notice regarding the deferrals of payroll taxes. This notice will forbid employers to withhold employees’ compensation. This memorandum was issued keeping COVID-19 effects in mind and will be effective from Sep’20 to April’21.
8. Intuits’ QuickBook Pips Xero To Claim The Top Consumer Rating Award
Aug 13, 2020– In a recent survey by Canstar Blue, QuickBooks was conferred with the top consumer rating award. The survey consisted of 844 business clients who paid for the accounting software, and the winners were announced based on the ease of money, integrations, functionality, and consumer reviews.
9. Accounting Today Releases The List of Elite Managing Partners
Aug 10, 2020- Noted accounting magazine, Accounting Today, has released the 2020 list of Elite Managing Partners. While the Managing Partners in the earlier years were purely based on the numeracies of profits in the respective firms, things were a little different this year. Profits were at a side, and partners were chosen on the base of exemplary leadership qualities and skills that were showcased amidst the deadly corona pandemic.
10. Economic Expectations Lowers For Accountants As Corona Cases Surge
Aug 06, 2020– As Coronavirus hotspots begin to rise, a slight economic depreciation was noticed in the Accountants Confidence Index. After record lows in the months of April and May, ACI was recovering well, thanks to the drop in cases. But, the second week of August again brought despair for accountants, as the economy backtracked due to the increasing number of cases.
Economic Expectations Amid COVID-19
11. AICPA Urges Congress To Include PPP Deductions In Upcoming Legislative Changes
Aug 01, 2020- The American Association Of Certified Public Accountants has urged Congress to address the tax treatment of loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program. Along with AICPA, there are 170 major organizations that have joined this movement.
July 2020
12. Study Finds Sage 100 Cloud Delivers 176% ROI And Payback Within Six Months
July 29, 2020- A new study by Total Impact 2020 found that a firm using Sage 100 Cloud would find a three-year return-on-investment of up to 176%, benefitting a total present value of $567,523.
13. Accounting Today Names Wouch Maloney As The Best Accounting Firm
July 28, 2020- Wouch Maloney has been named as the best accounting firm in the United States. The magazine conducted a two-part survey in the Northern and Southern parts of America, where they evaluated companies based on workplace conditions, facilities to employees, and client reputation.
Best Accounting Firms to Work For
14. AICPA Issues Statements Regarding Complex Financial Reporting
July 10, 2020- The American Association Of Certified Professional Accountants has released new standards to provide robust guidance for auditors who are addressing complex financial environments.
Updated Standard on Accounting Estimates
15. AICPA And CPA Launch On Point EBP On Caseware Cloud Platform
July 09, 2020- The American Association Of Certified Professional Accountants, along with the CPA and Caseware cloud platform, have announced the launch of EBP, which is a cloud solution designed to facilitate audits of employee plan benefits.
16. FASB Releases New Cloud Computing Standards
July 01, 2020– The Financial Accounting Standard Board released a new set of rules for cloud computing costs and service arrangements related to a firm. These new standards will become effective for all new entities’ reporting starting from December 15, 2020.
June 2020
17. Tax Deadline Day Extended To July 15th, 2020
June 29, 2020- The Department Of Treasury and IRS today have extended the deadline day for filing taxes that is July 15th, 2020. The department has also announced taxpayers unable to file taxes by the aforementioned date can file taxes till October 10th, 2020.
18. QuickBooks Online Releases New Updates For June 2020
June 24, 2020– For the month of June, QuickBooks Online 2020 has devised a new dashboard that will no longer include unaccepted transactions from bank feeds, along with other interesting features.
19. Phishing Attacks Impersonates New QuickBooks Invoices
June 22, 2020– Darktrace observed a recent phishing attack on a reputed accounting firm in the state of North Dakota, USA. The intention of the attack was to deploy malware in the data, and it was detected in non-cloud hosted QuickBooks’ invoices.
Phishing Attacks on QuickBooks
20. Sage Named Business Leader In Software Reviews Business Quadrant
June 09, 2020- The version of Sage, Sage Business Cloud X3, has been named as the gold medallist in the recent SoftwareReviews 2020 Enterprise Resource Planning Data Quadrant Awards 2020.
21. AICPA Foundation Offers CPA Scholarship For The Year 2020
June 07, 2020- The AICPA board has decided to give a scholarship of around $1500 to all the affiliate members taking the recent CPA exam.
May 2020
22. Regulations Provided For Tax-Exempt Organizations
May 26, 2020- The Department Of Treasury along with the IRS have devised new regulations for the tax-exempt organizations regarding the tax reporting requirements. It will provide certain statutory and grants which will help tax-exempt organizations to find all the tax reporting stats at one place.
23. IRS Announces Virtualization Of Nationwide Tax Forums
May 21, 2020– The Internal Revenue Service, the US regulation body for taxes have announced a series of webinars and forums that will be held virtually. These forums and webinars are developed to discuss the various new tax regulations recently curated by the IRS.
IRS Nationwide Tax Forums 2020
24. Sage Changes Date For Summit
May 15, 2020– Due to current situations and major safety concerns arising because of coronavirus, the previously May scheduled Sage summit has been shifted to December 9-11, 2020.
25. AICPA Helps CPAs Earn Post Doctoral Certificate
May 12, 2020– In a recent announcement, AICPA is seeking applicants for its new flagship program of Post Doctoral courses. This course will help the new CPAs and accountants to be eligible to teach accountancy in colleges as professors.
26. Steep Fall In Global Accountant Confidence Index For May 2020
May 01, 2020- The global Accounting Confidence Index has fallen steeply for the month due to the ongoing losses in concurrent companies because of the deadly coronavirus for 2020.
ACI May 2020: Major Drop Analysis
April 2020
27. CPA Firms Tackling CoronaVirus With Iron Fists
April 28, 2020- States CPA boards have discussed how CPA Firms have overcome various business related challenges that occurred due to the recent coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
CPA Firms & COVID-19 Challenges
28. Accounting, Auditing Rules In Jeopardy Due To Pandemic
April 24, 2020- The FASB Board has recently announced to add projects to its technical portfolio which will cause delays in tax filing, revenue recognitions adding to the headache of standard setters and regulators.
Accounting Rules in Flux Due to COVID-19
29. COVID-19 Prompts Many Tax Changes
April 24, 2020- The ongoing pandemic has prompted legislators and administrators to implement a lot of changes in the tax return rules, which will give American taxpayers both short-term and long-term breaks in the next tax cycle.
30. ASB New Accounting Standard Provides Transparency, Accuracy, and Consistency
April 13, 2020- AICPA’s Audit Standard Board has issued statements regarding audit reports which will be instrumental for auditors and financial analysts in America to conceptualize and easify it to a greater extent.
31. COVID-19 Prompts Firms To Give Back
April 1, 2020– The deadly coronavirus pandemic has led firms to implement many philanthropic changes within the firms to help employees and societies recover from the deadly pandemic.
Firms Giving Back During COVID-19
March 2020
32. Tax Day Pushed To July 15
March 21, 2020– Following the President’s emergency declaration in the state due to the widespread of COVID-19, IRS has extended the filing deadline from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020.0
Taxpayers can postpone their federal income tax payments without the risk of increased penalties or interest rates. There is no need to file any other form to benefit from the same. IRS will be updating any updates related to the pandemic on their official page for Coronavirus.
33. Accounting Firms Go Remote With The Outbreak Of Coronavirus
March 16, 2020– With the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), most of the accounting firms worldwide are opting for remote working to limit the spread of the pandemic.
Clayton &McKervey, a Michigan-based accounting firm, is encouraging video conferencing rather than face-to-face meetings. Also, Marcum LLP, one of the largest independent accounting and advisory service firms, has shifted to remote working completely starting from March 17 (Tuesday), keeping in mind the need for social distancing. Going virtual on a short distance is causing security concerns amongst smaller firms that don’t have a robust system in place to adapt to such a situation.
Recommended Reading: Coronavirus – Embrace Remote Working With QuickBooks Hosting
34. TurboTax Phishing Scam Taking Rounds
March 06, 2020– The phishing scam involving professional tax software by Intuit, TurboTax, is going around this tax season. The email comprises the attached excel sheet with the subject line, “Your TurboTax case is open,” and the body text reading that the taxpayers return will be rejected until a suitable request is sent.
The scam was first discovered by Trustwave, a cybersecurity management service. Once the users open the malicious excel sheet, it tricks them into enabling macros in the sheet, after which a code is released in the background leading to data theft.
February 2020
35. Interest Rates To Remain Unchanged For The Second Quarter
February 28, 2020– As per the announcement made by Internal Revenue Service (IRS), interest rates will remain the same for the second quarter beginning from April 1, 2020. The assigned rates will be as given below:
- Non-corporate: 5% for overpayments and underpayments.
- Corporate: 4% for overpayments and 5% for underpayments
- Corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000: 2.5% for the portion
- Large corporate: 7% for underpayment
Additionally, for the taxpayers except for corporations, the underpayment and overpayment rates are determined by the federal-short term rates plus 3% points.
36. Credit Karma Sold To Intuit
February 24, 2020– The industrial giant in the field of accounting, Intuit Inc., confirmed its investment in the fintech startup, Credit Karma, for 7.1 billion in cash and stock.
Credit Karma had been the direct competition for Intuit’s tax filing products by offering free filing and tax preparation to its users. Credit Karma has more than 100 million registered and 37 million active monthly users overall. It generated annual revenue of $1 billion in 2019. Intuit will be running the startup as a standalone function managed under the co-founder of Credit Karma, Kenneth Lin.
37. Identity Theft Central Launched By IRS
February 3, 2020– Taking online identity thefts and other security threats into consideration, IRS has launched Identity Theft Central to tackle these issues. It is expected to improve the online experience of taxpayers. IRS will be available 24/7 at https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-central.
Also, the revenue service will be taking steps to increase awareness and outreach to ensure security against various “Dirty Dozen” attacks, including phishing scams, phone scams, return preparer fraud, and more. One can find specified information for taxpayers, tax professionals, and businesses concerning identity theft on the Identity Theft Central page.
January 2020
38. Student Loan COD Relief Extended For More Taxpayers
January 16, 2020– The cancellation-of-debt (COD) relief, which was earlier provided to the students from Corinthian Colleges or American Career Institutes Inc. by the Education Department under the discharge process of “Closed School” or “Defense to Repayment” is extended to more taxpayers that have faced a similar problem.
IRS would provide the COD relief to the students affected by the closure of schools or were the victims of some fraud.
39. 2020 Filing Season Opened On January 27
January 6, 2020– January 27, 2020 (Monday) had been set as the starting date for the 2020 tax season. It also marked the day the IRS would start accepting paper and electronic returns. Around 150 million individual taxpayers are expected to file taxes for the year 2019. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig encouraged electronic filing for quicker refunds.
40. IRS Releases Annual Report For 2019
January 6, 2020– IRS issued a 2019 annual report that constitutes a 41-page document providing an overview of the gross tax collected, services offered, and ongoing compliance sectors. IRS also shared progress reports, data about its workforce, strategic plan for the upcoming years, and implementation of new tax laws in this report.
Tax preparers can have a further look at the report IRS Form P5382 here.
41 .Discontinuation Of Accountex USA
January 3, 2020– Organizers of the accounting conference, Accountex, announced that it would no longer be held in the USA. Accountex had switched to trade show from a conference model from the year 2018. The meeting will take place in London and Manchester (UK) this year. The last Accountex USA conference was held in Boston, the USA, in 2019.
The Final Say
The above mentioned news is a short highlights of all the significant news that have occurred this year so far.
Did we miss any other significant news? Let us know in the comment section below.
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