Intuit ended tax season with TurboTax unit sales 4 percent higher than in the 2017. A 5-percent decline in desktop sales partially offset a 6-percent rise in online subscriptions, the company said this week.

Preliminary results show the number of returns processed through H&R Block stores and software rose this year. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company said there were 19.9 million returns handled this year, a 2.6-percent increase over fiscal 2017, but assisted returns continued to decline, although only slightly.

H&R Block has named Vinoo Vijay, who was most recently a TD Bank executive, as chief marketing officer. He fills the position left vacant when Kathy Collins left the tax services company in January.

The numbers ought to improve from the statistics reported by the Internal Revenue Service for the period ended April 13. After all, after the agency’s computer systems went down and came back up on Tuesday April 17, the IRS said 14 million returns had been filed by 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 18.

Liberty Tax has engaged Carr Riggs & Ingram as its outside auditor. The tax services company also said it has been notified that owing to appointments of two independent directors to its audit committee it is now in compliance with one Nasdaq Listing Rule, although it still needs to issue overdue quarter reports to be in compliance with another Nasdaq requirement.

The Internal Revenue Service reports all processing systems are working following a hardware issue on Tuesday, April 17, that halted several services. The agency says it accepted more than 14 million returns after what it described as a Tuesday morning problem.

The Internal Revenue Service has given taxpayers until midnight April 18 to file taxes. The IRS took the action because of computer outages on Tuesday, morning, April 17, but said it did not impact many taxpayers. Taxpayers do not need to take any action to receive the extension.

The Internal Revenue Service has experienced computer outages today. Web pages for eServices and DirectPay with Bank Account remained down in the late afternoon.

With the filing deadline this week, the filing gains for 2018 tax season fell back. For the reporting period ended April 6, the number of returns received and processed were up .1 percent from the period ended April 7, 2017. For the prior reporting period, those two categories were up .5 percent and .3 percent from the 2017 results.

 A prominent Florida CPA has been indicated on changes of tax evasion, failing to file tax returns and filing to turn payroll taxes over to the Internal Revenue Service. Miami-based accountant  Darryl Sharpton is accused of filing personal income tax returns from 200 through 2008 and in 2010 but failing to pay taxes.

A cash settlement of $3.5 million has been proposed in a class action suit brought by the Tea Party against the Internal Revenue Service. The litigation by the NorCal Tea Party Patriots was brought against the agency alleging the IRS discriminated and retaliated against certain group when they applied for tax-exempt status.

The State of Maryland has stopped accepting tax returns from 20 preparers in the last week. That brings the total to 74 who have submitted what the state says is a high volume of suspicious returns.

The number of refunds and amount of dollars issued to taxpayers through the tax season through March 30 remained down from totals through March 31, 2017.  Efiles by paid preparers also remained behind the 2017 season for the compared periods. But total returns received and processed have now shown an increase over a year ago for three consecutive weekly reports.

The state of Maryland has stopped processing electronic tax returns for 54 preparers during the current tax season. Comptroller Peter Franchot said late last month his office has blocked returns from 20 more tax preparers at 24 locations in Maryland, Virginia, Texas and California, in addition to 34 previously flagged.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance for a variety of issues stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These issues include transition tax on foreign earnings, business interest expense limitations and on withholding on the transfer of partnership interest by foreign persons.  

Amy Vetter, who has held key channel positions, has left Xero Americas to concentrate on her own business. Vetter announced the change in a LinkedIn post with her profile showing she left. the cloud software company in March.

Nonprofit software vendor Tangicloud Technologies has named Ron Bean as chief revenue officer. Bean was hired effective immediately to manage all revenue operations at the cloud product company.

Liberty Tax has hired Cory Hughes as VP of area development. A  franchisee of the tax services chain, Hughes was assistant VP of franchise operations for Liberty from 2006 through 2012. 

Most tax season categories measured by the Internal Revenue Service are ahead of the 2017 tax season. For the season through March 16, efiled returns prepared by professionals were .8 percent behind the year-ago season through March 17. However, that amount represented a continuing narrow over last year.

TaxAct has entered a partnership with Everlance, which markets an app to enable self-employed workers and small businesses to track mileage and expenses. Everlance is available for use by those who prepared returns via the TaxAct Professional suite.

Vertex has named Mike Bernard, who had a 28-year career at Microsoft, as its chief tax officer. He will replace Peggi Rockefeller, who is retiring after working at the transaction tax software company since 2012.

QuickBooks Online Accountant can now support clients who don’t use QuickBooks. Intuit said this week the cloud-based applications enables accounting professionals to manage those customers within the product.

Total returns submitted this tax year are running ahead of the same period in 2017. However, statistics from the Internal Revenue Service report the number of refunds issued for the season through March 8 fell further behind a year ago through March 9, 2017, although that was only a slight change.

Liberty Tax has announced it has received its third notice of failure to comply with Nasdaq Stock Market listing requirements. Two have been received for failure to file Form 10-Q and one for no longer having independent directors on its audit committee.

Intuit has established QuickBooks Accountant Apps Program. Under the new program, Intuit has selected applications that it says are highly recommended by accounting professionals, compatible with QB Online and supports single sign-on via QBO Accountant.

Liberty Tax has told the SEC it cannot file its financial results for the second quarter ended January 21 within the prescribed period. The tax services company had filed a similar notice of delay for the first quarter results.

Thomson Reuters has introduced a ProView iPhone app for use with eBooks. Thomson Reuters ProView for iPhone is available from the Apple App Store.

The Internal Revenue Service has reported that the number of returns it has received has surpassed last year’s totals for the first time. The IRS has received 61,150,000 returns through March 2, an increase of .1 percent from 61,063,000 through March 3, 2017.

Do-it-yourselfers provided the fuel as H&R Block reported a 3.4-percent rise over the tax season a year ago for returns filed through February 28. The company said recently the total for assisted returns was up .7 percent while the DIY total rose by 8.2 percent.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has introduced courses which focus on the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These include five self-study courses which enable attendees to work have their own pace and access online course materials.

Investment firm LNC Partners has acquired CrossLink Professional Tax Solutions, formerly Petz Enterprises, from the Petz family.  The company immediately announced development of CrossLink Online for professional tax preparers for the 2019 Tax Season Terms were not disclosed.

The number of tax returns received by the Internal Revenue Service remained .7 percent behind a year ago. But results  released this week continue to show improvement as statistics for the tax season through February 23 compared to those through February 24 a year ago.

The Internal Revenue Service has released an updated Withholding Calculator on IRS.gov. They agency has also issued  a new version of Form W-4 so taxpayers can check their 2018 tax withholdings under the new tax laws.

Deloitte & Touche has agreed to pay $149.5 million in its role auditing failed mortgage originator Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. TBW originated loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The government alleged the accounting firm knowingly deviated from applicable auditing standards.

Refunds for those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit should begin arriving soon. The Internal Revenue Service says many of these will be available in bank accounts or on debit cards this week.

Intuit registered strong revenue growth for the second quarter ended January 31. The company lost $20 million for the most recently ended period, compared to net income of $13 million a year earlier. But since the second quarter does not reflect much of tax season, it is typically not one of the strongest periods for the year.

H&R Block has named Tiffany Scalzitti Monroe as its new chief people officer, effective March 5. She will have responsibility for organizational and performance management, talent development and on- and off-boarding Block’s tax season workforce. 

Intuit says the number of TurboTax units shipped for the tax season through February 17, were 1-percent higher than in the 2017 tax season through February 18. If units shipped via the Free File Alliance—which dropped 12 percent—are not considered, the total is up 2 percent.

Two advisory councils in the Liberty Tax Service network have endorsed the hiring of three new executives by the tax services chain. The council's official statement noted that the new execs come out of the franchisee and area developer base.

Thomson Reuters says CEO Jim Smith is expected to be released from a hospital within the next two weeks. Smith was reported to be in stable condition in a Toronto, Ont., hospital, after suffering an arrhythmia incident on February 12.

A Las Vegas, Nev.-based tax return preparer has pleaded guilty to preparing returns that cheated the government out of more than $2.7 million. Ofelia Ronquillo, age 62, admitted using a variety of techniques to preparer and submit false returns from 2009 through 2015.

Bloomberg Tax has introduced Advantage, a suite of applications which focuses on tracking and managing projects and documents. Advantage also provides access to the company's Tax Fixed Assets, State Tax Analyzer and Sales Tax Rates.

Three Israel residents, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and an Israeli auditor and his Maryland accounting firm have been accused of fraud in creating numerous shall companies. About $2.1 million disgorgement and pre-judgment interest was assessed against the parties.

Automatic Data Processing has added a variety of resources about tax reform to its Accountant Connect dashboard. The payroll services company, working with Wolters Kluwer/CCH has recently made available onine courses and webcasts.

Blucora bounced back to the black for the year ended December 31. The parent of TaxAct, Blucora reported 2017 earnings of $27 million, a swing from a loss of $65.2 million in 2016 as revenue rose by 12 percent.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers of a scam in which erroneous refunds are deposited into their accounts. The agency also is providing detailed steps about how to return the funds.

Intuit next month will introduce a New QuickBooks Online Certification and Training Program. It will be introduced later in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom and introduces a July 31 completion date for all ProAdvisors.

Ross Manson has been named as the first innovation officer of Eide Bailly. Manson was previously partner-in-charge of the accounting firm's Fargo, N.D., office.

The Internal Revenue Service says it is reviewing tax legislation signed February 9. That bill retroactively extended and modified numerous tax provisions cover 2017

Accounting firms can offer HR advice via a Concierge service being offered through the new Gusto for Partners program. The new product is described as a set of tools that also enables firms to run payroll.

CPA John H. Nardozzi has been indicted for allegedly helping former Massachusetts State Senator claim millions of dollars of personal expenses as business expenses. Nardozzi, 62, was indicted on one count of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and eight counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns

Thomson Reuters is handing off operation of its problematic Financial and Risk Business. The company is selling a 55-percent majority share in the operation to fund manager Blackstone for about $17 billion in gross proceeds.

UHY Advisors has named eight employees as managing directors. The firm says the group represents one of the largest categories of leaders it has selected.

Accounting firm Sikich has promoted three individuals in its technology practice to partner. These include Lee House, who has been national sales for the technology group since June 2016. read more

Sageworks has launched ProfitCents University, a digital learning platform designed to enable CPAs and other accounting professionals build consulting practices. The platform moves users through a step-by-step transition from focusing on compliance services to higher-profit advisory work and value-added services.

Intuit is targeting the Latino community with a TurboTax marketing campaign. The effort kicked off with the phrase "No hay por que tener miedo".

This week starts the 2018 tax filing season. To say this is a year of change would be an understatement given the impact of the 2017 tax law. Preparers and clients are still grappling with the meaning of that regulation.

H&R Block is offering free applications for renewals of individual taxpayer identification numbers. The tax preparation services company says nearly a million taxpayers have ITIN numbers which have expired.

TaxAct Freelancer has been relesed to tailor tax preparation and filing for freelancers, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals. Among the features are Deduction Maixmizer, which enable taxpayers find deductions most relevant to their professions.

Bookkeeper360 has been named Xero's Platinum Partner of the Year for New America. It was one of several awards made to accounting and bookkeeping firms by the New Zealand-based cloud software company. 

A preparer who operated a tax business in Kansas City, Kan., has been sentenced to eight years in prison. Alfred Reece, 58, a former resident of Overland Park, Kan., has also been ordered to pay $648,442 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bloomberg Tax is in the middle of a series of eight webinars under the name, the "Implications of the 2017 Tax Act. Six of the webinars remain in the series which designed to examine issues of which tax professionals should be aware.

The Internal Revenue Service has appointed seven new members to the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council. The council is an organized public forum for IRS officials and public representatives to discuss issues in tax administration.

Liberty Tax is facing two issues in order to remain listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The first notice of noncompliance with the exchanges rules came after the company announced postponement of the release of financial results for the quarter ended October 31.

The Internal Revenue Service has released withholding tables that reflect changes for 2018 made by tax reform legislation. Employers should begin using these as soon as possible, but not later than February 15.

Members of the tax industry are warning that phishing emails are appearing in numbers as tax season approaches. The Internal Revenue Service, software companies and other parties say this continues last year's efforts to trick tax professionals into opening a link or attached document.

New user communities and a support chatbot has been introduced by Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting. The new tools are designed for users of CCH Axcess and ProSystem fx Suite.

Practice management features have been added to QuickBooks Online Accountant. These features include a mobile enabled-work dashboard in what the company termed is the “first set of practice management features.”

Intuit does not see a clear impact on its tax obligations from the reduction of the corporate tax rate. What it is not anticipating is a significant reduction in the amount of taxes paid as a result of tax reform.

Liscio, a Bloomington, Ind.-based software company has released FrontDesk, designed as a companion app to the company’s Liscio platform. FrontDesk supports tasks such as updating client demographic information or collecting signatures for engagement letters or document pick up.

Kathryn M. Collins, chief marketing and strategy officer for H&R Block, is leaving her job on January 17. The company, which drew a lot of attention with the “Get Your Taxes Won” marketing campaign last year, disclosed the change in a filing with the SEC.

The Internal Revenue Service has picked Monday, January 29, to begin accepting returns for this yea'rs tax season. However, the tax store chains, H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Liberty Tax, had already opened on January 1, starting to process returns seeking cash advances based on 2017 paystubs. This year’s federal deadline is Tuesday, April 17.

Sage will not hold its large conference, Summit this year. Instead, the software company intends to hold 10 regional meetings called Sage Sessions, which are listed as part of its Sage Summit Tour.

Reports have accused former Liberty Tax CEO John Hewitt of being overheard having sex in his office. Now a suit by a pension fund, claiming the executives behavior has violated his fiduciary duties to shareholders, claims Hewitt had romantic relationships with 10 employees.

The Internal Revenue Service has spelled out the conditions under which prepaying 2018 property taxes can be deductible for 2017 returns. The IRS said it has received questions about deductibility as taxpayers attempt to avoid caps for writing off state and local levies under the new tax law.

Paychex has introduced AccountantHQ, which enables accountants to access services through dashboards. Built on the Paychex Flex online platform, AccountantHQ offers access to resources such as Paychex client data and reporting.

The Internal Revenue Service is working to develop withholding guidance for the tax reform bill. It anticipates issuing initial guidance next month with employers and payroll providers encouraged to implement them in February.

AbacusNext has acquired Commecial Logic, its second buy in the practice management space. Earlier this year, the San Diego, Calif.-based company purchased OfficeTools.

Thomson Reuters has released a series of articles covering important issues in the final version of the "Tax Cuts & Jobs Act". These Thomson Reuters Federal Tax Updates cover more than 100 provisions.

BenefitMall, which offers employee benefits and payroll services, is being sold by one investment group to another. The Carlyle Group has agreed to purchase the Dallas, Texas-based company from Austin Ventures. Terms were not disclosed.

Xero has launched Xero +C for self-employed users. The release comes as products target to the self-employed have an important segment of the business software market. Rival Intuit has seen rapid growth for its QuickBooks Self-Employed.

The board of directors of Liberty Tax continues to churn following the board's September 5 firing of CEO and founder John Hewitt. On December 15, Steven Ibbotson, chair of the compensation committee submitted his resignation.

Liberty Tax, troubled by the firing of its CEO and resulting turmoil, has promoted 37-year-old Nicholas Bates to the position of CFO. He replaces Kathleen Donovan, who resigned in November despite being given a retention bonus after the company terminated CEO and founder John Hewitt in September.

Community Brands, which has expanded in the nonprofit market by acquisition, has secured three more target companies. The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based software vendor had purchased 501 Auctions and Gesture and has an agreement to acquire GiveSmart.

Arxis Technology, led by two CPAs well known in the profession, is becoming part of RKL eSolutions of Lancaster, Pa. Simi Valley, Calif.-based Arxis is led by David Cieslak and Bob Gaby. Cieslak is known for his presentations about technology under the name "Inspector Gadget."

Xero is introducing a credential, Xero Certified Migration, to help its channel demonstrate technology knowledge. The program was among a series of announcements at the cloud software company's recent Xerocon conference in Austin, Texas.

A new president has been named at nonprofit software vendor AccuFund. The promotion of Gordon Holfelder from VP to president comes as owner Peter Stam prepares to retire next month.

Taxpayers can once again create new accounts for Get Transcript Online. The Internal Revenue Service said recently it has resumed allowing the creation of new accounts and for other online tools protected by Secure Access authentication. Tools were expected to be available this week.

Liberty Tax has delayed its scheduled earnings release and conference call for the second quarter ended October 30. The conference call had been scheduled for today.

AccuFund has announced two personnel moves with Gordon Holfelder becoming president and Ian Scotland joining the company as GM and VP. Holfelder has been VP since the Needham, Mass-based nonprofit software company was formed in September 2001.

Intuit is acquiring TSheets, an Eagle, Idaho-based company, that markets time tracking software. The deal is expected to close in the quarter ending January 31 with the TSheets Time Capture application becoming a product handled by Intuit's Small Business and Self-Employed Group.

The Information Technology Alliance has enlisted several new members, including software reselling firms, software vendors and consulting firms. The ITA's membership encompasses technology professionals, consultants and product/service providers.

Accounting firm RSM has opened RSM Canada. Based in Toronto, the new organization has 37 partners and nearly 300 professionals. The firm is eying expansion beyond Toronto using RSM Canada offices in major metropolitan areas and alliances with firms in other markets.

TaxAct has entered an agreement for Taxaroo to provide practice management applications. Those applications include information collection, document storage, e-signature, and invoicing and payment.

Three Florida siblings tax preparers are targets of government effort to block them from operating tax businesses and to disgorge ill-gotten fees. The three are siblings of Walner Gachette, who operated Loan Buy Sell, a franchised chain that the Department of Justice succeeded in shutting down in 2014.

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CCH CPELink, a unit of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, is offering live federal tax update conferences next month. Along with those events in New York, N.Y., and Pittsburg, Pa., there are also new tax webinars available.

Compensation for four top Intuit executives dropped for the year ended July 31. Pay in three of four major compensation categories declined for each as stock and option awards, along with non-equity incentive compensation, all fell.

Cloud software vendor Gusto plans to expand its accountant program. It intends to do so with the recebt addition of Mike Triantos as head of partner development.

Tax professionals can earn credits for qualifying courses about data security and identity theft topics. The Internal Revenue Service said recently it has expanded its recognition for educaton credits from only courses covering federal tax preparation, federal tax updates, ethics and representation.

Rod Drury, CEO of cloud software vendor Xero, plans to sell 3 million shares in the New Zealand-based company. The deal is pending at $31.50 per share (New Zealand) and worth about $65 million.

Lack of funds remain a critical issue for the Internal Revenue Service, according to the annual report of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council. The conclusions concentrates on the impact of the highly publicized budget cuts for the agency, which the council says amount to about $1 billion since fiscal 2010.

Thomson Reuters has integrated its Accounting CS Payroll with SwipeClock. SwipeClock provides, cloud-based time and attendance products with the integration able to deliver an array of punch data automatically to the payroll package for processing.

AIS Solutions, a Canadian firm, has been named Intuit's 2017 Global Firm of the Future. The firm takes home a $25,000 cash prize after being selected by a panel of judges from four finalists.

Intuit is launching QuickBooks Capital, which is designed to give small businesses easier access to capital. Small business loans have been an important  topic since the company introduced the $100-million Intuit QuickBooks Fund in June 2015.

AbacusNext, which acquired practice management vendor OfficeTools in May, has purchased HotDocs. The acquired company's products can generate customized documents such as contracts, sales agreements, government forms and loan documentation. Terms were not disclosed.

Roger CPA Review has released its 2018 CPA Exam course materials. Incoming students can customize courses with any combination of 2017 and 2018 materials.

The Liberty Tax Area Developer and Advisory Council has voiced its support for the tax store chain. The vote of confidence follows the termination of CEO and founder John Hewitt in September by the company's board of directors.

Friedman+Huey, an accounting firm based in Homewood, Ill., has received the Taxologist award from Thomson Reuters. The award was given to the firm for what Thomson said was its mastery of, “the use of cloud technology to optimize tax workflow effectivenes"

Automatic Data Processing appears to have overwhelmingly defeated a slate of insurgent board candidates. The payroll company said this week that preliminary results showed 10 directors were re-elected while three Pershing Square nominees drew less than 20 percent of the vote.

Xero is bringing its Xero HQ to the United States. The platform debuted in September at the cloud software company's Xerocon conference in Melbourne, Australia.

The Internal Revenue Service will expand its test of a verification code for W-2 data during the upcoming tax season. The IRS described the measure as part of an initiative to verify the authenticity of Form W-2 data.

A former partner at PKF Pacific Hawaii has been sentenced to 20 years for stealing more than $400,000 from his firm. Oki was found guilty of ongoing theft through falsifying expenses to finance a lavish life style.

Intuit has hired Diego Rodriguez as EVP, chief product and design officer, a newly created position. Rodriguez will be responsible for Intuit's wide range of product management and design.

Blackbaud has reported net income rose to $12.5 million for the third quarter ended September 30, an increase of 40.4 percent from $8.9 million a year earlier. The nonprofit software vendor said revenue for the quarter reached $195.5 million, an increase of 6.8 percent from $183.1 million in last year's corresponding period.

Steve Blundell, who worked for Intuit for 20 years, has died. Blundell, age 71, died in September after a battle with cancer. A resident of Helena, Ala., he was a well-known figure in accounting firm technology for many years.

Timothy Harris, who operated two tax preparation businesses in Virginia, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison. Harris, age 49, must also pay $335,389 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

Three Palm Beach, Fla., area preparers have been barred from the tax preparation business. A federal court has ordered the preparers, Fred Pickett Jr., Jalisa Steele and Fred Pickett III, and their companies cannot prepare federal returns for others.

Sage Intacct has introduced the Sage Intacct Nonprofit Financial Board Book Powered by GuideStar. Built on the Intacct platform, the product offers best practices metrics and insight which GuideStar uses to demonstrate the financial health of nonprofit organizations.

Glass Lewis has recommended that shareholders vote for candidates seeking to oust incumbents on the board of directors of Automatic Data Processing. The proxy advisory firm urged shareholders vote next month for three candidates led by activist investor Bill Ackman.

Steps to deter identity theft involving Forms 1120 and 1041 have been formulated for the next tax season. The Internal Revenue Service will ask professionals to gather more information about business clients to help authenticate returns.

Intuit has added Enhanced Sales Order Fulfillment to the QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Accountant Edition. Also available on the Platinum Edition, the new capabilities are part of an Improved Advanced Inventory module.

Blackbaud has named Capital Business Solutions as its 2017 Channel Partner of the Year. The firm resells the Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT nonprofit accounting software and the Charleston, SC.-based vendor's Raiser's Edge NXT fundraising software.

The year-old Thomson Reuters Technology Center will be expanded, the company said this week. Thomson says the Toronto, Ont.-based center will have a new facility constructed. Thomson expects to commit more than $100 million through capital investments and a 12-year lease.

Phony insurance tax form e-services email scams are targeting professional tax preparers. The Internal Revenue Service warned recently attempts to access annuity and life insurance accounts and a renewed effort to con pros with purported e-services agreements.

Xero has automated account codes in its cloud accounting software. The company's artificial intelligence system will consider each individual business's characteristics, then recommend account codes to be used for each bill entered.

Payments provider Bill.com has received $100 million in financing, in a round, led by JPMorgan Chase and Temase. Lead investors in each previous round also participated, bringing the amount the cloud software company has raised to more than $200 million, Bill.com said.

Three New York City owners of tax preparation businesses have been indicted on charges they used stolen identity information to prepare federal tax returns. In unrelated cases, Hakeem Bamgbala, and Afolabi Ajelero, owner of Kaybamz , a tax preparation business in Brooklyn; and Oyeniyi Jaiyesimi, who operates a tax preparation business in Springfield Gardens, face trial on multiple counts of alleged wire fraud and identity theft.

Oracle NetSuite has signed Moss Adams as part of its reseller network. The Seattle, Wash.-based accounting firm has been part of the cloud software company's Business Process Outsourcing program, since 2015. It is the latest in Oracle NetSuite's ability to sign multi-office firms.

The American Institute of CPAs has hired Lakecia Foster Stickney as director of congressional and political affairs. She is responsible for representing the AICPA before Congress, the Administration and other major public policy organizations, and for implementing advocacy initiatives of the accounting profession.

Paychex began fiscal 2018 with what CEO Martin Mucci called a "solid" start. For its first quarter ended August 31, the payroll services company reported net income of $227.8 million, a 5-percent increase from $217.4 million in last year's corresponding period.

A 39-year-old Dallas, Texas, tax preparer, who was a fugitive for more than two years, had pled guilty to obstruction of justice. Shannon Tecoko Mays also faces a lengthy prison sentence because of his guilty plea to a February 2014 indictment that said he sought more than $6 million in refunds via bogus returns.

Jim McGinnis, a former Intuit executive, has joined the Tax and Accounting division of Wolters Kluwer. McGinnis takes on the job of EVP and GM of the medium and large segment for the business unit. He will report to the tax and accounting group's CEO Jason Marx.

Bloomberg BNA has released two accounting portfolios to help accounting professionals understand the new leasing standard. The portfolios provide-depth analysis and practical guidance to assist with the assessment and implementation phases of the new standard.

Mostad & Christensen has introduced the Mostad Marketing Cloud, a platform that provides written content for client communications to tax and accounting professionals. The product gives firms the ability to autopublish to their digital marketing channels.

Grant Thornton has named Karen Hudson as chief sales officer. Hudson will lead the firm's sales enablement center of excellence and oversee the business development team. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., she reports to Nichole Jordan, national managing partner of markets, clients and industry.

Two Broward County, Fla., preparers must pay slightly more than $2.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service. Luzcor Fertilien, 39, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and his former partner, David Joseph, 37, drew a two-year prison term in a scheme that the Justice Department said cost the government $1 million in lost taxes.

A tax preparer who worked at a Liberty Tax Service store and later at her own company has been barred from the taxreturn business. A Federal Court has issued the order against Dieasha Davis and her Detroit, Mich.-area business, the Tax Pioneer Co.

Thomson Reuters has released a Checkpoint special report on health plan reimbursement. The report is titled "Which Expenses Quality for Tax-Free Treatment Under a Health FSA, HRA, or HSA?", and discusses which expenses from these plans quality for reimbursement or tax-free distribution.

Online software vendor Gusto has introduced a Real Time R&D Tax Credit service. Using the new service, businesses can deduct the credit from their payroll immediately. Gusto notes that previously businesses had to wait until the end of each quarter to receive a refund.

QuickBooks firm Business Cents of Spokane, Wash., is one of four finalists for this year's selection of the Firm of the Future by Intuit. The firm, which provides QuickBooks consulting and training, payroll and bookkeeping services, was selected to represent the United States.

A federal court has barred a Louisiana tax preparer Angelina Adams aka Angelina Morris, and her firm,Angie's Tax Service. from preparing federal tax returns for others. The Justice Department said for tax years 2013 and 2014, Adams may have generated more than $10 million in bogus deductions for her clients.

The American Institute of CPAs has named Skip Braziel as VP of state regulatory and legislative affairs. He will work closely with state CPA societies, state boards of accountancy, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and elected state legislative and executive branch officials.

A Hawaii businessman, aided by his accountant, has been accused of failing to report more than $3 million of his firm's revenue. Assisted by accountant, Michael H. Higa, Wagdy A. Guirguis allegedly transferred assets to avoid an IRS assessment of about $812,000 on unpaid employment taxes for his engineering company GMP Associates and other businesses. 

RSM US has named 13 national industry leaders. The accounting and consulting firm also picked Milton Marcotte as national consulting representative to integrate consulting capabilities into RSM's focus industries and sectors.

Bloomberg BNA has introduced Tax Management Portfolios for several countries and regions. The releases includes include specific portfolios and a  new edition of Business Operations in the European Union – Regulatory, which complements the existing European Union Portfolio dealing with EU tax issues.

"With in-depth analysis and practical guidance from leading practitioners integrated with primary source material, practitioners can more effectively manage their international tax obligations," said George Farrah, Editorial Director, Bloomberg BNA's Tax & Accounting division.

Written by in-country experts, each portfolio covers a country's tax and business regulatory system. They are designed to help tax practitioners and investors gain clear and structured insight in read more

Community Brands has introduced a series of enhancements to Abila MIP Advance, a cloud-based version of MIP Fund Accounting software. Among the new features are interactive dashboards that can display charts and key performance indicators which can search down to individual transactions at the document level.

H&R Block has hired Jeffrey J. Jones II, age 49, as president and CEO-designate. Jones will take over the CEO role on October 9, a move made possible by the retirement of Bill Cobb from the position he had held for six years.

Payroll service provider Paychex has acquired HR Outsourcing Holdings. Rochester, N.Y.-based Paychex says HR Outsourcing, based in Charlotte, N.C., has about 140 employees who will be offered the opportunity to join Paychex. Terms were not disclosed.

Intuit has named Michelle Clatterbuck to take over the role of CFO on February 1. A long-term Intuit employee, Clatterbuck will replace Neil Williams, who is retiring at the end of January. Williams has served in that position since January 2008 when he joined the software company.

Avalara has hired Greg Stivers as the sales tax company's first SVP of sales. Stivers comes to Avalara from Concur, where he worked as SVP of client development from July 2014 until joining Avalara job this month. The position is a new one for the software company.

KPMG has agreed to pay more than $6 million in disgorgement, interest and civil money penalties for its role in the audit of a now bankrupt energy business. The Securities and Exchange Commission also slammed the firm for utilizing a partner with no experience with oil and gas companies given the high risk of its work with the former Miller Energy.

ADP says that 8,000 accounting firms have adopted its Accountant Connect dashboard. Announced in February, Accountant Connect is designed to provide accountants with a single view of payroll reports and tools. The total was disclosed during ADP's recent webcast for earnings for the year ended June 30.

ADP has rejected a bid by Pershing Square Capital Management to take control of the payroll services company board. ADP says that Pershing, led by activist investor William Ackman, approached it on August 1. The investment firm seeks to elect five to the board of directors and to replace CEO Carlos Rodriquez.

A phishing email scam is targeting tax professionals by purporting to be from tax software companies. Messages in the latest the phishing attack contain subject line of "Software Support Update" and highlights the topic as "Important Software System Upgrade".

A Louisiana preparer has pleaded guilty to four counts of preparing fraudulent tax returns. Shawanda Nevers, 49, pleaded guilty to filing bogus returns between 2011 and 2016 even though a court banned her from preparing federal returns in 2014. She owes the Internal Revenue Service almost $7 million.

The Internal Revenue Service Office of Appeals expects to begin testing a web-based virtual conference option next week. The web option is designed for taxpayers and their representatives who are not located near an IRS Appeals office.

CliftonLarsonAllen will use MoneyGuidePro, a financial planning software package, for providing services to existing and new clients. The application from PIEtech will be used in three CLA business lines wealth advisory, outsourcing and audit, tax and consulting offering financial planning and investment advisory services through CLA Wealth Advisors.

Thomson Reuters has added discussion of business combinations to Checkpoint Catalyst: U.S. GAAP. The content incorporates analysis of Topic 805, Business Combinations of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, the authoritative accounting and reporting guide for business combinations under U.S. GAAP.

FreshBooks, which markets cloud accounting software, has raised $43 million in Series B Funding. The company expects to invest the funds to support North American growth and to support development of its latest product, launched in September.

Multi-office accounting firms continue to move into the cloud accounting space. The latest is Richmond, Va.-based Cherry Bekaert which has established an ERP consulting practice for the web-based application. That follows NetSuite's signing WithumSmith+Brown of Red Bank, N.J., in March.

Bloomberg BNA has launched a Pass-Through Entity Navigator, which provides state-by-state analysis and practical guidance for each type of pass-through entity and pass-through entity owner. Available to subscribers of Bloomberg BNA's Tax & Accounting State Tax research service, the analysis is also accessible through customizable state comparison charts.

Two Broward County, Fla., tax preparers have pleaded guilty to using stolen identities to file tax returns. Luczor Fertilien, 39, and David Joseph, 37, who owned two tax preparation businesses in Lauderhill, Fla., cost the government more than $550,000 in lost taxes by their actions.

Thomson Reuters has established a laboratory facility to assist startups in developing products based on emerging technologies. Called Thomson Reuters Labs–The Incubator, the Switzerland-based site will host early-stage entrepreneurs and give them access to Thomson executives as mentors through a six-month program.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched an education campaign, which alerts tax professionals to the dangers of email scams. The agency receives three to five data theft reports weekly from tax practitioners and says 177 tax professionals or firms reported client data thefts from January through May.

A North Carolina man, who allegedly did not identify himself as a paid prepared on client tax returns, has been indicted on several charges. Hassie Demond Nowlin of Greensboro, N.C., has been charged with corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue Service, preparing and filing fraudulent tax returns, bankruptcy fraud and making false bankruptcy declarations.

The Internal Revenue Service has reopened its Preparer Tax Identification Number system. The agency closed the PTIN operation after a United States District Court decided on June 1 that the IRS can require use of the numbers but has no legal right to charge fees for issuing or renewing PTINs.

Tax preparers are receiving phishing emails purporting to originate from a tax software education provider in the United States. The Internal Revenue Service said recently the latest communication seeks a wide range of information, including e-Services logons and preparers' mothers' maiden names.

Cloud software vendors Aplos Software and Portalbuzz have merged. Operating under the Aplos name, the company will focus on developing front- and back-office products for nonprofit organizations.

J. Heffy Provost, EVO of Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting, North America, has left that company to take a position of CEO of AgData. Based in Charlotte, N.C., AgData provides data and analytical products to agricultural crop protection and animal health manufacturers.

Sageworks has released a publication Tech Roadmap: Selecting the Ideal Solutions to Thrive in Business Advising. The book features 11 accounting and business leaders who provide advice to prepare firms to select technology products.

The American Institute of CPAs and its for-profit subsidiary CPA.com will provide up to $20,000 in funding to five start-up companies. The winners will be early-stage companies that enter the selection process for the CPA.Com Startup Accelerator program.

The Internal Revenue Service has added several features to online accounts for individual taxpayers, including the ability to view up to 18 months of tax payment history. They can also see payoff amounts and tax balances due for each tax year via the accounts. 

Sage has agreed to sell its North American payments business to private equity firm GTCR. The latter company has agreed to pay $260 million for Sage Payment Solutions, which generates about $150 million in revenue. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, the companies said recently.

eFileCabinet has released an update to SideKick, an instant access icon it introduced last year. The tool was developed to eliminate the need for users to toggle back and forth between programs when using eFileCabinet, a document management system.

BDO International Ltd. has named Keith Farlinger as CEO. Effective November 1, he will succeed Martin van Roekel. Farlinger is the former CEO of BDO Canada and currently serves as CEO of the Americas region on the BDO Global Leadership Team.

A Middletown, Del.-based accountant has been accused of embezzling almost $3 million from a trust. An indictment this month accused Donald Rice, age 54, of wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and tax offenses, for allegedly taking the money from the trust  for personal uses, including purchase of a luxury vehicle.

Intuit will support multiple CRM software applications to work with QuickBooks Online. The decision is a break from the past practice of support a small number of third-party CRM software products and is in line with Intuit's move toward a more open platform.

Thomson Reuters has launched a certificate program for accounting professionals who want to learn more about small businesses. The curriculum for the Checkpoint Learning Small Business Start-Up Certificate Program explores a variety of start-up concerns such as writing business plan, new business financing options, entity comparisons and fraud prevention.

The Internal Revenue Service has suspended the issuance and renewal of Preparer Tax Identification Numbers. The action follows a recent decision by United States District Court for the District of Columbia which said the IRS had the authority to require the use of PTINs, but not to charge user fees for issuing or renewing them.

Taxpayers who request letter rulings, closing agreements and certain other rulings from the Internal Revenue Service must utilize the government's Pay.gov starting this summer. The requirement replaces the ability to pay these fees via check and money order.

OfficeTools, which markets practice management and workflow applications, has been acquired by AbacusNext. The purchase of OfficeTools by San Diego, Calif.-based AbacusNext is the latest move by the organization to expand into the accounting firm marketplace.

A tax preparer who earned more than $100,000 while claiming he was permanently disabled has been ordered to pay the state of Ohio $57,000 in restitution.  Fernando Cruz of Maineville, Warren County, Ohio, was found guilty of worker's compensation fraud.

Duncan Ritchie, Xero's chief product and platform officer, has taken an extended lead from the cloud software company. The New Zealand-based company says his responsibilities for its small business products have been given to Tony Stewart, the chief data officer.

Liberty Tax has hired Edward L. Brunot as chief operating officer effective June 1. His appointment follows a tax season in which the number of returns dropped 16.4 percent from the 2016 season. Also during the last year, Liberty has continued to be hurt by fraud reported at some Baltimore, Md., store operators in 2016 which hampered the effort to recruit franchisees.

Thomson Reuters has introduced Checkpoint Marketing for Firms Emerging Tax and Regulation Alerts. The alerts are designed to enable accounting firms to provide clients with information about new and proposed tax legislation and regulatory changes.

Bill Cobb, the CEO of H&R Block will leave the tax services company on July 31. He will by replaced by general counsel and chief administrative officer, Tom Gerke, who will serve as interim president and CEO. The board of directors will consider both internal and external candidates.

A former police sergeant has pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from the accounts of disabled veterans. Glenn P. Pearson, 61, who served on the police force in Whitman, Mass., also admitted to preparing phony returns for his tax preparation clients that cost the government more than $1.5 million.

Thomson Reuters has released a special report, "Creating a Learning Vision for Your Firm." The Checkpoint publication examines how accounting firms prioritize learning programs to help attract and retain talent.

Wolters Kluwer says the company is on track for strong growth from its tax and accounting business for the first half ended June 30. The statement was made recently in the company's trading update for the first quarter.

An examination has become available to enable individuals to qualify for the new Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations credential. The credential is available from the the American Institute of CPAs, the American Society of Appraisers or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

A North Carolina tax preparer has received an 11-year sentence for preparing fraudulent returns and training others to do that same. Herbert Lee Martin of Rockingham, N.C., must also serve three years of supervised release and pay $10,605,420 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

A Bronx, N.Y.-based attorney has been sentenced to two years in prison for filing thousands of bogus tax returns. William Doonan was found to have claimed more than $6 million in bogus deductions for clients of his tax return business.

Revenue for the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters reached $417 million for the first quarter ended March 31. That was an increase of 6 percent before currency from $389 million a year earlier with the Professional segment leading the way with 13-percent growth.

Jeff Gramlich, who has held executive jobs with the industry's top software companies, has joined Validis. As VP of business development, Gramlich is responsible for expanding the accounting market for the London, United Kingdom-based software company. He previously served as a consultant to the company.

The Internal Revenue Service is accepting nominations for the IRS Advisory Council. The council provides a forum for IRS officials and representatives of the public to discuss federal tax administration issues. Committee members submit report to the IRS commissioner each year.

Ray Barlow, who  lead Sage's accountant program, has joined XCM Services of Quincy, Mass., as SVP. In his new position, he is responsible for Xpitax Accounting and Tax outsourcing services. Barlow was VP of accountant solutions at Sage from August 2015 through this month.

A scheme that caused the Internal Revenue Service to pay more than $9 million in undeserved refunds has netted a California prepare 120 months in prison. Pollock Pines, Calif.-based Teresa Marty, 57-years old, must also serve two years of supervised release and repay the IRS slightly more than $9.5 million. Marty and others pleaded guilty in a case in which they were identified as tax defiers.

The Department of Justice wants to shut down a Florida tax preparer, who it alleges had errors in nearly two thirds of the returns examined. The agency seeks to bar Lena Cotton of Wellington, Fla., and her business, Professional Accounting, from preparing federal returns for users and asks she be ordered to disgorge money made from preparing the returns.

A series to help organizations prepare for sweeping tax and regulatory policy changes has been launched by Bloomberg BNA and Grant Thornton. Called “The Future Ready Business: Washington Impact," the series combines BNA’s research and tax and legal news knowledge with the accounting firm’s business-advisory capabilities.

The decline in the number of returns received by the Internal Revenue Service this year led to a drop in income at Republic Bancorp for the first quarter ended March 31.

The California Society of CPAs was among nine organizations recently recognized for their implementation and use of Abila software. The Abila Excellence Award was presented to those organizations at the Austin, Texas-based company's Abila User and Developer Conference.

Tax season 2017 took a step backward as it went into the last weekend. After a season marked by week-by-week improvement, most figures from the Internal Revenue Service for the season through April 14 fell behind the corresponding period ended April 15, 2016.

Drake Software this week starts its annual seminar series. Held at more than 100 cities across the United States, the events are designed to introduce prospective customers to the Franklin, N.C.-based software company's products.

The Internal Revenue Service is accepting nominations for members on the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee. Written nominations to three-year terms must be received on or before May 21.

Abila has selected five resellers as members of its 2017 President’s Circle. The Austin, Texas-based nonprofit software vendor honored the group at the Abila User and Developer Conference recently, including CPA firm Wiplfi.

If this year's tax season is going to show growth in filings, it will probably be after the filing deadline. That is what happened in 2016 when each week's report lagged the 2015 results until the report for the season through April 22, 2016 when every statistical category showed growth.

The updated version of the Uniform CPA Examination was launched on April 1. The exam is described as providing an additional assessment of higher-order cognitive skills to test a candidate's critical thinking, problem solving and analytical ability. It also features greater use of task-based simulations to assess those skills.

It's becoming difficult to find new ways of describing the weekly tax season results released by the Internal Revenue Service. For the season through March 31, results, except for the size of refunds, again remained behind the year ago season through April 1.

Several practitioner organizations and firms have recommended changes they say are necessary to improve Internal Revenue Services. The nine groups say an improved governance and oversight structure of the IRS to reverse what they say is an unacceptable level of service to consumes and preparers.

The 2017 tax season continued its pattern of reducing the gap with last year's results. And for the season through March 17, the number of returns received by the Internal Revenue Service were down 5.5 percent year ago from results through March 18, 2016. That was an improvement from the season through March 11 when returns filed were 6.8 percent from 2016 totals.

A Kansas City, Kan., area tax preparer have been accused of utilizing S corporations to file fraudulent tax returns. The government wants to shut down the tax business Everett Bias and his company Integrity Solutions Tax Consultants for a variety of alleged abuses, saying 117 of 130 returns examined had abuses.

Each week in tax season so far has produced an improvement in filing results. The statistics the Internal Revenue Service released for the season through March 10 followed the same pattern with total returns received now 6.8 percent behind last year's comparable period ending March 11, a improvement of 1.5 percentage points.

Nonprofit software vendor AccuFund has scheduled its first national user conference. The AccuFund Summit for Nonprofits & Government, Ascending to New Heights, will be held from October 23 through October 25 in Centennial, Colo. Users will be able to select session from three tracks: reporting, application and technology.

Canopy, which markets practice management applications, has raised $20 million in Series B financing. The latest round brings the total funding raised by the Lehi, Utah-based company to $30 million.

The Internal Revenue Services is asking for nominations of individuals to serve on the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee. The three individuals selected will begin three-year terms in September. Applications are being accepted through April 27.

A Longwood, Fla.-based tax preparer has been ordered to repay $949,952.47 he received in preparing fraudulent tax returns. A federal court in also barred Jason Stinson from the tax preparation business for charing as much as $999 for preparing returns without informing clients.

H&R Block says it performed better than the rest of the market during the first half of the tax season. In releasing results for its third quarter ended January 31, the company this week reported a 7-percent decline in efiles for the season through February 24, compared to an overall drop of 10 percent reported by the Internal Revenue Service for the same period.

Wolters Kluwer has reached an agreement to acquire Tagetik for about $317 million in cash. When the deal is complete, Wolters Kluwer will bring Tagetik together with its corporate products, including TeamMate, in a new unit, Corporate Performance Solutions.

Bonnie McWilliams Nagayama, who was well-known in the QuickBooks community, has passed away. President of the CPA firm McWilliams & Associates, Nagayama was described on Intuit's Firm of the Future website as "one of the elite few members of the Intuit Trainer/Writer Network." She founded her firm in October 1992.

Avalara, which markets cloud-based sales tax applications, will hold its second Crush conference in Austin, Texas, on May 2 and 3. The company says attendees will include accounting professionals and financial executives.

RKL has named four partners to service line leadership position. CEO Edward W. Monborne says the recent move was part of the strategy outlined in the Lancaster, Pa.-based firm's 2020 strategic plan.

The 2017 tax season remained behind 2016 levels. But the gap from last years' statistics continued to narrow and the average refund grew slightly according to the Internal Revenue Service which issued its report for the season through February 24.

Intuit this week said the number of efiled TurboTax units for the tax season through February 20 was down by 10 percent. But that was still better than the market has shown for both self-prepared efiles and total efiles.

Abacus Next, which provides software for legal professionals, has entered the CPA market with the purchase of Cloudnine Realtime and Results Software. Cloudnine hosts applications such as those from Intuit, Sage and Microsoft while Results produces CRM packages for QuickBooks users.

Revenue for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting rose 4 percent for the year ended December 31. Operating profits for the unit increased by 1 percent as the company this week reported solid contributions from on-premise and cloud-based software, but a decline in research and learning income.

Scammers are impersonating software providers in the latest scam aimed at procuring information from tax professionals. The Internal Revenue Service and state agencies are warning of an email that claims preparer software accounts have been suspended.

Tax return filing continues to lag the 2016 season. But the total number of returns for the period through February 12 narrowed from the gap for the two earlier periods reported by the Internal Revenue Service. The number of returns received for the recent period were down 17.2 percent over the period ended Feb. 10, 2016.

Intuit has introduced a new Find-a-ProAdvisor marketplace. The software company described as a "completely redesigned customer search experience" that is available on websites for Australia, Canada, India, United Kingdom and United States.

Thomson Reuters has issued a report which addresses challenges facing the profession in areas of quality, innovation, talent and relevance. The report concludes CPAs must provide reimagined audit services that reflect the impact of technology.

CohnReznick has promoted 12 staff members to partner effective this month. The New York, N.Y.-based accounting firm selected the new partners from a wide range of practice areas, including tax and industry practices in offices in Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

Cloud-based accounting software vendor Wave has signed an agreement to provide business loans and lines of credit through OnDeck. Under the name "Lending by Wave" the program will be available to Wave customers in the United States and Canada.

Semere Tsehaye, who owned at last 20 Instant Tax Service stores in three states, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison. Tsehaye, age 39, was convicted on two counts of tax evasion in October for understating income from two tax businesses that operated his ITS locations.

Tax season slumped in its initial period as the total number returns filed for the week ended February 3 plunged by 24.3 percent compared to the week ended February 5 a year ago. Numbers dropped for self-prepared returns by 20.8 percent received but were down 29.2 percent for those filed by tax professionals.

Intuit has launched a marketing campaign for the Latino community. Under the Spanish title, "Relájate, Tienes TurboTax," (Relax, There's TurboTax) has Spanish language television spots featuring actress Karla Souza and retired baseball player David Ortiz to demonstrate the features and capabilities of the company's tax preparation software.

Abila has extended its Client Success Services to serve associations that use its nonprofit software products. The Austin, Texas-based company says the services are designed for users of Abila netForum Enterprise and netForum Pro.

Taxing authorities says that a scam aimed at obtaining employee W-2s emails from the corporate world has spread to other sector,s including school districts, tribal organizations and nonprofits. The email-based phishing is also being combined with an older wire transfer scheme.

An Atlanta, Ga.-based tax preparer has been sentenced to 150 months in prison for filing fraudulent returns that claimed more than $20 million in refunds. Cheryl Singleton, age 29, who owned and operated Advanced Tax Services, used a variety of tools to increase client refunds, along with stealing identities.

Taxpayers who utilize the Internal Revenue Service's Free File program can now use smart phones and tables to prepare and file federal and state tax returns. The IRS and companies which offer use of their software for free have implemented a design that supports desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets.

A former Queens, N.Y., tax preparer has pleaded guilty to using a variety of bogus deductions to inflate client tax returns. Vanya Thompson, 39, who operated tax businesses under a variety of names, admitted falsifying items on returns, which the Depature of Justice said produced a tax loss of $250,000.

Frazier & Deeter, an Atlanta, Ga.-based CPA firm has named three partners. The firm named Jennifer Gruner, a tax partner, and Jodi Prevost, an audit partner, both based in Atlanta, and Brandon Sherman, partner in the process, risk and governance practice in Nashville, Tenn.

Thomson Reuters is making its Interactive Practice aids are being incorporated into Checkpoint PPC Tax Deskbooks. Practice Aids can be accessed from inside Checkpoint and saved to a Checkpoint folder. They can also be exported.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning of an email in which scammers use corporate officers' names to request W-2 forms and personnal information about employees. The IRS says this is the second time this particular phishing expedition has been seen.

Armanino has named two audit and three tax partners effective this month. The new partners are based in five California offices. The five are Michael Boulton, Stacie Kowalczyk, Tony Lam, Min Riblett and Sergio Salas.

Xero has named Graham Smith as its chair. The executive replaces Chris Liddell, who resigned to join the administration of president Donald Trump. Liddell told the New Zealand-based company that accepting the job required him to resign the position he has held for three years.

Robert D. Oros has been named CEO of H.D. Vest. He takes over the job on February 28 when Roger Ochs steps down. Blucora, which owns H.D. Vest, also this month hired a Sanjay Baskaran as the new president for its other business segment, TaxAct.

TaxAct can now connect its software customers with tax professionals. The capability has been added through integration with Taxfyle, a tax and accounting marketplace.  Similarly, H&R Block has introduced TaxEdge, to link users of Everlance and Hudir, which provide tracking and reporting income and expenses for freelancers, with Block preparrs.

The Personal Financial Planning Body of Knowledge has been updated by the American Institute of CPAs. The new publication provides guidance and clarity on the competencies and information that CPAs who provide financial planning services need to know. The AICPA also plans to release a Global Personal Financial Planning Body of Knowledge this year.

H&R Block says the number of Block Advisors offices reached 347, up 21 percent, over the first year of operation. The offices, which provide tax services, are also offering outsourced accounting through the use of Xero under an agreement reached in December to enable Block Advisors to use the cloud-based software.

Serenic Software, which markets accounting software for nonprofit organizations, has absorbed Bellamy Software. Both companies are owned by Sylogist, a publicly held Canadian business.

Tax agencies are warning professionals about scam emails from people posing as clients soliciting their services. Accounting and tax preparation firms are being solicited nationally in an attempt to collect information for preparing fake returns.

Tangicloud for NFPs has been introduced to provide cloud-based fund accounting software. The application, available in three editions, is based on Microsoft's Dynamics NAV accounting software.

A new credential in valuation is being offered by American Institute of CPAs, American Society of Appraisers and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations credential is designed for those who determine fair value measurement results for company financial statements for entity and intangible asset valuations.

A Toms River, N.J.-based tax preparer has been sentenced to 37 months in prison pocketing refunds she sought without her client's permission. Doreen Gentile has also been ordered to pay $1,863,013 in restitution. She also admitted failing to pay taxes for her business from 2006 through 2009.

CohnReznick has named Robert G. Hilbert as partner and national director of accounting. Hilbert has 25 years of experience providing technical guidance on accounting and auditing issues. He joined the firm in November from EisnerAmper where he was a partner from November 2011 through November 2016.

An El Cajon, Calif.-based tax preparer has pleaded guilty to preparing returns that cheated the Internal Revenue Service of more than $1.2 million. Marla Cunningham, age 50, ower of Cunningham's Tax Service admitted to preparing bogus returns between 2008 and 2010.

Continuing its efforts with self-employed individuals, Intuit has introduced TurboTax Self Employed. The new application integrates with QuickBooks Self-Employed which provides expense tracking.

Credit Karma, known for its credit score services, has launched Credit Karma Tax, an online tax preparation service. The company describes the service as providing always-free federal and state tax preparation and efiling.

Ethan Bach has been named managing partner of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause's national consulting practice effective June 1. Based in the firm's Chicago, Ill., headquarters, Bach is currently principal and leader of the firm's management and business technology consulting team.

Intuit has established a platform to enable developers to write applications on top of TurboTax Online. It is the first time the software company has given developers access to its consumer tax preparation product in order to create other applications.

Hitendral Patil has joined the software company AccountantsWorld as director of practice development. He joined the Hauppauge, N.Y.-based company after serving in management with outsourcer Pransform. Patil's LinkedIn profile shows he moved into the new job this month.

The mileage rates used to calculate deductible costs for operating automobiles for business, medical and moving purposes will drop next year. The Internal Revenue Service has issued the rates for those purposes and for miles driven in service of charitable organizations beginning January 1.

Tenenz, which offers online marketing tools and tax and accounting products, has launched a tax-theme client video service. Each TaxVid client video provides a one- to three-minute summary of a common tax topic, branded with the accounting firm's logo and contact information.

Tax season will begin on January 23 when the Internal Revenue Service begins accepting electronic returns and processing paper ones. The IRS expects more than 153 million individual tax returns to be filed this year. They are due on or before April 18.

Deltek, which markets software to a variety of professional services, is being acquired by Roper International. Roper will buy the company from investment firm Thoma Bravo for $2.8 billion in a deal expected to close by the end of the year. Deltek will continue to operate under its own name and management.

Blucora has reached an agreement with online portfolio advisor Financial Guard to serve TaxAct customers. Under the terms of the deal, TaxAct customers can access an advisory platform that provides portfolio management investment needs such as retirement. The platform will be available during tax season.

Xero has revamped its Advisor Directory. The cloud-based software company says the directory takes advantage of the company's move to the AWS platform and utilizes a chatbot to connect small businesses to advisors via social media.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched an online application to assist taxpayers with balance inquiries. Available on IRS.gov, the tool enables them to view account balances, will include amounts they owe for tax, penalties and interest.

A tax preparer based in Stillwell, Kan., has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for using stolen client identities to obtain income tax refunds. Richard Drake was convicted of using the IDs to receive more than $2 million in refunds in clients' names, which he deposited into his own accounts.

Intuit's non-equity incentive plan boosted compensation for most of Intuit's named executives by double digits for the year ended July 31. CEO Brad Smith had the sharpest increase from that plan, a 60-percent increase that pushed his total compensation 17.3 percent higher than in fiscal 2015.

A new search method from Thomson Reuters is designed to provide shortcuts to obtaining answer on commonly searched federal tax topics within Checkpoint. The new feature, Answer Path, simplifies such searches, according to Steve Mendelsohn, managing director of Knowledge Solutions at the company.

A federal court has barred Walner Gachette, the franchisor for the former LBS Tax Services chain, from preparing tax returns for others. A $5-million judgment was also entered against the man who ran the nation's fourth-largest tax store chain until it was shut down by federal action for pervasive fraud and charging some customers $999 for preparing an individual tax return.

Boulay, a Eden Prairie, Minn-based CPA firm, has received the Intelligence Award from software vendor Deltek. The 170-person firm received the honor at Deltek Insight 2016, the company's annual user conference as part of its Project Excellence Awards program.

The Internal Revenue Service has warned tax professionals of a new scam aimed at them. The agency says professionals who use e-services are receiving emails asking them to update their accounts and directing them to a fake website.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has reported organic revenue growth 3 percent for the nine months end September 30. The company attributed the improvement to the continuing shift towards the use of software. Overall, Wolters Kluwer said revenue was up 2 percent before currency and also up 2 percent after the impact of currency exchange.

An attorney who operated a tax preparation business in the Bronx, N.Y., has pleaded guilty to charges he prepared returns that claimed more than $6 million in bogus deductions. William Doonan, 69, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.

The Tax & Accounting Business of Thomson Reuters resumed its growth path in the third quarter ended September 30. In the second quarter, the unit saw a 13-percent drop in operating profit on a 1-percent increase in revenue. But with the third quarter, operating profit was up 15 percent, 10 percent before currency, with revenue rising 5 percent, 6 percent before currency.

Document management company eFilecabinet has named Jesse Wood as its new CEO. He replaces interim CEO Benoy Tamang, who served in the leadership position from April when he replaced Matt Peterson. 

Intuit and Google are collaborating on applications that integrate the G Suite—formerly called Google Apps for Work—with QuickBooks Online. The first releases for QBO include Google Calendar and Single Sign On, available through the G Suite Marketplace.

The CCH Axcess Portal has been given a client new interface, CCH Client Axcess. Rewritten using HTML5 and principles of responsive design the features are similar to the client-facing ones in the Microsoft Silverlight version of Client Axcess Portal, Wolters Kluwer says.

A federal court has ordered the owner of a Liberty Tax Service franchise in Columbia, S.C., to stop preparing federal tax returns for others. Christopher Paul Haynes, who operated three Liberty stores in the Columbia area, and was accused of filing bogus claims for the Earned Income Tax Credit and also engaging in fee gouging and using phony Preparer Tax Identification Numbers.

The Fourth Annual Accounting Firms Open and Annual Technology Survey has been launched. Besides asking for input on current practices, authors Randy Johnston and Leslie Garrett say besides compiling that data, they will publish a three-year analysis of accounting firm software application usage based on the past surveys.

Abila has added a redesigned reporting engine to its MIP Fund Accounting and MIP Advance applications. The company calls the reporting engine for its nonprofit applications intuitive. Abila said the engine is backed by a report queue intended for quick viewing, searching, and downloading of reports within the web-based MIP Advance user interface.

An Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation special agent has been indicted for filing false income tax returns. A CPA, the former agent Alena Aleykina is also accused of falsifying information to obstruct an IRS investigation of allegations she used bogus information on behalf of two trusts and  destroyed evidence on a government computer.

Most CPA firms have experienced increases in revenue over their most recent fiscal year. That is the finding of the 2016 National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs. The survey derived its findings from information gathered from May through June from 1,537 CPA firms about their latest financial year results.

Intuit has integrated QuickBooks Online Accountant with its ProConnect Tax Online and QuickBooks Self-Employed software. The integration is another step in establishing QuickBooks Online as a platform for applications for tax and accounting firms.

Blucora, which owns the TaxAct software line, has named Pamela Turay as chief human resources officer. Turay was previously SVP for tax services chain Jackson Hewitt. She began her new job on October 3.

Videos of seminars held at 2016 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums are now available, the Internal Revenue said this week. More than a half-dozen self-study seminars are now ready for practitioners to view and earn continuing education credits from the videos filmed at the three-day events.

Nonprofit software vendor Blackbaud has hired presidents of two groups that address key vertical markets. The Charleston, S.C.-based company has picked Tim Hill, as president of its Higher Education Solutions group and, Russ Cobb, as president of its Healthcare Solutions group.

A Glenn Mll, Pa.-based CPA has been on four counts of bank fraud. Horrow,zΩwho owned the accounting firms, Horrow and Associates accused of helping a client acquire $13 million in mortgage funding by providing clients with tax returns with inflated income.

A CPA based in Spokane, Wash., has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for filing bogus corporate income tax returns. Roger Stadtmueller, who owned Stadtmueller & Associates, must also pay $400,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for understating income for his firm's parent company, by roughly $1.8 million for corporate returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Nonprofit software vendor AccuFund has set dates for user group meeting. The Needham, Mass.-based company has set dates for the meetings between November 10 and December 2. The company says topics will include updates to AccuFund's current version, plans for the next version and year-end changes expected for this year.

The Internal Revenue Service has selected four collectors to implement the private collection of federal taxes next spring. The program is designed to handle accounts that the IRS is not actively working for a variety of reasons, including the fact they are older or because of because of a lack agency resources.

A Long Beach, Calif.-based tax preparer has pleaded guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from group homes for teenage boys. In two separate cases, Gary Batchelor, 64, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and one felony count of filing a false tax return in his role, stemming from his role as an executive with the nonprofit group.

A Cranston, R.I.-based tax preparer has pleaded guilty to using stolen identifies to receive more than 100 government checks in the amount of $800,700 and deposit them into her personal bank account. The preparer, Belkis M. Guzman, 48, pleaded to aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, wire fraud, theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft.

Xero will roll out a new global Partner Program in November along with Xero HQ, which the web-based software company calls an open practice platform. The changes accompany the new Xero certification process and the ability to earn points by adding clients, which will give them the opportunity to grow more quickly.

A program from H&R Block designed to provide buy accounting firms or enable them to become franchise operations has ended. And last month, Jennifer Katrulya, whose organization was an important part of the program, left Block.

Software veteran Julie Lubetkin has joined sales tax vendor Avalara as VP of marketing, channels and partnership. Lubetkin, who joined Seattle, Wash.-based Avalara, held a position with the same title at Bill.com from 2013 through 2016.

The Internal Revenue Service has named 16 individuals to serve on Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee. The IRS appointed regulators, vendor representatives, consultants and members of industry associations as it reiterated its call for additional candidates for one, two and three-year terms. Applications were being accepted through September 19.

Jerry Connor, who worked at CCH/Wolters Kluwer for 24 years, has joined Sage as product evangelist. Conner's recent job change was shown this week on his LinkedIN profile, which says he will be working with products such as Sage Live and Sage View for Accountants.

Intuit has a new leader for its Accountant Segment. The company said this week that Rich Preece will take over the position held by VP Jim McGinnis. McGinnnis is becoming VP of product management for the company's ProConnect Group, which handles its professional tax products: Lacerte, ProConnect Tax Online and ProSeries. 

Taxify, which provides online sales tax applications, has added a dashboard to its system. The dashboard is designed to enable practitioners to see all of their clients—for whom they provide sales tax services—in one place, according to product marketing manager, Alex Oxford.

A Long Island, N.Y., CPA has been indicted for allegedly collecting $124,275 in a variety of benefits while working as an accountant. The office of the New York State Inspector General said Abraham Grossman of Chase Commons, Yaphank, received food stamps and home heating aid while maintaining a home in Suffolk County, N.Y., and a beach-front condo in Florida.

The McGladrey Alliance is changing its name to the RSM US Alliance effective September 12. The new name follows the replacement of the name McGladrey LLP by the global RSM brand on October 26. There are about 75 independent member firms of the Alliance in 38 states, the Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico.

Plans to combine SmartVault with Reckon's Virtual Cabinet in one cloud platform are on track, Reckon has said. The Australia-based software company made the statement recently when it reported financial results for the half ended June 30.

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Six areas of competency have been added to the professional learning and development website of the American Institute of CPAs and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. The website is designed to provide personalized approach to lifelong learning and career development.

The Internal Revenue Service has warned tax professionals of a phishing scam in which emails emulate contacts from tax software providers. Those who click on a bogus link download a piece of software that can track their computer keystrokes. 

Sage, which has been moving away from country-by-country organization, has named Blair Crump as president. It is the first time the United Kingdom-based software company has had a resident for the company's world-wide operations and is part of a massive replacement among the top 100 executives and managers that has occurred in the last two years.

Accounting firm LBMC has named four individuals as leaders in its LBMC PC arm. The four were named in four major practice areas. It also chose leaders in LBMC Information Security and LBMC Information Security.

A Tennessee preparer has been jailed after spending money on gambling, a Lexus and home furnishings instead of paying $25,000 in fees to the United States. Kevin Williams of Memphis was jailed after surrendering voluntarily after a court issued an arrest warrant on July 21.

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We believe that tax professionals offer one of the most appropriate business models to naturally extend their services to offer financial products. Your knowledge of your clients’ finances, coupled with your trusted relationships, places you in a unique position to not only do what’s right for your clients, but also grow the revenue your firm generates. We execute our mission on a daily basis by assigning a dedicated staff liaison to support, train and guide highly ethical tax professionals to become HD Vest Advisors.

A tax preparer based in Oxnard, Calif., has been convicted of filing tax returns that claimed more than $53 million in fraudulent returns. The Internal Revenue Service said it paid out $23 million  to Rodrigo Pablo "Paul" Lozano, also known as "El Profe," 61, and his co-conspirators before spotting the scheme that had them counting out cash in a bathroom at the business.

Intuit has named Lucas Watson as chief marketing and sales officer. He replaces Caroline Donohue, who said in February she would retire after 21 years with the software company. Watson will begin his job on August 22.

Watson came from Google where he served as VP of global brand solutions and innovations and had worked there from June 2011.

Sage is moving Nancy Harris from her role in running its Canadian operations to managing its Sage's North American partner and accountant business. Harris who has been EVP in Canada since August 14, has been named EVP of the United States-based operation.

Sage is looking for someone to head its global market strategy for accountants and bookkeepers. The information was part of a LinkedIn post this week by Jennifer Warawa, the company's EVP of product marketing.

Nonprofit software vendor Blackbaud has acquired Attentive.ly, a company that enables organizations to conduct social listening. Charleston, S.C.-based Blackbaud plans to more deeply integrate Attentive.ly's capabilities into the next generation version of Luminate Online, which is a marketing tool. Terms were not disclosed.

TaxAct is seeking a new president following the announcement that the current job holder, JoAnn Kintzel, plans to leave the company. Kintzel will remain under a transition agreement until a successor is appointed. The company did not report that Kintzel had any immediate plans aftr leaving the company. 

A Florida preparer must disgore $1 million after he agreed to be barred from preparing tax returns for others. Demetrius Scott of Orlando must pay the money that the United States says represents proceeds from phony tax returns he and his staff preparer for customers.

Intacct, a cloud software company, has secured $40 million in debt financing. The San Jose, Calif.-based company received the financing commitment recently via a new debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank, which joins several existing equity investors.

Sageworks has published a book designed to provide strategies for firms to add value beyond their technical skills. Called "Next-Level Accountants: Your guide to growing a firm of trusted advisors", the publication provides advice from experts in firm strategy, compensation, marketing, client relations, client retention and technology.

Thomas D. Ziff, a former CPA who operated a firm in Atlanta, Ga., has been sentenced to seven months in prison for tax fraud. Ziff, who pleaded guilty to the charge in February which stemmed from his theft of about $300,000 from a trust associated with a client's will.

Wolters Kluwer has reported that revenue increased 2 percent for the first quarter ended March 31; an increase of 3 percent on an organic basis. The company also said it experienced a 1 percent positive impact from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.

The American Institute of CPAs is offering CPAs who perform single audits and employee benefit plan audits the ability to earn intermediate- and advanced-level certificates. The AICPA says the certificate program is designed to help auditors improve and demonstrate competency and quality when conducting these specialized engagements.

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has added 900 taxability groups to SureTax. The expansion adds to a line that includes CCH SureTax Energy and CCH SureTax Communications and turns the SureTax line into a platform the company said.

Two tax preparers who filed phony returns for prison inmates have drawn multi-year sentences. Kamal J. James aka Bro Messiah Aziz El, 34, of Seaford, Del., drew a nine-year prison term, and Crystal G. Hawkins aka Sis. Crystal Gabri El, 39, of Laurel, Del., four years for their role in the fraud.

Thomson Reuters has introduced Checkpoint Financial Management and Controllership. The resource offers coverage of all aspects of financial management and controllership, including accounting and financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, cost and cash management, business combinations, and internal controls and risk management.

The American Institute of CPAs has presented final details on the next version of the Uniform CPA Examination that will be launched a year from now. The AICPA says the latest edition of the exam is based on an extensive practice analysis by the AICPA's Board of Examiners.

Sage has attacked low-cost software competitor, Xero, for alleged poor user support. Sage, which is being challenged in its home in the United Kingdom by Xero, came out with this message: "Tired of Xero Support? We can help" and is pointing users of the cloud-based Xero  to web-based Sage Live.