The Internal Revenue Service has signed a new agreement with Free File, Inc., formerly known as the Free File Alliance, after controversy erupted during tax season this year over the difficulty of finding free versions of consumer tax filing software like TurboTax. | SEC proposes to relax long-standing auditor independence rules | | By Michael Cohn 3 min read | | The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing a set of amendments to the auditor independence rules that have been in place since the early 2000s, allowing firms more leeway in determining conflicts of interest and shortening the lookback period for clients planning to go public. | |
| What companies need to know about implementing the new CECL standard | | By Chris Chiriatti, Jonathan Prejean, Rich Paul, Jonathan Prejean and Chris Chiriatti 4 min read | | Many consumer industry companies extend credit or hold significant financial assets. If yours is one of them, it’s time to gear up for the current expected credit loss (CECL) accounting standard. | |
| Art of Accounting: Write a ‘Christmas’ letter | | By Edward Mendlowitz 3 min read | | How about a “Christmas” letter about your practice, describing how you did professionally, what you wish you had done and what you now resolve to do next year? | |
| Opportunity zones facing some headwinds despite new rules | | By Michael Cohn 7 min read | | The Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations last week on opportunity zone funds, but while they answer some of the questions, many other issues remain that are likely to prompt questions from tax clients. | |
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