Tax, Accounting and Finance (CPE)

Keeping pace with the ever-evolving tax rules is one of the biggest pain points for tax teams.

Sales tax automation allows organizations to focus on growth without fear of noncompliance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent investigation on the alleged accounting fraud committed by Synchronoss Technologies, Inc.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to intensify its enforcement initiatives on delinquent taxpayers through the new issue-focused approach.

As organizations across industries look for new ways to reach customers, many have turned to easily activated ecommerce channels or have begun to sell through third-party marketplaces.

The London Interbank Offered Rate, most popularly known as LIBOR, is one of the most important interest reference rates in the world. However, for several years, LIBOR has been hounded by many challenges and controversies.

Several significant changes continue to shape federal income tax regulation.

The aggressive focus against tax evasion and other criminal activities around the globe is likely to continue. In the U.S., the crackdown on taxpayers who fail to report offshore financial assets and accounts remains to be a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation Department, including non-compliant virtual currency that should be disclosed under the expanded cryptocurrency reporting.

Patent investigations brought under International Trade Commission (ITC) have seen an upward trend in recent years. Consequently, as several types of products and components are imported in the U.S., an increase in patent litigation is also expected – a scenario that may put a large number of U.S. companies and their consumers at risk.

In today's ever-evolving market economy, proper financial planning and effective risk prevention practices for businesses have been more crucial than ever. With distressed debts becoming more rampant, workouts and restructuring measures should be given more focus. Furthermore, significant court rulings under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code must also be followed to avoid future litigation that could result in claw-backs and fraud claims.

In its continued effort to deter anticompetitive conduct and other violations affecting government procurement, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) created the Procurement Collusion Strike Force in 2019. It is comprised of state and federal investigators and prosecutors mandated to investigate and prosecute all types of procurement collusions and other similar misconduct in government purchasing and programs.

In December 2019, the Final Regulations for Qualified Opportunity Zone Program were issued by Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Final Regulations were reported in the Federal Register in January 2020 and will become final in mid-March.

Effective December 31, 2021, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) will be replaced by the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as a primary benchmark index. The impending transition is expected to disrupt the whole market structure and pose significant challenges and risks to financial institutions.

New lease accounting rules are coming soon for all government entities. After a COVID-19 one-year delay, Statement No. 87 of the Government Accounting Standards Board, Leases (“GASB 87”) is now required for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2021 and is applicable to both government entity lessees and government entity lessors.

With today’s heavily challenging economic situation, businesses of all sizes have started venturing into different cost reduction initiatives in order to optimize profitability while ensuring market competitiveness. These cost reduction programs include reducing costs of services and other supplies.