With today’s major economic recession faced by businesses due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) continues to be an attractive option for companies seeking to address the need for succession planning to sustain competitive advantage in the market and looking to provide their employees with an ownership interest through a retirement plan.
The global transfer pricing landscape has been in flux over the past years. Key factors driving change include intensified enforcement by tax authorities, changes to international tax rules, new case law, the impact of digitalization in the economy, and the COVID-19 crisis. With all these complexities and challenges, it is imperative for multinational enterprises (MNEs) and their counsel to be acquainted with the legal updates and governing compliance principles in this area of law to ensure sound compliance and abate potential exposure to legal risks.
Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code is a significant tool for distressed companies seeking to sell their assets. It also provides potential buyers the chance to purchase assets at a bargain price and free of liens through the bankruptcy process. However, though the Section 363 sale process provides several opportunities to both debtor and creditor, the risks associated with acquiring a distressed business should always be underscored.
The rising popularity of cryptocurrency constantly brings profound transformations in payment transactions. Every day, more and more businesses turn to cryptocurrency because of its decentralized structure, efficient transaction flow, and low operation cost. However, as new regulatory frameworks arise, companies relying on cryptocurrency become prone to government crackdowns and are exposed to legal and financial hurdles.
For most public companies, the adoption deadline for Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB’s) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) has already passed. Their focus now shifts from adoption to quarterly reporting under the new lease accounting standard. Private companies, however, are still preparing for their implementation of the new ASC 842 leases and should learn from public companies’ experience.
The scheduled phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) by the end of 2021 is currently posing significant transition challenges for banks and all concerned individuals. Furthermore, ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) announced last December 2020 the extension of U.S. dollar (USD) LIBOR through June 2023, creating a change in the LIBOR transition process and opening more ambiguities in managing USD contracts.
Today’s workplace can be a minefield for professional accountants because of the many behavioral expectations and higher ethical standards. To help CPAs overcome current and new ethical dilemmas, codes of professional conduct promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and other major organizations are continuously enhanced. This underscores the importance of ethical conduct to ensure that public trust is protected and strengthened across various accounting roles and activities. Thus, accountants should be well-versed with updated ethical guidelines and principles and be able to apply them in everyday situations.
To aggressively enforce its antitrust agenda, the Biden Administration is taking bolder approaches by ramping up antitrust enforcement. In one of its recent moves, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division jointly announced their plans to modernize current merger guidelines.
Financial transactions, shareholder disputes, and strategic planning and are only some of the contexts in which business valuation plays an important, and often contested, role. Shifting financial conditions and evolving regulatory landscapes add to these complexities. As a result, it is important to understand and implement the key components of any valuation engagement. Furthermore, advisors can avoid blind spots in their analyses and mitigate risk by efficiently addressing important aspects of the valuation process.
In this LIVE Webcast, a panel of thought leaders and professionals brought together by The Knowledge Group will provide and present an in-depth analysis of the fundamentals as well as recent developments in Conducting Internal Investigations in the Post-Covid-19 Era: Best Practices and Key Considerations. Speakers will also present all important issues surrounding this significant topic. Join us for this Knowledge Group Webinar!
The reduction of mergers and acquisitions (M&A)-related class actions and the state 1933 Act have driven a significant decline in securities class action filings over the last years. However, despite the decrease in the overall federal filings, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs)-related cases have doubled, bringing newer litigation risks and additional ramifications in this category.
In this LIVE Webcast, a panel of thought leaders and professionals brought together by The Knowledge Group will provide and present an in-depth analysis of the fundamentals as well as recent developments in Implications of GEICO v. Whiteside on Bad Faith Litigation: A Comprehensive Analysis. Speakers will also present all important issues surrounding this significant topic. Join us for this Knowledge Group Webinar!
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought sharp changes to the tax enforcement priorities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), specifically in implementing its remote audits. Recently, the IRS and the Treasury Department released proposed treasury regulations related to the electronic filing of certain tax returns and statements. These, along with other significant developments, have been the result of the Biden administration’s efforts to address recent tax compliance issues and controversies.
The Biden administration has drafted several tax proposals as part of its “Build Back Better” plan and among the most notable policy priorities include an increased tax responsibility for larger corporations. To alleviate this anticipated additional tax burden, leveraging their research and development (R&D) tax credits should be considered. However, the recently released tax proposals do not include any R&D-related changes or development details, posing an open question on the new administration’s plan for R&D investments.
The rise of sales tax automation has made it possible for companies to turn their manual tax processes into streamlined and efficient systems. It has dramatically improved everyday tasks, like data validation, which can now be performed with increased speed, ease, and accuracy.
