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A new report by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants suggests that rising prices are putting pressure on accountants and fueling wage demands and concerns about staff retention, with nearly half of the respondents to its survey planning to change jobs in the next year, and nearly three-fourths planning to move on within two years. The respondents cited the impact of inflation on employees' real wages as the leading work-related concern for the future, both globally and across the Americas. The issue ranked as the top concern in both North America and the Caribbean, while in Central and South America it ranked as the second highest work-related concern after well-being and mental health. Concern about inflation across the Americas ranked highest for accountants who work in the public sector, with 60% citing this concern, probably due in part to wage constraints in the public sector and potential funding cuts. Levels of mobility are high across the Americas, with 46% of the respondents indicating an intention to move to a new role within 12 months, rising significantly to 71% within the next two years.  "Overall, there is a lot to be positive about within the profession across the Americas, but heightened mobility continues to challenge organizations, with 46% planning to move to their next role within the next 12 months and 71% planning to move within the next two years," said Gerard McGuinnity, head of ACCA Americas, in a statement. "Employers must continue to find ways to attract and retain talent in order to service the growing demands of the profession."

 

Accounting Today

Two Truths and a Lie: What You Need to Know About the ERC

There has been a lot of press about the abuses surrounding the Employee Retention Credit, causing CPAs to worry about their clients claiming the ERC under suspect qualification. As the client's trusted advisors, CPAs are often their clients' last line of defense. Join us as we walk through the ins and outs of the ERC and how to help your clients avoid being scammed.

Join Stephen MacNeil, Chief Knowledge Officer of TaxCredible, on August 30th as he dives into the ERC and guides you through qualifying, avoiding scams, and understanding the latest IRS updates.

*BONUS* - All attendees will earn 1 CPE credit!

Register Now

 

Intuit shares fell 3% in extended trading on Thursday, after the TurboTax maker reported quarterly results that topped analyst estimates, but also offered a mixed outlook for the new fiscal year. The software firm reported fourth-quarter net income of $89m, or 32 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $56m in the same period a year earlier. Adjusted earnings were $1.66 per share. Revenue jumped 12% to $2.71bn. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected, on average, net earnings of $1.43 a share on revenue of $2.64bn. “What we do is mission critical for small businesses (55% of total revenue) and consumers (45%). And we are positioned well for AI adoption. We’re entering an era where you will have a business assistant by your side,” Intuit chief executive Sasan Goodarzi said in a statement. Looking ahead, the company predicted fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share on sales of $2.88bn. Wall Street is modeling for earnings of $2.01 a share on sales of $2.88bn in the quarter.

 

Market Watch

Alvarez & Marsal Tax, an affiliate of leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), has appointed Carl Padding as a Cost Segregation Services Senior Advisor. Mr. Padding has worked on various cost segregation projects, including IRS examinations, and has performed analyses for companies in sectors such as real estate, hospitality, construction, banking, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and food & beverage. Prior to joining A&M, he was a Director of Real Estate Consulting at Armanino and worked at Arthur Andersen.

 

ABL Advisor

The IRS has been found to violate rules regarding direct contact with taxpayers, bypassing their representatives such as CPAs, enrolled agents, and attorneys. A new TIGTA report revealed that the IRS lacks a system to identify employee violations of these provisions. While complaints are rare, the report found instances where revenue officers did not comply with the Tax Code sections protecting taxpayers' rights. TIGTA also discovered that the IRS did not report potential violations of Fair Tax Collection Practices. The report highlighted significant gaps in reporting and disciplining employee misconduct. As the IRS hires new employees to replace retirees, the problem is expected to worsen. TIGTA recommended that the IRS improve training for revenue officers and establish procedures to report potential violations. The IRS agreed with the recommendations and expressed commitment to protecting taxpayer rights through training and reviews.

 

Accounting Today

Orders for long-lasting goods rose in July for the third month in a row if recent ups and downs at Boeing are set aside, suggesting the struggling industrial side of the U.S. economy may have stabilized. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders increased 0.5% excluding transportation. Headline orders, which include transportation, sank by 5.2%. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 4.1% drop in July following a 4.4% spike in June. Outside the transportation sector, new orders rose in most major categories. Business investment has tapered off since last year, however, and companies have become more cautious in the face of rising interest rates, still-high inflation and a shift in consumer spending toward services.  “Businesses are showing caution amidst the higher rate environment and what it means for demand down the line,” said economist Ali Jaffery at CIBC Economics.

 

Bloomberg

Market Watch

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest level in three weeks, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased by 10,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 230,000 in the seven days to August 19th, below the 240,000 forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The four-week moving average rose to 236,750, while continuing claims - reported with a one-week lag - slipped 9,000 to 1.72m.  The available evidence suggests laid-off workers are finding new jobs relatively quickly. “While we continue to expect jobless claims to increase in the future as the economy slows down, the last two weeks’ data show little evidence of a weakening in the labor market yet,” commented chief economist Eugenio Aleman of Raymond James.

 

Bloomberg

Market Watch

Reuters

A group of Wall Street firms that lent hundreds of millions of dollars to WeWork is exploring the possibility of a bankruptcy filing that could help the company exit from expensive office leases, one of several options under discussion, according to people familiar with the creditors’ talks. The fund managers, whose numbers include BlackRock, King Street Capital, and Brigade Capital, are holding preliminary talks about the company’s restructuring options and indicated that they would support a plan for WeWork to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy - a move that would allow WeWork to shed a portion of its expensive commercial real-estate leases and in the process hand over control of the company to creditors 

 

Wall Street Journal

The SEC is taking up new rules and amendments aimed at tightening the regulation of private fund advisors, especially at private equity and hedge funds, and updating an existing rule that applies to all investment advisors. The new rules will require these funds to disclose more information about their fees and require annual financial statement audits for each fund they advise to be distributed to investors. The audits would provide a check on the advisor's valuation of private fund assets and protect private fund investors against the misappropriation of fund assets. “At the core was addressing some of the opacity in this field,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Wednesday. “Our investors—large or small—benefit from greater transparency.” Industry groups have tried to fend off the rules for more than a year, including the Managed Funds Association, have tried to fend off the rules for more than a year, accusing the SEC of trying to insert itself into a contractual relationship between sophisticated parties. 

 

Accounting Today

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

Investors can enhance their financial plan and reduce their tax bill by utilizing tax-loss harvesting. This strategy involves selling underperforming investments to realize losses, which can then be used to offset capital gains and reduce ordinary income. The IRS wash-sale rule must be followed to avoid losing the ability to use the loss as a tax asset. Tax-loss harvesting can provide tax savings and improve investment performance, known as tax alpha. Reports show that this strategy has helped investors earn an average benefit of nearly 1% in portfolio return. It is important to consider opportunity cost and reinvest the proceeds into investments aligned with financial objectives. Tax-loss harvesting is not limited to affluent investors and can be deployed each year, but it is most effective when integrated into a long-term financial plan. By implementing this strategy, investors can save on taxes and improve their overall financial outcomes.

 

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