Vol. 24 I No. 16 I Dec. 13, 2010-Jan. 10, 2011
TOP ISSUES ON 2010 RETURNS p. 8
We highlight the most important issues that
tax preparers can expect to find on clients’ returns
SALES & USE TAX TOOLS p. 23
Our test drive of the best of the universe of
solutions for sales & use tax compliance
accountingtoday.com
CLEARING THE CLOUDS p. 41
A panel of experts discusses how accountants
can make the most of the cloud
Mid-term
results
mixed for
profession
A new post-election analysis of
political fundraising activity by
PACs sponsored by the American
Institute of CPAs and several of its
largest member firms suggests that
the profession may have missed the
opportunity to ride the wave that
propelled Republicans to victory in
2010, by supporting incumbents,
both Democrat and Republican,
who were turfed out, and largely
ignoring the Tea Party candidates
who were the engine of the GOP’s
congressional landslide.
During the previous mid-term
See MID-TERMS on
51
BY KEN RANKIN/WASHINGTON, D.C.
Profession’s PACs
hedged bets, missed
some of GOP wave
AGAINST THE TIDE
of major accounting PAC donations
60
THE BEST FIRMS TO WORK FOR NEW JERSEY’S WILKIN & GUTTENPLAN IS THE BEST MIDSIZED ACCOUNTING FIRM TO WORK FOR IN THE U.S. For the rest, see our special report, beginning on page 31
Gear up
for tax
season
New regs, legislative
uncertainty mean a
murky start to 2011
Preparer Tax Identification Num-
bers, e-file mandates, and pending
tax legislation are weighing heavily on tax preparers’ minds as they
take a breath just prior to the start
of filing season.
“One of the biggest challenges
is for everyone to get a P TIN,” said
John Sapp, a vice president at
Drake Software. “It doesn’t take
long to get, but it’s something
that people put off until the last
minute. The second is the EFIN
[Electronic Filing Identification
Number, where preparers must
complete an application to par-
See GEAR UP on
52
BY ROGER RUSSELL
Dems
GOP
50
40
Source: Federal Election Commission data
2008 2010
More questions than answers on IFRS work plan
The Securities and Exchange
Commission has published its
inaugural progress report on the
work plan related to the move to
global accounting standards.
The SEC had directed its agency
staff earlier this year to execute
the work plan to provide the information needed to evaluate the
WASHINGTON, D.C.
implications of incorporating International Financial Reporting
Standards into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers.
Although the 40-plus-page
report drew no specific conclusions, it addressed six key areas:
sufficient development and application of IFRS for the U.S.
domestic reporting system; the
independence of standard-setting; investor understanding and
education regarding IFRS; how
the U.S. regulatory environment
would be affected by a change in
standards; the impact on issuers
both large and small; and human
capital readiness.
The commission indicated that
following successful completion
of the work plan and the conver-
gence projects of the Financial
Accounting Standards Board and
the International Accounting Stan-
dards Board, it would be in a posi-
tion in 2011 to determine whether
to incorporate IFRS into the U.S.
financial reporting system.
