KEY ACCOUNTING INDUSTRY INSIGHTS AND UPDATES – MARCH 2024

1. Xero and Sumday Partner for Carbon Accounting for Advisors

Xero and Sumday will work together to empower small businesses, with the use of Sumday, to understand their emissions to an audit-ready standard with the help of their trusted advisor. the advisor-first carbon accounting platform, to help accountants and bookkeepers globally to manage their own and their clients’ carbon accounting. Read More

2. ADP Adds AI Partner Solutions to Its ADP Marketplace

ADP Marketplace, the world’s largest digital HR storefront with over 800 partner solutions worldwide, is enhancing the client experience by offering AI-enabled, integrated partner solutions. ADP Marketplace now provides clients with greater ease and confidence in identifying and selecting these solutions for their companies. Read More

3. Nonprofits Face Growing Demand for Services but Staffing Shortages

FORVIS, a leading accounting and consulting firm, today published its annual national nonprofit study, revealing that 71% of nonprofits had increased demands for their programs and services in 2023, resulting in waitlist increases and delays. Additionally, to mitigate operational expenses, more than two-thirds of organizations are planning to cut programs and services over the next two years. Read More

4. The Pivotal Role of Audit Professionals in AI Integration

Amid technological advancements, the audit professional’s role, characterized by a deep attention to detail, compliance and risk management, is proving to be vital well outside the traditional confines of finance. Read More 

5. Senate probes $40B tax shelter in private placement life insurance

Senate Finance Committee Democrats released a report Wednesday casting a skeptical eye on the private placement life insurance industry, claiming it functions as a tax shelter holding at least $40 billion in policies for a few thousand millionaires and billionaires. Read More

6. PCAOB Sanctions WithumSmith+Brown

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced a settled disciplinary order(PDF) sanctioning WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“the firm”) for violations of PCAOB rules and quality control standards. Resulting in a dramatic increase in its issuer audit practice and putting a significant strain on its quality control system. Read More

7. IRS commits to making Child Tax Credit changes quickly

The Internal Revenue Service would be able to implement changes to the Child Tax Credit within weeks, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel told Congress, and send out tax refunds promptly. Read More

8. Hunter Biden says indicted FBI informant tainted tax case

Hunter Biden slammed Special Counsel David Weiss for relying upon now-discredited FBI informant Alexander Smirnov to revive a federal gun case against him and derail his plea deal. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for the president's son, on Tuesday asked a judge in Delaware to force prosecutors to turn over additional information about his plea deal which collapsed in July, citing last week's indictment of Smirnov. Read More

9. Owen Mapley appointed as CIPFA chief executive

CIPFA has appointed Owen Mapley as its new chief executive officer. The current chief executive of Hertfordshire County Council will take up the role in the coming months, replacing Rob Whiteman, who announced his retirement from the position in September. Read More

10. Banks push regulators to change crypto accounting

Powerful interest groups are pushing the Securities and Exchange Commission to tweak accounting guidance that makes it more expensive for U.S. banks to hold digital assets for their customers. The regulator is already facing pressure from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to repeal the guidance. Read More

11. IRS seeks more than $1B from collapsed SVB

The Internal Revenue Service is seeking to recover about $1.4 billion in taxes it claims are owed by Silicon Valley Bank, the regional lender that failed last year. The federal tax agency claims the California-based lender owes both corporate income and employment taxes spanning a four-year period ending in 2023, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington federal court. Read More

12. Baker Tilly International announces record growth

Baker Tilly International has announced record global revenues of US$5.2bn for the financial year ended 31 December 2023, up 11% on the previous year or 12.2% at constant exchange rates. Read More

13. EY borrowed about $700M more on failed spinoff costs

EY took on about $700 million in extra borrowing to deal with costs related to its failed plan to spin off its consulting unit more than tripled from a year earlier to $983 million as of June 30, 2023, according to accounts filed with the U.K.'s Companies House. Read More

14. IRS updates 1099-K guidance for tax season

The Form 1099-K has been of particular concern in recent years after the threshold for reporting transactions from payment cards and third parties like eBay, Venmo, PayPal and Airbnb was lowered from $20,000 to $600 as a result of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Read More

15. Biden's EV tax credits are a ripe target if Trump wins

Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have made no secret of their animosity toward pro-EV policies. And the tax credits now helping underwrite many U.S. electric vehicle purchases are top targets if Republicans win the White House or strengthen their grip on Capitol Hill in November. Read More

16. MHA strengthens Scottish presence with Geoghegans merger in Edinburgh

Accountancy group MHA has solidified its presence in Scotland with the merger of Geoghegans, a prominent Edinburgh-based accountancy firm. The move marks the second merger in Scotland for MHA, the first being with Aberdeen-based accountancy firm Meston Reid & Co in October 2023. Read More

17. PwC picks up £1.3m NCC Group audit

Big Four firm PwC will take over from KPMG shortly, after the incumbent auditor resigned last month following the outcome of a competitive tender process, led by the company’s audit committee. KPMG had been auditor for 10 years since November 2013 and earned £1.3m in total audit fees for the group audit and subsidiaries for year end 31 May 2023. Read More

18. Baker Tilly Gets Big Private Equity Boost From H&F and Valeas

Baker Tilly said on Monday it has received a “significant investment” from private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners in what the top 10 accounting firm says is the largest private equity investment in the CPA sector thus far. Read More

19. KPMG names new global head of public affairs

KPMG International named Dan Konigsburg its new global head of public affairs. Plus, Deloitte Tax held its annual tax competition for university students, and promotions were announced at Kassouf, CohnReznick, KSM, Johnson Lambert and other firms across the country. Read More

20. PwC US Chooses Paul Griggs as Next Senior Partner

PwC’s partners and principals in the U.S. and Mexico have picked a successor to Tim Ryan as senior partner of the Big Four firm, and that person is Paul Griggs who has worked at PwC for nearly 30 years and currently serves on the US leadership team as vice chair of US markets, will begin his four-year term as senior partner on July 1. Read More

Entigrity™ is a trusted offshore staffing partner for 725+ accountants, CPAs, and tax firms across the US and Canada. With a flexible and transparent hiring model, the company empowers firms of all sizes to acquire skilled accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation staff. As a firm 'run by accountants, for the accountants,' Entigrity ensures precise alignment with the hiring needs of accounting firms, providing staff under your control and management, minimizing concerns about compliance, payroll taxes, overheads, or benefits. Entigrity is a proud independent member of the BDO Alliance USA. We have collaborated with IMA to train and upskill 5,000 Professionals in India. We were also recognized as one of the "Dream Companies to Work For" and won the "Great Place to Work® Certified™" in the accounting offshoring industry. 

Christopher Rivera

Director, Client Relations

Christopher Rivera, Chris serves as a Director of Client Relations and Business Development at Entigrity. He is an expert at leading and managing teams actively from the front. His expertise in sales, training, coaching, mentoring and influencing combined with his competitive nature makes him a strong leader.  Chris has traveled through the length and width of the country and has spoken with more than five thousand CPAs, understanding their challenges and limitations. On the grounds of that, he can now easily provide opinions and solutions that can be immensely helpful to the professionals. He has also represented Entigrity at a number of major accounting conferences and networking events.