News

The CPA organizations of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont have approved a merger to form the New England Society of CPAs.

CPA decision-makers in business and industry are less optimistic about the U.S. economy now when compared with the first quarter of this year, but they are slightly more optimistic about their own organizations, according to an AICPA and CIMA survey.

The commission is accepting comments on the draft through July 2.

Of more than 87,000 CPA candidates who sat for the CPA Exam in 2025, a half dozen passed all four sections on their first attempt while recording a cumulative average score above 95.5.

Proposed regulations issued Monday would raise the cost of the letter to $76, from the $56 set in 2025.

Less than one-third of retired Americans in a recent survey reported working with a financial adviser, even though nearly 7 in 10 are concerned about managing their income throughout retirement.

Rev. Proc. 2026-24 also includes the revised maximum amount that may be made newly available for excepted-benefit health reimbursement arrangements and the aggregate monthly fees allowable for direct primary care service arrangements.

The Peer Review Board and Professional Ethics Executive Committee are accepting feedback on their proposed plans for 2027–2030.

The IRS filed an appeal of the Court of Federal Claims’ Kwong decision, in which the court held that the filing deadline for refund claims for penalties and interest was automatically extended by Sec. 7508A(d) due to the COVID-19 disaster declaration.

The proposal is the next formal step in the commission’s move away from historic rules it adopted in 2024.

The board is accepting applications through June 15 to help “modernize PCAOB inspections so they remain relevant and resilient.”

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration finds that manual tracking and uneven workloads slow resolution of cases of unidentified payments.

Taxpayer Services staff handling calls, correspondence, and other tasks logged most of the overtime, the report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said.

The candidate selected for the part-time position will begin a five-year term in 2027.

Comments are requested by July 30 on a proposal that would allow reporting entities to apply a practical expedient to contracts or agreements that meet certain eligibility conditions.

A report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that delayed 1099-R and W-2G filings limit the IRS’s ability to spot refund fraud early.

The tax partner at BMSS Advisors is elected to the one-year volunteer post at AICPA spring Council, succeeding Lexy Kessler. Lindsay Stevenson is elected vice chair.

The AICPA said the changes would ease the compliance load on CPAs who help small businesses navigate federal reporting rules.

The IRS expanded its CP53E guidance with fresh information on QR code security, online account access problems, and how taxpayers can confirm successful bank account updates.

FASB’s chair said that the Accounting Standards Update features guidance “that previously did not exist” related to environmental credits and environmental credit obligations.