Author: Editor

(Left to right) EY partner Mark Kronforst, SEC acting chief accountant Ryan Wolfe and FASB chair Richard Jones at the Financial Executives International and USC Leventhal conference. The Securities and Exchange Commission is already making plans in the event that the massive tax bill now moving through Congress ends up shifting the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s duties to the SEC.In late May, the House passed far-reaching tax and spending legislation that included a provision transferring the PCAOB’s responsibilities to the SEC. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill is now in the hands of the Senate, where much of it…

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new members to a crucial government panel of vaccine advisors after firing the entire group just days earlier. His picks include some well-known vaccine critics, including Dr. Robert Malone.The new members will join the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The group reviews vaccine data and makes recommendations that determine who is eligible for shots and whether insurers should cover them, among other efforts.The CDC director has to sign off on those recommendations for them to become official…

U.S. accountants who advise small and midsized businesses are feeling less confident this year, according to a new survey.The 2025 Avalara Accountants Confidence Report, produced by Avalara in conjunction with CPA Trendlines, polled 623 accounting professionals and found a shift from cautious optimism to greater pessimism, thanks to various economic pressures and policy uncertainty. Between January and April, the net sentiment among accountants swung from a positive 19% to a negative 39%. Initially, nearly half (47%) of advisors foresaw improving conditions. But by April, only 25% held this view, with nearly two-thirds (64%) expecting worsening economic environments. The shift signifies…

Republican senators are considering placing a $30,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction as a compromise between current law and the more generous limit in the House’s version of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, a key GOP negotiator said.Senator Thom Tillis, a moderate Republican involved in the talks, said Republican senators are trying to reduce the House-passed $40,000 SALT limit to at least $30,000. Republican senators are meeting behind closed doors Wednesday afternoon to discuss the details of the bill, which the Senate is aiming to pass later this month. SALT was a core issue in the House, where Republicans…