The Progressive Accountant News

China Audits Trip Up Buffalo Firm

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:05:03 +0100

A Buffalo, N.Y., accounting firm, whose former partner got it into the business of auditing Chinese companies and then faked documentation, was censured and its registration with the Public Accounting Company Oversight Board revoked. Brock, Schecter & Polakoff was pulled into the business, along with former director of auditing and accounting, James R. Waggoner, even though the firm had no auditing experience and no one on the staff understood Chinese. The firm must pay a $20,000 civil money penalty while Waggoner was censured and barred from associating with any PCAOB registered firm.

Xero Hits Practice Management Market

Wed, 23 May 2012 04:49:23 +0100

New Zealand-based Xero is entering the United States market for practice management software. The company, which launched its online accounting package in this country last fall, entered that application segment through its acquisition earlier this year of WorkflowMax.

Thomson Intros New Workpaper Product

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:58:58 +0100

Thomson Reuters has introduced a new workpaper product, Workpaper CS. And while the company will continue to maintain its Engagement CS product, that product will not get much further development.

Wave Accounting Gets $12 Million

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:06:32 +0100

Wave Accounting has secured $12 million in funding for its efforts to develop the market for its online accounting applications. Based in Toronto, Wave said the funding round was led by The Social+Capital Partnership with participation from existing investors Charles River Ventures and OMERS Venture.

NetSuite Signs GT, Deloitte, Frank Rimerman

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:03:30 +0100

NetSuite is making strong inroads into the accounting community. At its SuiteWorld conference, underway this week in San Francisco, it announced three accounting firms and Sage's largest reseller as new additions to its channel.

A Cloudy Year for Accounting Software

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:07:59 +0100

The technology press likes to declare something a "Year of ..." whatever the hottest trend is. But evidence is building that 2012 is going to be a big year for the sale of accounting applications that run on the web. Now, as is usually the case, there are usually a few big years once a new technology catches on.

SmartPros Results Flat

Tue, 15 May 2012 06:20:35 +0100

Continuing education provider Smart Pros turned in results for its first quarter ended March 31 that showed both revenue and its net loss virtually unchanged from results in 2011. The company said lingering results from the recession and competitive factors kept a lid of its business.

TaxAct Revs Up 9 Percent

Thu, 10 May 2012 02:53:03 +0100

TaxAct, the tax preparation software company purchased by InfoSpace, had pro forma revenue of $61.9 million a 9-percent increase from $56.8 million for the first quarter ended March 31. TaxAct, purchased on January 31 contributed only two months of actual results to its Bellevue, Wash.-based parent.

Sage and Avalara Ally for Accountants Network

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:59:02 +0100

Sales-and-use tax vendor Avalara is joining with Sage North America to provide resources to members of the Sage Accountants Network. Avalara's Accountants Resource Center provides tools and educational resources for helping them increase their sales tax knowledge.

CliftonLarsonAllen to Resell Avectra

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:13:46 +0100

CliftonLarsonAllen has agreed to resell Avectra's Social CRM to associations and nonprofit organizations.The accounting firm will offer the Avectra product in combination with Intacct's online accounting software. It is the latest move in the expansion of McLean, Va.-based Avectra's reseller program.

ADP Revenue and Net Up 7 Percent for 2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 17:52:51 +0100

Automatic Data Processing rolled sevens for its fiscal 2012 as net income, and revenue for employer services and total revenue all increased by 7 percent over 2011. And the company's metrics were strong in almost all areas for the year just ended.

CompuPay Folds into BenefitMall

Wed, 02 May 2012 23:32:27 +0100

Austin Ventures has led a round of equity financing that merged BenefitMall, which provides employee benefit plans through a broker network, and CompuPay, a payroll services and software provided. Terms were not disclosed. The payroll operations are now known as CompuPay, a BenefitMall company.

Intuit Readies Practice Management Beta

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:22:37 +0100

Intuit is reported to have placed its online Intuit Practice Management application in a beta testing program. The product has been available to 2,000 firms as a pilot program over the last year. While the Intuit website had previously said the product would be released after the recent tax season, it seems likely the product will debut in July or August.

RALS: Epitaph for a Pretext

Tue, 01 May 2012 13:08:44 +0100

We come not to bury refund anticipation loans, but to talk about the way it was done. And whether you were a fan of the bank products, the process ought to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Thomson: Tax and Accounting "Terrific Quarter"

Tue, 01 May 2012 12:37:25 +0100

The Tax and Accounting business of Thomson Reuters turned in what its CEO called "a terrific quarter" for the three months ended March 31. The unit had a 58-percent increase in operating profit on a 30 percent-rise in revenue with a 9-percent increase in organic revenue. That came as the company had a 2-percent rise in profit on a 4-percent increase in revenue as Europe continued to be a drag on results.

Intuit Buying DemandForce for $425M

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:56:15 +0100

Intuit is planning to buy SaaS vendor Demandforce for $425 million. Demandforce bundles marketing and communications tools into a Web-based application and targets small local businesses. The deal is expected to close next month.

Block to Drop Jobs and Close Stores

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:40:39 +0100

H&R Block is restructuring its organization with plans to eliminate 350 jobs and close 200 company-owned stores. It also announced that Philip L. Mazzini, president of Retail Tax Services, has resigned effective April 30. Block also said that total returns prepared for the 2012 tax season were up 4.5 percent over a year ago. But that was because online returns outpaced sluggish growth at retail stores.

Xero Names U.S. Marketing VP

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:53:20 +0100

Xero, a New Zealand-based company, nas named Ian Vacin as VP of marketing for U.S. operations. Vacin, who was recently worked at Intuit, joins the company as at seeks to ramp up the still-small market for its online accounting applications in the United States.

Thomson Sells Healthcare Unit

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:42:26 +0100

Thomson Reuters has agreed to sell its healthcare business to Veritas Capital, a private equity firm, for $1.25 billion in cash. The deal would consummate a plan by Thomson that had been stalled last fall when the company decided market conditions were not right for getting an adequate price for the healthcare business.

TaxAct Parent Paid Owners Well

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:05:02 +0100

2SS Holdings, the company that owned the TaxAct software line, was an extremely profitable operation that paid its owners large dividends. And perhaps that explains why after the courts blocked its sale to H&R Block, the company was quickly snapped up by InfoSpace in January. For the year ended September 30, the company had operating margins of 43.6 percent and that was down from more than 49 percent for each of the prior fiscal years.

Armanino Consulting Revs Up 62 Percent

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:00:22 +0100

Armanino Consulting had very strong year in 2011 as the organization's revenue rose by 62 percent over 2010 results. The financial software vendor cited organic growth along with acquisitions and strengthening of some product lines as factors behind the $28.7 million in revenue last year, a significant jump from $17.2 million in 2010.

Ex-BDO Partner Sentenced for Tax Crimes

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:44:25 +0100

Stephen A. Favato, a former partner in BDO Seidman's Woodbridge, N.J., office, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax crimes. Favato, a resident of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., was found guilty in August 2010 by a federal jury of one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the Internal Revenue laws and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of a false income tax return.

Thomson Moves into Indian Tax Market

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:36:51 +0100

Thomson Reuters has entered the tax and accounting market in India through the acquisition of Fast Facts. Fast Facts, based in Mumbai, produces tax software and claims about 10,000 professionals and small firms as users. Users also include Big Four accounting firms, banks and multinational corporations.

CCH Hires Thomson's Mackintosh

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:42:12 +0100

CCH has named Teresa Mackintosh, a long-time executive at Thomson Reuters, as its EVP and General Manager of Tax. Mackintosh will report to CCH president Mike Sabbatis. She fills a vacancy left when Joe Bergera, a Sage executive, left the new spot after short tenure for what he had described as a dream job.

BlumShapiro Gets AccuFund Honor

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:43:44 +0100

BlumShapiro Consulting has been given a 2011 Partner Leadership award by nonprofit software vendor AccuFund. The accounting firm was cited as the volume leader in nonprofit sales by the Needham, Mass.-based publisher. The award was one of three presented at the annual AccuFund reseller meeting last month.

Five Alabama Preparers Indicted

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:15:04 +0100

A federal grand jury has indicted Bruce King, owner of a Montgomery, Ala.-based tax preparation business, and four other preparers that worked at his firm. All five are charged with participating in a scheme to file false tax returns with four of them were charged with aggravated identity theft.

Accountants Not Tops as Cloud Advisors

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:20:10 +0100

Accountants have had a reputation for their influence on accounting software buying decisions. But when it comes to influencing purchasing decision for cloud products, they come up much lower in the opinion of small and midsize business decisions makers. That was one of the findings of a cloud survey conducted by Microsoft.

Paychex Results Keep Improving

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:06:39 +0100

Checks per payroll rose for the eight consecutive quarter Paychex said this week as it reported results for the third quarter ended February 29. The company also said client satisfaction results remained high while the loss of payroll clients was down 5 percent from a year ago. That came as the company reported a 4-percent rise in net income on a 7-percent increase in revenue for the most recently ended quarter.

Avalara Kicks Off Accountant Program

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:26:27 +0100

Avalara, a sales-and-use tax service provider, took the wraps off a program that it has been discussing since the beginning of 2012. The online company formally rolled out its Accounting and Advisory Services Program this week The program is intended to help the accounting profession serve clients by educating them about sales-and-use tax issues and providing resources and tools so that can provide professional assistance in this area.

Intuit Unbundles Basic Payroll Pricing

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:34:23 +0100

New subscribers will no longer have efiling and electronic payment of federal tax and forms included in the Intuit Online Payroll Basic service effective May 1. Existing subscribers continue to have those services bundled into their plan as the company announced two payroll subscription changes.

Australian Company Won't Renew Intuit Deal

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:29:38 +0100

Australian software vendor Reckon says that it will not renew an agreement under which it has been selling Quicken and QuickBooks down under since 2010. The agreement expires on February 14, 2014. After that, Reckon can continue developing products based on Intuit technology, but cannot sell them under the Intuit brand, the company said in a filing with the Australian Stock Exchange. Reckon says it will save about $6.2 million annually in royalty payments.

Thomson Buys BizActions

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:34:59 +0100

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has acquired BizActions, which offers digital newsletter and Web marketing services for accounting firms in North America. Terms were not disclosed.That deal follows Thomson's purchase last month of Emochila, which markets website services.

DOJ Seeks To Shutter Mississippi Preparer

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:18:08 +0100

The Justice Department has asked a federal court to bar Cynthia H. Carter, who does business as Cynthia's Tax Service in Columbus, Miss., from preparing federal tax returns for others. Carter is accused of preparing returns that reported false income and expenses and tax credits , including the first-time-homebuyer credits.

Sikich Acquires Dynamics Reseller

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:55:01 +0100

Sikich, based in Naperville, Ill., has acquired Denver-based Streamline Systems, which markets the Dynamics AX financial application. The deal, accomplished via merger, represents a significant addition to the Sikich software reselling business. Terms were not disclosed.

Six in I.D. Theft Guilty of Tax and Mail Fraud

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:02:31 +0100

Six individuals have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from their filing tax returns by using names of recently deceased taxpayers and then sending refunds to locations they controlled in Florida. The six admitted that the fraud caused the government to lose between $1 million and $2.5 million with more than 10 victims involved in the use of stolen identities. The acts occurred between April 15, 2009 and August 2011.

Risk and Compliance Top AICPA IT Technology List

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:44:45 +0100

The American Institute of CPAs' 2012 Top Technology Initiatives Survey found managing and securing compliance as the technology goal mentioned by the most respondents. In making their selection, the AICPA asked respondents to rate their organizational goals for technology. The organization also released a selection of 10 technologies that will have the most impact on t heir or their clients' organizations.

SmartPros Rebounds on Lower Revenue Costs

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 02:20:57 +0100

Educational specialist SmartPros returned to a profit in 2011 as it dramatically lowered its cost of revenue. Lower salaries and related costs, along with decreased use of outsourced labor, helped the company to net income of just over $154,000 for the year ended December 31, compared to a loss of just over $129,000 for 2010.

Andrews Gets $4 Million in Block Exit

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:54:56 +0100

C.E. Andrews, who headed RSM McGladrey Business Services for H&R Block, is leaving the company with payments of more than $4 million and has the potential for more compensation. Although Block terminated his contract on March 6, it gave the executive nearly $1 million in cash under a separation agreement and tacked on another $3 million in cash because of what Block termed his "successful management" of the unit.

Intuit Renames Facebook Page

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:09:05 +0100

Intuit has renamed one of its Facebook pages and with that move, it has removed the last vestige of its effort to rebrand products under the ProLine brand. The Intuit ProLine Facebook page was the last service to use the ProLine name until the last few days when it was replaced by Intuit Accountants.

CITP Candidates Get Chance to Avoid Test

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:17 +0100

The American Institute of CPAs is giving candidates for its Certified Information Technology Professional credential a chance to avoid the mandatory testing that begins in July. CPAs interested in receiving the designation can still obtain the certification if they apply by May 25. At the same time, the committee guiding the process is developing continuing education courses for the program.

PCAOB Revokes New York Firm Registration

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:18:36 +0100

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has revoked the registration of CPA Paul Gaynes of New York and imposed a $5,000 civil money penalty upon the firm. The PCAOB made its initial decision on November 10, but the order did not become final until the period for Gaynes to petition for a review had elapsed.

Wolters Kluwer Moving into Analytics

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:06:38 +0100

Wolters Kluwer, the parent of CCH, is moving heavily into providing analytical products that draw upon the data the company has gathered in its operations. That plan was briefly outlined by Chief Executive Nancy McKinstry as the company reported that net income was up 2 percent and revenue up 4 percent, both in constant currencies, for the year ended December 31.

Cloud Accounting Picking up with NFPs?

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:23:55 +0100

If the way vendors pushing products show interest in online applications, then nonprofits must be demanding them. At least a lot more choices are hitting the markets for those organizations that would like to consider Internet-based software. Blackbaud has been expanding the presence of the online version of its Financial Edge Software; Sage North America is readying the launch of a cloud suite this summer. SaaS-based Intacct has started pushing into the space. And AccuFund finds market interest is accelerating for its online product.

L.A. Area Preparer Booted from Business

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:27:12 +0100

A Los Angeles-area tax preparer has been permanently barred from preparing federal tax returns for others. The Justice Department alleged that returns prepared by Maria Teresita Viray of Reseda, Los Angeles County resulted in a loss of more than $45 million in tax revenue from 2008 to 2010. Viray operated TVDM Tax Services, MTV Tax Services and New Horizon Tax Services and had prepared thousands of returns since 2008.

Gilman Ciocia Gets New Accounting Officer

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:11:26 +0100

Gilman Ciocia has named Jay Palma as principal financial and chief accounting officer. The financial planning company, which also provides tax preparation services, made the move following the resignation of Karen Fisher from that position this week.

Woodard Joins Sage's Channel

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:40:59 +0100

Joe Woodard, a prominent Intuit ProAdvisor, has become a Sage reseller as his firm, the Woodard Consulting Group, has joined the channel program of Sage North America as a dealer for Sage 90 and 200. Woodard operates the Scaling New Heights Conference for Intuit ProAdvisors and Solution Providers.

Florida CPA Indicted for False Returns

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:52:20 +0100

A Boca Raton, Fla., CPA has been indicted for preparing fraudulent tax returns and lying to Internal Revenue Service agents who were investigating his clients. John P. Miller is accused of obstructing Internal Revenue laws and preparing false tax returns.

Avalara to Start Accountant Resource Center

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:14:00 +0100

Sales-and-use-tax vendor Avalara plans to open an Accountants Resource Center on its website next week. The center will provide free state tax forms and applications for exemption certificates, along with tools such as white papers and videos, including webinars.

Tax & Accounting Sparkles for Thomson in 2011

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:50:54 +0100

With the focus for Thomson Reuters for 2011 on cleaning up the mess in its former markets division, the Tax & Accounting business was a welcome bright spot for the company's results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31. That segment produced a 17-percent increase in operating profits on a 14-percent rise in revenue for 2011 in what was the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth of EBITDA for Tax & Accounting.

Former IRS Employee Gets Almost Nine Years

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:44:00 +0100

Thomas W. Richardson, a former Internal Revenue Service employee, has been sentenced to 105 months in prison for filing 29 individual tax returns for 2005 which claimed refunds of $7.9 million. Richardson, a resident of Mansfield, Texas, was also ordered to pay $30,649 in restitution.