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SmartPros Accounting Homepage IRS Chief Says Targeting Was Foolish but Not Political The departing chief of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service says he takes the blame for planting a question about the targeting of conservative political groups. SmartPros:  SmartPros® Financial Results Investor Relations Weekly Newsletter Newsletter Subscriptions Online CPE Catalog ONLINE CPE: Surviving Filing Season Chaos: From WOTC to Identity Theft The long-delayed enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act provided a number of challenges to the timely preparation and processing of 2012 tax returns. Expert commentators Barry Weisman and Barbara Weltman examine the IRS' response to a number of challenges that plague practitioners, from retroactively claiming the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to effectively combating identity theft.

Inside SmartPros: This Week in the SmartPros News & Insights Newsletter Newsline: IRS Chief Says Targeting Was Foolish but Not Political ... Editorial: IRS Went After Small Fry, but Let the Big Ones Get Away ... CPE: Surviving Filing Season Chaos: From WOTC to Identity Theft ... Book Pick: Technology Tools for Today's High-Margin Practice

News & Insights

IRS Official to Take the 5th at House Hearing U.S. House Passes Partisan SEC Act The U.S. House approved a bill that would force the Securities and Exchange Commission to review rules considered to be stalling job creation. IRS Probe Ignored Most Influential Groups The nation's tax agency has admitted to inappropriately scrutinizing smaller tea party organizations that applied for tax-exempt status. But the IRS largely maintained a hands-off policy with the much larger, big-budget organizations on the left and right. GOP Hopes IRS Scandal Will Snag Health Care Law Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama's health care law. Obama Agenda Marches on Despite Controversies Despite Democratic fears, predictions of the demise of President Barack Obama's agenda appear exaggerated after a week of cascading controversies, political triage by the administration and party leaders in Congress and lack of evidence to date of wrongdoing close to the Oval Office. IRS Went After Small Fry, but Let the Big Ones Get Away IRS supervisors were wrong to single out local Tea Parties when there's a host of flagrant, big-time violators controlled by supporters of both major political parties. Ex-Saab Executives Arrested on Accounting Charges A Swedish prosecutor says three former executives of automaker Saab Automobile AB have been arrested on accounting fraud charges. Los Angeles Jeweler Pleads Guilty in KPMG case The owner of a Los Angeles jewelry store pleaded guilty for his role in an insider-trading case involving a former senior partner at accounting firm KPMG. More Obama Aides Knew of IRS Audit; Obama Not Told White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior presidential advisers knew in late April that an upcoming report was likely to find that IRS employees had inappropriately targeted conservative political groups. 2013 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Adopted and Supported by SEC The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted the 2013 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced. GOP Leaders Say Impeachment Talk Premature Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Republican National Committee chairman are distancing themselves from conservatives who suggested in recent days that President Barack Obama could face impeachment for the developing scandal at the Internal Revenue Service.

Spotlight

FREE CPE: XBRL: Long Anticipated, Now Required The third phase of the SEC's interactive data disclosure program took effect this month, with nearly all public companies now required to submit their data in the fully searchable, digital format known as XBRL. Joseph Howell, managing director at WebFilings, reviews how businesses are complying with the SEC mandate and predicts how companies will adapt the XBRL technology for their own internal needs. SmartPros Price: FREE! - Sponsored by WebFilings CPA Report Online Subscribe to the top online CPE program for public accountants. CPA Report Online covers the latest events impacting public practice. SmartPros Price: Courses: $59.98 - Subscriptions: $409 FMN Online Subscribe to the program that more than half of the Fortune 500 trust for CPE. Stay up to date on Sarbanes-Oxley and other key events impacting corporate finance. SmartPros Price: Courses: $69.90 - Subscriptions: $429

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