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CPA

Guidance on choosing, working with, and understanding Certified Public Accountants

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PCAOB Bars Zwick CPA Over Fabricated Genie Energy Workpapers: What Audit Quality Failures Mean for Small Businesses

The PCAOB revoked Zwick CPA's registration and fined the firm $50,000 after finding its 2022 Genie Energy audit relied on the predecessor auditor's recycled workpapers with swapped names and fabricated documentation. With 61% aggregate deficiency rates at triennially inspected firms, here's how small businesses can vet the audits they rely on — and keep their own books diligence-ready.

mike

auditcpafraud-prevention

KPMG Australia Cut Partner Pay 20% Over an Ethics Scandal. Here's How to Vet Your Own Accountant.

KPMG Australia is preparing to cut over 1,000 of roughly 10,000 jobs and reduce partner pay by up to 20% after admitting it mishandled a 2024 whistleblower complaint alleging misuse of confidential client data. The same five independence threats behind the scandal — self-interest, self-review, advocacy, familiarity, and intimidation — apply to any local CPA firm, and this guide covers the red flags plus a five-step due-diligence checklist (license lookup, peer review report, references, commission disclosure, engagement-letter scope) for vetting your own accountant.

mike

auditcpacompliance

Embedded Leases in Service Contracts: An ASC 842 Field Guide for Controllers

ASC 842 treats many service contracts — IT hosting, 3PL warehousing, power purchase agreements, equipment-as-a-service — as leases when the contract names an identified asset and the customer directs its use. This guide covers the two-test framework, the four contract categories where embedded leases hide, the practical-expedient trade-offs, and a procurement-to-accounting screening workflow.

mike

accountingleasesfinancial-reporting

Section 6751(b) Supervisory Approval: The Procedural Defense That Can Erase IRS Penalties

Section 6751(b) requires a real IRS supervisor to personally approve penalties in writing before assessment. A working guide to using Chai, the Graev trilogy, and the December 2024 final regulations to defeat accuracy-related, fraud, and information-return penalties — which penalties qualify, what documents to demand, and how to raise the argument at Appeals before paying for Tax Court.

mike

taxtax-compliancecompliance
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