NYSSCPA Members in the News

Matt Bryant (Rochester)
Budget your summer vacation
WROC Rochester News 8
CPA Matt Bryant of the New York State Society of CPAs discussed ways to budget your summer vacation Monday on News 8 at Sunrise. Bryant said before you set out consider all costs including air fare, rental cars, hotels, gas, meals, entertainment and souvenirs.  If that total is higher than your allotted budget, make changes to your plan.

Other Accounting and Finance News

AICPA, NASBA Propose International Pathway to US CPA Licensure
AccountingWEB
In a nod to the growing globalization of business, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have proposed to make it easier for foreign CPAs to practice in the United States. The International Pathway Exam Exposure Draft seeks to amend the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) by providing a unilateral pathway to US CPA licensure for holders of qualified foreign designations.

Fed Officials Gain Confidence They Can Raise Rates This Year
Wall Street Journal
Federal Reserve officials are looking more confidently toward an interest-rate increase before year-end, possibly as early as September, now that financial markets have stabilized after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and the economy shows signs of picking up. Officials are almost certain to leave rates unchanged when they meet July 26-27, according to their public comments and interviews with officials.

U.S. Corporate Tax Directors Have a Hard Time Adjusting to BEPS
Accounting Today
Tax executives at U.S.-based multinational companies are having a hard time adjusting to the new rules demanded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting plan, also known as OECD BEPS, according to a new survey. While OECD BEPS is not a requirement in the U.S., the action plan has influenced the Treasury Department’s recent rulemaking.

NY local property tax cap set at less than 1% for 2017
SFGate
New York's comptroller says local governments statewide face a tax cap of less than 1 percent next year, slightly lower than this year's limit on property tax hikes. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the latest calculation — 0.68 percent — applies to municipalities with fiscal years starting Jan. 1. That includes all counties, towns, fire districts, 44 cities and 10 villages.

Program Aims to Increase and Diversify Talented Accounting Students
CPA Practice Advisor
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and NAF today announced the launch of a high school program aimed at increasing and diversifying the pipeline of talented students who enter the accounting profession. The announcement was made at NAF Next 2016, NAF’s annual professional development conference that brings together education, business, and community leaders to address some of the biggest challenges facing education and the economy, located this year in Orlando, Florida.

IRS Proposes Regulations Addressing the Device Test and the Active Trade or Business Requirement for Tax-Free Spin-Offs
Lexology
On July 14, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the Department of Treasury issued proposed regulations (the “Proposed Regulations”) under section 355 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), that provide new rules on the so-called device test (the “Proposed Device Rules”) and the active trade or business (“ATB”) requirement (the “Proposed ATB Rules”), both relating to the ability of a spin-off to qualify as a tax-free transaction for the distributing corporation and its shareholders.

AICPA Will Finance Assurance Research
Accounting Today
The American Institute of CPAs is planning to fund academic research on audit and assurance services. The AICPA’s Assurance Research Advisory Group issued a request for proposals Monday seeking research on assurance topics that would be of interest to the CPA profession to help support the AICPA’s Enhancing Audit Quality (EAQ) initiative.

Hedge Funds Bet Battered Sterling Could Plunge Further
Wall Street Journal
Hedge funds are betting that the battered British pound could fall further in the wake of the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union. Managers, many of whom stayed cautious ahead of the U.K.’s June 23 referendum on EU membership, have since been cranking up their bets, according to industry insiders.

U.S. Labor Dept. Says Fiduciary Guidance Coming Soon   
The National Law Journal
The U.S. Department of Labor plans to "push out guidance fairly shortly" to address questions about compliance with Labor’s fiduciary rule, Timothy Hauser, chief operating officer of DOL's Employee Benefits Security Administration, said Monday.