NYSSCPA Members in the News
Michael Zovistoski (Northeast)
Howard Foote and Michael Zovistoski rise to top of unboring field
Your Niskayuna
Finance can be a numbing subject to the average person, lending the accounting field a rather stuffy reputation. However, if the average person met Michael Zovistoski or Howard Foote, two Niskayuna Certified Public Accountants, ‘stuffy’ would hardly be their first impression. “I like to have fun,” Zovistoski said, shortly after arriving at the interview with this reporter in his convertible Mini Cooper with the top down. Beyond being a CPA, Zovistoski is also a certified financial planner, partner at UHY, LLC and recently inaugurated president of the New York State Society of CPAs.
Other Accounting and Finance News Stories
Dow Surges to Record, Ending Dry Spell
Wall Street Journal
The Dow industrials charged to a record Tuesday, surpassing their May 2015 milestone and ending the longest stretch without a record since the period from October 2007 to March 2013. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 120.74 points, or 0.7%, to 18347.67 to climb past its previous closing record of 18312.39 set May 19, 2015.
Form 5500 Annual Report Modernization Proposed
PLANSPONSOR
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA), along with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) are seeking public comments on proposed revisions to modernize and improve the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report filed by private-sector employee benefit plans. EBSA also published a related notice of proposed changes to its annual reporting regulations under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
In Uncertain Times, CEOs Lose Faith in Forecasts
Wall Street Journal
The forecast for business predictions these days is cloudy. Chief executives tap consultants, expert prognostications and polls about market and political conditions to help inform business decisions. But from the Brexit surprise to the rise of Donald Trump and the frequently revised U.S. job market numbers, expert analyses have been landing far off the mark—and executives are growing wary.
5 Notable Tax Laws And Regulations Of 2016: Midyear Report
Law360
The tax world has seen major shifts this year, with corporate tax avoidance being top of mind for regulators across the globe. Here, Law360 looks at policy changes including controversial anti-inversion regulations and mandatory country-by-country reporting rules that have been introduced to deter tax avoidance practices.
Investors Bet the Slide in Pound Isn’t Over
Wall Street Journal
The pound’s sharp drop since Britain voted to leave the European Union is its swiftest decline on record. But positioning in currency markets suggests most investors are ready for more to come. The latest data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission indicate that investors believe the pound will continue to fall even after its 11% plummet against the dollar since June 23.
AMAZON: How The World's Largest Retailer Keeps Tax Collectors At Bay
Newsweek.com
When Jeffrey Bezos was deciding where to base his new e-commerce business in 1995, Seattle was not his first choice. Instead, the CEO of Amazon, now the world’s largest online store, eyed an Indian reservation near San Francisco that would have considerably lowered his tax bill.
The Bright Spot in Bank Earnings
Wall Street Journal
Can U.S. banks lend their way out of trouble? Investors can only hope. Second-quarter bank-earnings season kicks off with J.P. Morgan Chase reporting Thursday, followed by Wells Fargo and Citigroup on Friday. In the wake of the U.K.’s Brexit vote, investors aren’t focused so much on the three-month period ended in June, but what comes after.
U.S. 10-Year Yields Log Biggest Two-Day Rise Since December
Wall Street Journal
A broad wave of selloff swept government bonds in the U.S. and Europe on Tuesday, a sign of buying fatigue after bond yields globally had sunk to record low levels at the end of last week. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note suffered the biggest two-day increase since December 2015.