Le Lézard
Classified in: Business
Subjects: SVY, LEG, ECO

New Tax Law Increasing Need for Specialized Tax Professionals


BOCA RATON, Fla., May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When President Donald Trump signed the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law last December, it included the most sweeping changes to tax structures for corporations in decades, leading companies to assess the impact on their financial statement disclosures and creating additional financial reporting and audit risk considerations to both companies and their external auditors.

With studies showing tax account complexity and judgement errors as common reasons for tax-related misstatements, the Big 4 accounting firms have been focused on addressing the latest tax accounting developments and ASC 740, a set of financial accounting and reporting standards, for the effects of income taxes that result from a company's activities during the current and preceding years.

Companies, when facing increased strain in their internal tax department, may consult with specialized tax professionals to achieve better control over tax accounting issues. Companies typically use either one or a combination of (1) their external auditor, (2) other consultants including tax and law firms, or (3) their internal tax departments for tax compliance and planning services.

In addition to the reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, tax professionals face a new tax regime for foreign earnings and a mandatory earnings repatriation tax, new limits on interest and net operating loss deductions, the elimination or expansion of deductions, the retirement of tax credits and the creation of even more.

According to the research report "The 2017 Top 100 Firms and Regional Leaders" from Accounting Today, the Big 4 accounting firms remain in the top five tax firms in the United States. During the 10-year period between 2007 and 2016, most of the Big 4 public clients have purchased tax services (73 percent per Audit Analytics data) from their audit firms due to perceived cost savings and knowledge spillover benefits of integration. The new tax law will undoubtedly drive even more growth for Big 4 tax services.

Jian Cao is an associate professor and Stone Fellow in the School of Accounting at Florida Atlantic University's College of Business. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect or represent the opinions of Florida Atlantic University.

SOURCE Florida Atlantic University College of Business


These press releases may also interest you

at 08:10
NextGen Digital Platforms Inc. ("NextGen" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed an oversubscribed non-brokered private placement (the "Financing"). The Company issued 2,070,000 common shares (each, a "Share"), at a price of...

at 08:10
Union Pacific Corporation will release first quarter 2024 financial and operating results on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 7:45 a.m. ET. The company's management team will host a conference call and live webcast at 8:45 a.m. ET. Parties interested...

at 08:10
Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. announced today that the Company will release its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, after the market close on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The Company will host its first quarter 2024...

at 08:07
Input 1, a leading digital billing and payment solution provider to the insurance industry, is thrilled to announce two new features designed to enhance the capabilities and services of their platform. These additions, Custom Credit Card Statement...

at 08:07
Entrepreneurship is booming, and online microbusinesses ? those with 10 or fewer employees, a domain and an active website ? create jobs and lower unemployment rates across the U.S., according to new research from GoDaddy and UCLA Anderson Forecast....

at 08:07
Global consulting firm J.S. Held, proudly celebrating 50 transformative years, reveals the "Lending Climate in America" survey results from Phoenix Management, a part of J.S. Held. The first quarter survey results highlight concern about the outcome...



News published on and distributed by: