by Brian Mahany Two of the biggest brokerage industry failures last year were Peregrine Financial Group and MF Global Holdings. In August of last year we covered the Peregrine story after the firm’s CEO attempted suicide and left a note confessing to a massive theft from customers. At that time, we questioned why the firm’s […]
Dow Chemical Suffers Billion Dollar Tax Shelter Loss – Accounting Malpractice
by Brian Mahany When will they learn? Three times this month we have reported on big banks and corporations that have suffered major court defeats after attempting to claim questionable tax deductions. This week’s IRS victory against Dow Chemical is just one more nail in the coffin of abusive tax shelters. Wall Street bad boys […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]
Can I Sue an Accountant for Failing to Report My Offshore Accounts?
Accounting Malpractice Post The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) and other foreign account amnesty programs are long over. Between the 2009 and 2011 tax amnesty programs, roughly 30,000 taxpayers have come forward and reported their offshore accounts. Most have paid severe penalties of 20 to 25% of the value of their offshore holdings. That […]
Accounting Malpractice (Can I Sue My Accountant?)
The term “malpractice” strikes fear in the minds of many professionals… doctors, lawyers and accountants. For most people, their only interaction with an accountant occurs during income tax filing season. People make that once a year visit, drop off a box of receipts and that’s it. For many other people, however, their accountant is also […]
IRS Pays CPA $4.5 Million For "Throwing Client Under The Bus"
For many people, that headline is probably quite disturbing. The IRS paid an in-house corporate accountant $4.5 million for turning in his or her own employer over an unreported tax debt. To add insult to the injury, the accountant’s identity is protected under the whistleblower rules. No one likes tax cheats but many folks are […]