Category: Ethics
-
Seven foundational concepts of professional tax practice
Seven foundational concepts of professional tax practice:
-
Thanksgiving Day Insights into Black Voters
One of the most puzzling things to me personally in my work discussing local economic development is the increasing support of Donald Trump by some black neighbors. While I was part of the early fraud cases representing small business contractors against him, that was decades ago and much has changed in the world. Journalist Astrid…
-
Boycott list
Uline Wendy’s CVS Taco Bell Estes Lauder Equinox SoulCycle Marvel Home Depot Hobby Lobby Goya MyPillow Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe
-
How we handle tax fraud
I wrote this comment tonight to a young Enrolled Agent struggling with a client committing tax fraud who described herself as naïve about the human behavior behind it. “XXXXXXX, this is a general comment and not in any way meant as a negative personal thing. I would suspect that anyone putting the massive time and…
-
Is it political? Is delayed prosecution for financial fraud unethical?
Twenty plus years ago when I worked as an accountant for contractors documenting various types of financial fraud committed by the Trump organization for civil cases, the decision to not charge him criminally clearly was political. Civil courts in hundreds of cases found evidence of fraud, yet criminal charges were never filed. Politicians in New…
-
Rules for CPAs who handle clients’ PPP loans
Last year the AICPA issued ethics guidance to CPAs who handle PPP loan application and forgiveness applications for their business clients. This has become a significant issue for me lately. The guidance reminds practitioners that assisting the client in this capacity is considered a nonattest service requiring application of the independence and related rules in…
-
Honorable James Dannenberg resignation letter
This letter is reposted here because it is the best written rebuke of the Supreme Court I’ve ever read. The Chief Justice of the United States One First Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20543 March 11, 2020 Dear Chief Justice Roberts: I hereby resign my membership in the Supreme Court Bar. This was not an easy…
-
Twelve consumer product businesses to avoid
These twelve companies sell to consumers; meaning there is usually a consumer market choice to be made. They made my boycott list either for unacceptable social actions or for unrelenting damage to the environment*. I won’t buy from any of them and I hope that you reach a similar conclusion and don’t support them either.…
-
The Impact of “Funny Numbers”
Will the ‘tone at the top’ trigger an increase in tax fraud? There are a few topics that I don’t talk about or write about in this blog. It’s usually because they are some combination of distasteful, unethical. illegal, immoral, controversial and a ‘no-win’ situation. One of those topics is accounting fraud. I covered the…
-
The Basics of Medicaid Planning
This blog post lists key issues in bullet format and is not intended as a complete discussion of any issue. A more thorough consideration is helpful for any aspect that may pertain to your family’s situation. Definition: “Medicaid planning” refers to the specialized field of financial planning that recognizes that it is possible to simultaneously keep financial assets while,…