For the third consecutive year, accounting undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities is on the rise.

Annual inflation rose to a three-year-high of 4.2% in May, underscoring how elevated energy prices are rippling through the US economy, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Private equity is buying accounting firms faster than the profession can name the buyers.

As the CPA Trendlines CPA PE Deal Tracker™ adds 13 more closings for the month of May, a new survey shows accountants worrying about PE tarnishing the image and reputation of the profession. But half say they might take the money anyway.

Surging energy prices last month pushed down optimism among small businesses to the lowest level since October 2024, the National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday in a survey report.

The cybersecurity industry devotes a lot of attention to how AI helps hackers analyze vulnerabilities more quickly and craft better malware, but a new report argues that AI’s improved impersonation of corporate leaders is proving just as consequential.

AI-generated writing is becoming harder to detect, but there are ways you can improve authenticity and avoid reputational risks by retaining human editing.

The economic welfare of Maryland’s kids has been relatively stable in recent years. But Maryland still fell from 10th place among states to 18th in the newest edition of the annual Kids Count data book.

The IRS is restructuring the framework of its Security Summit public-private partnership to fend off tax-related identity theft, setting up five new work groups and coordinating more closely with payroll providers whose information has become an increasing target for hackers.

Finance chiefs are trying to get a better read on how much AI their companies are using to avoid a sticker shock moment as vendors begin charging for the technology by tokens.

A national advertising and social media campaign will highlight CPA Trust, an AICPA initiative announced Tuesday that is focused on deepening recognition of the accounting profession’s full range and value.

The IRS is creating a new office aimed at simplifying and modernizing how it interacts with the tax professional community.

The Internal Revenue Service released its 2025 Data Book outlining its activities during fiscal year 2025, indicating the agency continued to carry out its functions despite cutbacks in its budget and personnel.

The Internal Revenue Service provided the addresses of nearly 47,000 people to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a new report.

A newly released report from two major accounting industry organizations is full of relatively clear-eyed advice when it comes to navigating the stark AI and technological changes that are expected to continue broadly reshaping the accounting profession in the coming decade.

The SEC has published a draft strategic plan that focuses on returning the agency to the core mission set by Congress more than 90 years ago -- protecting investors; maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitating capital formation.

Learn why thousands of finance and accounting professionals say judgment, ethics, and foresight — not just technology — will determine long-term relevance.

Small and midsized companies are turning to artificial intelligence to gain increased visibility into expense management, shore up controls and improve compliance, according to a new survey by American Express.

The AICPA and CIMA - known collectively as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants - has launched "Rise2040: Shaping the Future of Finance and Accounting," a global initiative designed not simply to anticipate the future of the profession but to actively shape it.

New AICPA Chair Jan Lewis passionately believes that leadership begins with listening — to members, to clients, to the realities that shape the profession — and letting those insights guide her actions. www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2026/...

The US Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plan to propose regulations on how an excise tax will apply to excessive compensation and “excess parachute payments."

GenZ, Millenials, GenX and Baby Boomers don’t always share the same views on hybrid work, ESG policies and AI, a recent survey found.

The Internal Revenue Service announced a series of hiring events that will take place in June and July to help fill what it described as "key seasonal roles."

Cybersecurity reviews are now integral to sales and vendor diligence, with operational trust and preparedness evolving from IT concerns into critical finance and leadership priorities.

Optimism about the U.S. and global economy among CPA decision-makers declined in the second quarter of this year, according to the AICPA and CIMA Economic Outlook Survey. However, the finance leaders are slightly more optimistic about their own organization’s prospects for the coming 12 months.

The average number of open accounting and finance roles per company has skyrocketed to 17, up from five in 2025 and just two in 2024, according to a new report.

The cost of an estate tax closing letter (also referred to as IRS Letter 627) will increase from $56 to $76 if proposed regulations issued Monday by the IRS (REG-103193-26) become final.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he is “performing the duties” of IRS commissioner, even as he insisted he is not the agency’s acting commissioner, during a heated Senate exchange over President Donald Trump settlement with the IRS.

New York-based fintech startup Ramp, a partner with the Maryland Association of CPAs, announced Wednesday that it is expanding its offerings to the accounting industry with the launch of an artificial intelligence operating system that will tackle basic accounting tasks.

Six candidates met the rigorous criteria to receive the Elijah Watt Sells Award this year, granted to CPA candidates who obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam, pass all four sections on their first attempt, and completed testing in 2025.

Accountants aren’t mere heads-down, number-crunching functionaries, of course. Today, they need a strategic orientation to fulfill their professional potential. And in that vein, there’s still another side to accountants — the socially aware side.

Most accounting firms market themselves the same way… a list of services on a website, a tagline about being trusted advisors, and a hope that the right client finds them. The problem isn’t the services. It’s the presentation.

The Trump administration is abandoning its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund after it drew broad condemnation from Republican lawmakers and threatened to sink an unrelated immigration-enforcement bill.

The Justice Department is standing by an extraordinary measure giving President Trump, his family and his businesses potentially lucrative protection from I.R.S. investigations, Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said on Tuesday.

Job openings soared in April to 7.62 million, the highest level in two years, as hiring declined to 5.12 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday.

After exiting its contract with Kiewit Infrastructure, the Maryland Department of Transportation is seeking four separate procurement contracts in its mission to rebuild Baltimore‘s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump to respond to “grievous allegations” that his deal with the government to create a $1.8 billion fund to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS was the result of a “fraud” on the court.

Major AI developers’ model-safety claims rest on incorrect assumptions about how hackers behave, Cisco researchers said in a report published on Wednesday.

The Internal Revenue Service is continuing to challenge and audit claims for the Employee Retention Credit, extending the yearslong backlogs on processing the often dubious claims.

The Justice Department on Monday said it will abide by a federal court ruling that puts the Trump administration's controversial $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund on hold while a legal challenge plays out in court.

A watchdog will investigate the IRS’s partnership with the private sector to help taxpayers file returns for free, following a request from Democratic lawmakers.

The IRS's procedures for approving authorized e-file providers need fixing after it seems to have approved a number of potentially ineligible tax professionals, including several with a criminal history and uncertain citizenship status, according to a new report.

Nearly seven in 10 retirees are concerned about managing their savings so they don’t run out of money, yet a similar share aren’t working with a financial adviser.

State legislatures in Vermont, Missouri and Louisiana passed legislation last month effectively easing the educational requirements for becoming a certified public accountant, according to their respective state legislature websites.

How do organizations improve input and oversight when AI is involved in decisions? What is the best mix of AI and human in each decision, leveraging enough machine autonomy to improve speed, consistency, and scale while also maintaining sufficient human agency?

The Trump administration plans to drop its controversial $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund the president sought to compensate alleged victims of prosecutorial conduct under his predecessor, two senior administration officials told Axios.

The long-awaited civil trial pitting the owner and managers of the ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge and people who suffered damages from the incident will have to wait even longer.

While the M&A market’s strong 2025 performance has continued into this year and is expected to remain healthy, dealmakers nonetheless can’t take stability for granted.

The IRS has appealed a decision in which the Court of Federal Claims held that the filing deadline for refund claims for penalties and interest was automatically extended due to the COVID-19 disaster declaration.

Christina Ho, a dissenting voice on the U.S. audit regulator’s board in recent years, is helping form a new venture-backed accounting firm.