News and Information

April 2013 – Maher Duessel discount available for the AICPA NPO Conference. Maher Duessel is proud to have 2 of its partners speaking at the AICPA National Not-for-Profit Industry Conference on June 20-21, 2013 in Washington, DC.  Diane Edelstein, CPA is serving as a member of the conference’s Steering Committee. She will speak on the following topics: “Single Audit: Major Program Determination and Scope of Testing”, “Single Audit: Common Problems”, “Audit Sampling”, and “FAQs of A-133″.  Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE will a present a topic called “Alphabet Soup: Explaining the Acronyms that Affect Financial Reporting”.  Because of their speaking commitments, Maher Duessel is able to provide a $100 discount to conference attendees who register using the coupon code “SDK”. To learn more about the conference, or to register, you can download the conference brochure or visit the conference website.

February 2013 – Proposed Revisions to OMB Circular A-133. The United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released its proposed guidance for reforming federal policies related to grants and cooperative agreements. This guidance includes proposed revisions to OMB Circular A-133 (“Audits of State, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations”). The Government Audit Quality Center (GAQC) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recently issued GAQC Alert #211 which includes a summary of the OMB’s proposed revisions. The OMB has allowed for a 90-day comment period which expires on May 2, 2013.

January 2013 – The IRS released Notice 1036 – Early Release Copies of the 2013 Percentage Method Tables for Income Tax Withholding. This notice is related to the early release copies of yearly income tax withholding tables. You can find the notice and other links related to this topic on the IRS website by clicking here.

December 2012 – Changes in FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage – The unlimited insurance coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts provided under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act expired on December 31, 2012. Deposits held in noninterest-bearing transaction accounts are now aggregated with any interest-bearing deposits the owner may hold in the same ownership category, and the combined total insured up to at least $250,000. (source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

November 2012 – The IRS released the new standard mileage rates for use in 2013. The official notice can be found here. The new rates effective January 1, 2013 are as follows:

September 2012 - The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue issued Informational Notice Personal Income Tax 2012-02. This notice provides payors of either non-employee compensation or payments under an oil and gas lease with guidance for submitting a copy of their federal form 1099-MISC information returns to the Department of Revenue.

September 2012 – Harrisburg – Auditors from the Harrisburg office recently participated in the United Way Day of Caring. Andrea Crowell, Jennifer CruverKibi, Michelle Buskey, Ashley Ackerson, Sara Brenneman, Katie Shadron, Lindsay Miller, Jeff Morris, Kevin Mahood, Richard Juday, Lisa Ritter, and Jonathon Mentzer helped pack 800 Eldershare boxes for distribution to income-eligible seniors along with more than 8,500 pounds of mixed grocery boxes to fill empty pantry shelves.

September 2012 – Pittsburgh – Karen S. McCarthy, Senior Manager, has been named Director of Education for the firm and will immediately assume her new responsibilities. Her duties will include oversight of the firm’s issuance of CPE credits, running the semi-annual conferences, tracking employee CPE requirements, developing an education plan for all employees, and recommending attendees for outside conferences.

September 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE has assumed the responsibility for overseeing the firm’s participation in the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Quality Center.

Fall 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE . To read Lisa’s featured article, “Prepare Now: Clarified SASs Are Coming,” in the Pennsylvania CPA Journal digital magazine, click here.

August 2012 – The IRS released the new Publication 5005, Your Responsibilities as a Conduit Issuer of Tax-Exempt Bonds. This publication provides an overview for state and local governments of the responsibilities of the conduit issuer with respect to tax compliance in municipal financing arrangements commonly known as conduit financings. This publication is based on the recommendations of the TE/GE Advisory Committee, also known as the ACT. For more information about the above item or if you have other tax-exempt bonds questions, visit the  Tax Exempt Bond Community section of the IRS website here.

August 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE will have a featured article in the Fall 2012 issue of the Pennsylvania CPA Journal entitled, “Prepare Now: Clarified SASs Are Coming.” Also on August 13th, Lisa will participate in a companion podcast for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs as a supplement to this article.

June 2012 – GASB Approves New Accounting Standards. The GASB voted on June 25, 2012, to approve two new accounting standards: GASB Statement No. 67, Financial Reporting for Pension Plans, and Statement No. 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions. Both statements will be available for download from the GASB Website in early August. Separately, in early June, GASB announced that final statements, concept statements, interpretations, and technical bulletins are available for downloading at no cost on the GASB Website. Documents will be posted as PDF files in their originally issued form.

June 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE presented an accounting and auditing update seminar for the members of the Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities on June 27th at the Dixon University Center.

June 2012 – Pittsburgh – Partner Diane Edelstein, CPA spoke on the topic, “Common Mistakes in SEFA Preparation” at the 2012 PICPA Conference held in Harrisburg, PA.

June 2012 – Maher Duessel announces its membership as business leaders in the Pennsylvania Municipal League (formerly the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities).

June 2012 – Pittsburgh – Maher Duessel congratulates Partner Diane Edelstein, CPA, a member of the steering committee and speaker for the recent AICPA Not-for-Profit Industry Conference. More than 1700 industry professionals attended this extremely successful two day conference in Washington, DC on June 20 and 21.

June 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE was part of the PANO Task Force that worked to create the Form 990 Public Relations Checlist for 501(c)(3)s. You can view the checklist here.

April 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE was named to the Board of Directors of the Susquehanna Art Museum.

April 2012 – Harrisburg – Partner Lisa Ritter, CPA, CFE wrote an article entitled “Yellow Book 2011 – A Declaration of Independence,” which was published in the PICPA’s e-newsletter, Professional Issues & Trends. Click here to read the article.

April 2012 – Harrisburg – Andrew Kehl has joined the Finance Committee of Leg Up Farm, Inc.

March 2012 - The Internal Revenue Service launched a new online search tool, Exempt Organizations Select Check, that allows taxpayers to find out whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions or has had its tax exemption revoked. Select Check replaces the online version of Pub. 78 and the IRS’s Auto-Revocation List. The tool is hosted on the IRS website here.

March 2012 - Pittsburgh - Maher Duessel’s Pittsburgh office will be moving to a new location on March 30, conveniently located on the North Shore. Our phone and fax numbers will stay the same.  Please update your contact information with our new address: Maher Duessel, 503 Martindale Street, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.

January 2012 – Pittsburgh – Maher Duessel placed second in the GNC Corporate Challenge, which benefited the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank!