FICPA Podcasts

The FICPA's "The Practitioner's Edge" delivers practical insights for CPAs and professionals in small firms. Each episode explores strategies, trends, and real-world solutions to help you run a stronger practice, serve clients better, and stay ahead in a changing profession.

 

This month, we're joined by Georgia Smith, lead product manager with Wolters Kluwer, to explore how small accounting firms can harness technology and AI to work more efficiently, reduce risk, and uncover new opportunities for growth. Smith discusses tools such as CCH AnswerConnect's Document Analysis and CCH Axcess Advisor, sharing real-world examples of how firms are reducing time spent on manual work, identifying advisory opportunities across their client base, and creating capacity without adding staff. She also addresses one of the biggest questions surrounding AI adoption: how firms can embrace new technology while maintaining security, accuracy, and the human expertise clients depend on.

 

"Technology is not your enemy. You should leverage technology to help automate your repetitive tasks." Georgia Smith | Wolters Kluwer

https://vimeo.com/1222482515?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/8/31/2026-08-31-when-is-a-partnership-return-not-a-return

This week we look at: 

• Zero-Return Form 1065 Filings and the Beard Test (IRS CCA 202634014) 
• Full Payment Rule & Presumption of Correctness -- Pellegrino v. United States 
• Pro Rata Share Determinations Under OBBBA -- Proposed Regulations (REG-115646-25) 
• Treaty Exclusivity for Pooled Investments -- South Saskatchewan Community Foundation v. U.S.

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/8/23/2026-08-24-proposed-regulations-week

This week we look at:

• Form 1041-A Relief for Passthrough Charitable Deductions (REG-109082-25)
• Vested Development Rights & Easement Valuation — Malibu Valley Land v. Commissioner
• First Circuit Bars Equitable Tolling of Section 6213(a) — Kyick Holdings v. Commissioner
• PRWORA Immigration Restrictions on Refundable Credits (REG-119882-25)
• Single-Employer DB Pension Funding Proposed Regulations (REG-107855-25)
• Excluded Property Sales Income Under Section 250 (REG-117130-25)
• Section 163(j) Business Interest Limitation Update — Fact Sheet FS-2026-14
• Doug LaMalfa Federal Disaster Tax Relief Certainty Act (H.R. 5366)
• IRS Ends Uniform Easement Settlement Initiative, Creates Office of Conservation Easements
• Trump Account Eligible Investment Rules — Proposed Regulations (RIN 1545-BS14)

https://vimeo.com/1218686012?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/8/16/2026-08-17-maybe-state-law-limited-partner-isnt-the-test-for-1402a13

This week we look at:

• Unpacking the Saver’s Match: Technical Guidance and Operational Frameworks Under Notice 2026-48
• Harmonizing Section 3406 Backup Withholding with Section 6050W De Minimis Reporting Thresholds
• The High Bar for Equitable Tolling in Tax Practice: The Eighth Circuit’s Final Ruling in Boechler, P.C.
• Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts and Nondiscrimination Rules under REG-101355-26
• The Perpetual Burden of Carryover Substantiation: AMT Credits and Recordkeeping in Beacom v. Commissioner
• Equitable Tolling of Tax Court Filing Deadlines: Maniktala v. Commissioner (8th Cir.)
• Standardizing Retirement Plan Rollovers and Trustee-to-Trustee Transfers under SECURE 2.0: Notice 2026-49
• Unmasking the $70 Million Dubai Fraud: Section 165 Theft Loss Deductions in Deutsch v. Commissioner
• Treasury Proposes Substantive Section 987 Relief for Controlled Foreign Corporations (REG-103844-26)
• Rehearing Reversal: The Fifth Circuit’s Management Test for the Limited Partner Exception (K Alain, L.L.L.P.)
• The Crucial Role of Highest and Best Use in Conservation Easement Valuations: Evans v. Commissioner

https://vimeo.com/1216845407?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/8/9/2026-08-10-irs-guidance-on-qualifed-overtime-for-2026-2028

This week we look at:

• Transitioning Foreign Tax Allocations and Implementing the Ten Percent Credit Disallowance Under Section 960(d)(4)
• Trustee-to-Trustee Transfers of Inherited IRAs Through an Estate: Technical Analysis of PLR 202631001
• Federal Courts Lack APA Jurisdiction Over Foreign Gift Penalty Disputes: The Adequate Alternative Remedy Barrier
• Sourcing Executive Termination Payments: Analyzing the Bifurcated Sourcing of Severance and RSUs in the Appeal of Otting
• The Permanent Section 45S Paid Family and Medical Leave Credit: Analyzing the Statutory Wage Method Mechanics and the New Premium Method Under Notice 2026-28
• The Tax Court Open Door: Why the BBA Partnership Petition Deadline Is Not Jurisdictional
• Commingled Funds, Unsubstantiated Deductions, and the Binding Form of Transactions: A Technical Tax Analysis of Reed v. Commissioner
• The Safe Harbor That Wasn’t: Deconstructing the Anti-Abuse Rule in SIH Partners LLLP v. Commissioner
• The Evolution of Qualified Overtime Compensation Deductions: Analyzing IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13 and Its Practical Implications

The FICPA's "The Practitioner's Edge" delivers practical insights for CPAs and professionals in small firms. Each episode explores strategies, trends and real-world solutions to help you run a stronger practice, serve clients better and stay ahead in a changing profession.

This month, we're joined by Eric Cohen, CEO and founder of Merchant Advocate, to explore how payment processing reviews can become a powerful value-added service for accounting firms. Cohen explains why credit card processing fees are often one of a business's largest—and least understood—expenses, revealing how hidden rate increases and complex fee structures can quietly erode profitability. He shares practical strategies for helping clients uncover savings without changing providers, while positioning your firm as a trusted advisor that proactively protects clients' bottom lines. From navigating evolving payment regulations to monitoring ongoing fee increases, Cohen demonstrates how this often-overlooked service can strengthen client relationships and create lasting value.   

"If you do the right thing, your business will grow naturally."

Eric Cohen | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-cohen-merchantadvocate/

https://vimeo.com/1215009645?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/8/2/2026-08-03-on-again-off-again-on-again-plr

This week we look at:

• IRS Reinstates Tax Deferral on Variable Annuity Term Certain Options: Reconsideration and Reversal in PLR 202630002
• Understanding the ERC Pleading Standard: Federal Claims Court Deferral in I Health and Life Insurance Services
• Predecessor Losses, the Lonely Parent Rule, and the Limits of Economic Reality: Analysis of HBM Holdings Co. v. Commissioner
• Double Books and Disguised Payees: Corporate Personal Expenses and the Civil Fraud Penalty in Prezioso v. Commissioner

https://vimeo.com/1213098151?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

 

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/7/26/2026-07-27-aicpa-new-interpretation-on-indepdendence-and-tax-engagements

 

This week we look at:

• Valuation of Remainder Interest Gifts Upon Trust Termination: State Law and Net Gift Adjustments in Lewis v. Commissioner
• Revenue Procedure 2026-26: Technical Overview of 2027 Indexing Adjustments for Premium Tax Credits and Affordability Standards
• Limitations of Interest Abatement Claims Under I.R.C. § 6404(e)(1) in the Context of ERC-Driven Amendments
• Section 6015(c) Relief and the Substantiation Trap: An Analysis of Anderson v. Commissioner
• Navigating the AICPA’s New Tax Services Independence Standards: A Guide for Practitioners

https://vimeo.com/1211218820?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/7/19/2026-07-20-irs-expands-business-tax-accounts

This week we look at:

Partnership Recourse Rules: Conditional DROs will not establish EROL under § 1.752-2.

• Mileage Rate Adjustment: Business standard mileage rate rises to 76 cents on July 1, 2026.
• Business Tax Account: Modernized self-service portal expands features but requires active annual maintenance.
• Litigation Legal Fees: FCRA settlements are taxable gross income without above-the-line deduction.
• Corporate Reorganizations: Tax Court invalidates regulation limiting 100% DRD in post-Loper Bright era.
• ERC Litigation Realities: Exhaustion loophole rejected; notice pleading standards approved in refund suits.
• Conservation Easements: Valuation must be grounded in immediate local market demand, not speculation.

https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/podcasts/2026/7/12/2026-07-13-a-week-of-final-regulations

This week we look at:

• Transitioning from First Time Abate (FTA) to Automatic Exemption from Penalty (AEP)
• Strict Enforcement of Tax Refund Statutes of Limitations
• Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Refund Claims & Pleading Standards
• Pandemic-Era Persistence of New York's Convenience of the Employer Rule
• Invalidity of Treasury Regulation Section 1.951A-2(c)(5)
• Non-Shareholder Capital Contributions vs. Compensation
• Final Section 1035 Exchange & Corporate Reorganization Regulations
• Reclassification of Abusive CRAT Structures as Listed Transactions
• The National Taxpayer Advocate’s Perspective on AEP