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Accounting News Roundup: Tax Bill Hits a Speed Bump, Anti-Excel Backlash, and RSM in Canada | 12.01.17

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Republican Tax Bill Hits Snag Over Deficit Concerns [NYT]
Remember when Republicans said that these tax cuts would pay for themselves? Hahaha, no, just kidding. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates, even when taking into account economic growth, the tax bill would still add over $1 trillion to the deficit. So now, Republicans have to find billions in revenue and guess where they’re looking: “Lawmakers are now considering alternatives, including reinstating the alternative minimum tax on some corporations and wealthy individuals, and raising the corporate rate above 20 percent after some number of years. A final vote on the bill is expected on Friday after a series of amendments are considered.”

Bonus reading: The JCT’s full analysis, including the table on page 7 with the deficit details.

Ahead of Vote, Promised Treasury Analysis of Tax Bill Proves Elusive [NYT]
Speaking of tax bill analyses, the one that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been promising may or may not exist, but it sure hasn’t seen the light of day. This got the attention of Mass. Senator Elizabeth Warren who asked the Inspector General to look into it. “Either the Treasury Department has used extensive taxpayer funds to conduct economic analyses that it refuses to release because those analyses would contradict the Treasury secretary’s claims, or Secretary Mnuchin has grossly misled the public about the extent of the Treasury Department’s analysis,” Warren wrote to the IG.

Elsewhere in Trump Administration tax bill falsehoods, this tweetstorm from Tony Nitti covers it.

Finance Pros Say You’ll Have to Pry Excel Out of Their Cold, Dead Hands [WSJ]
Yes, there’s been a backlash to the WSJ’s anti-Excel article, so, naturally, it warranted a follow-up, and every word is a delight. “Lots of intelligent and otherwise rational people would sooner clobber you with a bat than let you separate them from Excel,” reads one line. One engineer said, “[a] battle with the actuaries” over switching from Excel to a new software, “reminded him of trying ‘to talk my dad into buying a new car.'” And here’s a scary picture: “There’s a Red Badge of Courage that people wear when they stay up all night and work a spreadsheet to get something that they think is unique and artisanal.”

Earlier: Megan Lewczyk wrote about dumping Excel in April 2016, and that got ugly, too. The WSJ should’ve known they were kicking a hornet’s nest with this one.

RSM expands to Canada [AT]
The accounting firm formerly known as McGladrey has planted a flag in Canada with an office in Toronto of 37 partners and over 300 professionals.

Brought to you by Accountingfly

The featured job of the week is a Senior Accountant with Santora CPA Group in Newark, Del.

Previously, on Going Concern…

I wrote about the number of women partners in accounting firms.

In Open Items, someone wants to hear from anyone who’s survived a performance improvement plan.

Also, another user is curious about raises from senior to manager.

In other news:

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Image: RushenbDerived: Peter Coxhead/Wikimedia Commons