Senate Finance Committee chairman Mike Crapo. R-Idaho, and ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, issued a discussion draft Thursday of bipartisan legislation aimed at improving procedures and administration at the Internal Revenue Service, with the support of the American Institute of CPAs.

The draft legislation, known as the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act, comes only days after the IRS opened the tax filing season facing a hiring freeze imposed by the new Trump administration, leading to rescinded job offers.

“As the tax filing season gets underway, this draft legislation suggests practical ways to improve the taxpayer experience,” Crapo and Wyden said in a joint statement. “These adjustments to the laws governing IRS procedure are designed to facilitate communication between the agency and taxpayers, streamline processes for tax compliance and disputes and ensure taxpayers have access to timely expert assistance.”

The discussion draft includes policies that would:

• Require the IRS to improve “math error” notices so that taxpayers are better positioned to timely respond to them;
• Streamline review of offers-in-compromise to facilitate the taxpayers’ resolution of tax debts;
• Simplify foreign bank account report (FBAR) compliance so that fewer taxpayers will fail to file key forms;
• Clarify and expand Tax Court jurisdiction so that more taxpayers can pursue their claims in an appropriate venue;
• Expand the independence of the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) from the IRS;
• Increase civil and criminal penalties on tax professionals that deliberately take actions to harm their clients;
• Expand taxpayer access to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals;
• Extend the so-called “mailbox rule” to electronic submissions so that taxpayers have certainty their materials are submitted on time;
• Protect taxpayers by adopting reasonable standards and due process for issuing and revoking return Preparer Tax Identification Numbers, or PTINs;
• Strengthen the IRS whistleblower program while protecting the confidentiality of taxpayer information;
• Protect hostages from unfair tax processes and penalties.

The proposals in the discussion draft reflect in many ways nonpartisan legislative proposals recommended by the National Taxpayer Advocate, along with standalone tax administrative bills introduced by congressional members.  The provisions aim to reduce or eliminate challenges faced by taxpayers and other stakeholders within the current federal tax administrative system. 

“This bipartisan draft bill, several years in the making, would significantly strengthen taxpayer rights in nearly every facet of tax administration,” said National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins in a statement.  “I encourage taxpayers and the tax professional community to carefully review the draft and provide feedback to refine it, and I encourage Congress to prioritize the passage of this common sense bill to ensure stronger protections for taxpayers and a more fair and transparent tax system.”

The AICPA expressed its support Thursday for the discussion draft, and said it strongly supports and endorses the following provisions found in the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act:

•  Sec. 101. Scanning and Digitization of Tax Returns and Correspondence.
• Sec. 102. Establishment of Dashboard to Inform Taxpayers of Backlogs and Wait Times.
• Sec. 103. Expansion of Electronic Access to Information about Refunds.
• Sec. 104. Expansion of Callback Technology and Online Accounts.
• Sec. 105. Improvement of Notices of Math or Clerical Error.
• Sec. 108. Individuals Facing Economic Hardships Informed of Collection Alternatives.
• Sec. 112. Postponement of Certain Deadlines by Reason of Disasters Made Applicable to Limitation on Credit or Refund.
• Sec. 116. Modification of Rules for Postponing Certain Deadlines by Reason of Disaster.
• Sec. 405. Operations to Assist Taxpayers Experiencing Hardships During a Lapse in Appropriation.
• Sec. 504. Authority to Deny, Revoke, or Suspend Preparer Tax Identification Numbers.
• Sec. 903. Quarterly Installments for Estimated Income Tax Payments by Individuals.
• Sec. 904. Establishment of a Failure-to-Pay Penalty Safe Harbor for Individuals.
• Sec. 905. Extension of Mailbox Rule to Electronic Submissions and Payments.

“We are grateful to Senators Wyden and Crapo for putting together a thoughtful package that will provide much-needed support to taxpayers,” said Melanie Lauridsen, vice president of tax policy and advocacy for the AICPA, in a statement. “When passed, the TAS Act will be one of the most significant tax packages we will have seen in recent years. It will be instrumental in establishing a foundation that helps simplify some of the laborious tax filing processes and allows taxpayers to better meet their tax obligations. We look forward to working with Senators Wyden and Crapo as this discussion draft moves forward.”

The Government Accountability Office released a report Thursday on the 2024 tax filing season that found the IRS improved its live service for taxpayers last year and began to modernize some of its operations, but timeliness issues remain.

Every day, executives receive spreadsheets filled with cash flow reports and income statements, but without context, these numbers remain meaningless, a squandered opportunity to guide strategy. 

In this era of big data, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and instant communication, the opportunity — and, more and more, the duty — of the modern accountant is to transform these numbers into a story everyone understands. 

At its core, “accounting” has often been equated with “bean counting” — the meticulous recording of transactions and preparation of financial statements according to established rules. However, the modern corporate world requires more than just compliance and precision. Stakeholders long for understanding. They must understand the significance of the numbers in addition to their numerical values. The pressing question is: “So what?” How do these numbers translate into better capital allocation, faster crisis pivots, and more strategic investments?

Without a skilled storyteller, accounting analytics’ ability to identify possibilities, predict trends and highlight subtle patterns is lost in spreadsheets. The most proficient accountants are able to “speak data” with the same ease as they can in the business language. Spreadsheets and ratios aren’t their only tool; they utilize them to create engaging stories that inform strategic decisions.

This change is particularly pertinent for the upcoming generation of accountants joining the industry. Corporations want individuals who can connect the dots and put those figures into context for executives, boards, investors and even frontline employees. They are not just looking for somebody who can crunch numbers. When used well, this storytelling method is a competitive advantage rather than merely an extra talent. Fostering these analytical and narrative skills can make our talent pool more flexible and creative in a world where the U.S. must continuously improve worker preparedness to maintain economic competitiveness.

Although there is an obvious need for this expertise, our educational system is still lagging behind. Teaching the fundamentals of GAAP, tax codes and auditing standards continues to be a major emphasis of the accounting program. Of course, these foundations are crucial. However, mastering them by themselves is no longer sufficient. Higher education must incorporate courses that instruct students in the proper interpretation, visualization and communication of financial data. Tools like Tableau, Power BI or code-based analysis platforms should be as familiar to future accountants as ledgers once were. This is a strategic investment in the nation’s economic health, not merely a question of freshening up curricula.

Educators can incorporate data visualization and accounting analytics into their accounting classes. In addition to asking, “How does this reconcile?” we might encourage students to question, “Why?” and “What does this mean?” This change won’t necessitate doing away with the old frameworks; rather, it will offer a new dimension by giving students the tools they need to come to insightful conclusions and communicate them effectively.

Accurately recording transactions and creating an income statement may be the main focus of traditional accounting education. Yet, what if the accountant could go one step further and, say, locate a hidden logistical cost increase as the product line grows, utilizing analytics and visualization tools? The accountant may clearly convey the following narrative when storytelling is added: “Our record sales are masking escalating shipping costs.” We can regain excellent profits if we simplify our product offers and renegotiate contracts. That is the type of story that gives confidence to the decision-making process and guides strategic choices.

Furthermore, transparency and trust are promoted via a compelling financial narrative. The capacity to properly explain what’s going on behind the scenes is crucial at a time when the public is worried about corporate accountability, intricate financial engineering and the opaque nature of some business operations. Some argue that accountants should focus on the numbers and let leadership handle the narrative, but this misses the point: Data-informed storytelling is an extension of the role of accountants to convey accurate, ethically sound information. Accountants assist the public and decision-makers in understanding the true situation when they present data in a truthful and morally sound manner. This degree of transparency not only helps us make better decisions but also enhances our markets’ reputation, which is essential to their long-term viability.

Ultimately, the “so what?” question boils down to measurable results: improved resource allocation, timely risk management and more effective strategic pivots. Let’s get past the old views in order to prepare the upcoming generation of accountants. Future accountants should be as proficient in performing variance analyses as they are in explaining them to non-experts, and they should be as at ease using data visualization software as they were with general ledgers. Numbers don’t just add up — they speak volumes in a world where global competition, rapid technological advances and more public scrutiny have transformed the landscape. 

Now is the time for higher education and corporate leaders to include storytelling, data visualization and analytics into the core accounting curriculum. We prepare tomorrow’s professionals to simplify complexity, create trust and deliver better outcomes for businesses and society. It’s not about discarding away the “nuts and bolts”; it’s about using them to create a story that resonates in boardrooms, classrooms and beyond.

It seemed like a low-risk bet when in 2020 Carlyle Group Inc. agreed to provide around €200 million ($210 million) in private bonds to Pro-Gest SpA, a family-owned paper and packaging company based near Venice.

The papermaker’s finances came under pressure in 2019 as production at one of its main plants was temporarily suspended by local authorities. The pandemic helped boost demand for paper packaging and Carlyle agreed to step in to refinance a portion of Pro-Gest’s debt when the company offered some of its best assets as collateral. The deal put the American private capital giant first in line for repayment in case anything went wrong, ahead of bondholders who had previously given the company €250 million.

Fast forward to 2025 and the company, after defaulting on some of its debt, is now attempting to restructure its obligations in a court-supervised process known locally as composizione negoziata.

The move follows months of negotiations with creditors that saw the company’s board overhauled, its first chief restructuring officer suddenly depart and — amid the negotiations with creditors — a draft report from the auditing firm Deloitte LLP that raised questions about more than €80 million of financial transactions by Pro-Gest and its owners, members of the Zago family. The expenses questioned included payments for a yacht and cash used to fund a prosecco winery.

The draft report was presented to Pro-Gest’s board, but never acted on. The company’s current CRO Angelo Rodolfi said in a statement to Bloomberg that claims the firm misused cash are “incorrect and untrue.”

But the episode underscores the difficulties often faced by lenders in the booming world of private credit. A few of the industry’s largest players have made lending to companies that aren’t owned by private equity a key piece of their strategy, hoping to reduce their reliance on buyout financing — an increasingly competitive and lower-return business — to deploy capital. While the loans typically come with high yields, they’re often provided to businesses that aren’t accustomed to the same high levels of disclosure and scrutiny as publicly traded borrowers.

Pro-Gest’s debt came from the Carlyle Credit Opportunities fund, a strategy launched in 2019 to provide capital “primarily for upper middle market borrowers,” including firms owned by families and entrepreneurs, according to the fund’s website.

By early last year, Pro-Gest had breached some of the terms governing the Carlyle debt, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to talk about it. While the U.S. fund agreed to waive the breaches of financial covenants, it wanted to appoint independent directors to the board. And as part of the compromise between family owners and the fund, the board commissioned Deloitte to conduct a forensic analysis of Pro-Gest’s finances and transactions with related parties.

Deloitte analyzed internal accounting, collected material on the company’s IT devices through December 2023, and produced a draft report in May 2024 that identified potential anomalies with a total financial impact of about €81.6 million. 

Some of these transactions may have impacted Pro-Gest’s balance sheet, and others may have breached covenants in Carlyle’s debt and disclosure obligations, Deloitte said in the report. It also said founder Bruno Zago and other members of his family may have used company funds to pay for non-business-related expenses.

After Deloitte completed its draft report, a round of interviews with some employees and managers backed its preliminary findings, and the report was filed to Pro-Gest’s board for review, the people said. Over the summer, however, the chief restructuring officer and other independent directors suddenly resigned after less than six months in the post.

A new CRO and new board members were appointed, and while they received Deloitte’s draft report, they never voted on it, the people said.

As part of CRO Rodolfi’s response to Bloomberg in December, he said that claims the firm misused cash and the representation of events “are harmful and defamatory.” He didn’t comment on the details of the allegations contained in Deloitte’s draft report. The company said in a separate email response in early January that its own financial reports are correct.

Representatives for Deloitte and Carlyle declined to comment on the draft report.

Alleged breaches

Deloitte said it found 16 transactions that were in breach of the financial covenants of the debt Pro-Gest got from Carlyle. And it singled out 29 cases when the company’s cash coffers, which had been boosted by Carlyle’s funds, were allegedly used for non-business purposes.

The list of breaches includes a €1.4 million purchase of a Ferretti Custom Line 94 yacht, and zero-interest loans to several Zago family members and close allies, some of which weren’t paid back, according to the draft report.

Deloitte’s report also claimed Pro-Gest’s funds were used to finance family businesses that are legally and financially separate from the packaging group, including one that makes prosecco in the hills of Veneto, and a local food catering company. And Deloitte’s report said it found €12.5 million of “financials granted by Pro-Gest in favor of AMG,” a real estate company also owned by the Zago family. AMG didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Zago family members allegedly used company funds to pay for aircraft rentals for purposes not related to Pro-Gest’s core business, and to cover about €530,000 in yacht maintenance costs between 2021 and 2024, according to the draft report. They also moved assets back-and-forth between the Pro-Gest group and entities controlled by the Zagos, the report alleged.

For instance, in 2018 it sold €20 million worth of paper reels to World Cart Srl, a company in which Pro-Gest held a minority stake and whose biggest shareholder was Pro-Gest’s founder. In 2021 and 2022, after the debt from Carlyle helped stabilize Pro-Gest’s finances, the group bought back those assets from World Cart, which in turn directed a large chunk of its profits to benefit AMG, according to the draft report. 

Bruno Zago eventually transferred his stake in World Cart to Pro-Gest in October 2024, according to a corporate filing. Luca Lazzarotto, who owns 25% of World Cart and is the firm’s chief executive officer, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg that he isn’t aware of strictly private information that was presented to Pro-Gest’s board, and warned against spreading false reports.

Debt talks

It’s unclear what Carlyle did when Deloitte submitted its report to the board. A Carlyle spokesperson declined to comment when asked whether the fund had received the report when it was sent to Pro-Gest’s board. 

Either way, Carlyle and unsecured creditors have been in on-and-off talks with the company to restructure its debt for more than a year. Pro-Gest stopped paying interest on its debt to bondholders in June, and didn’t pay the unsecured notes when they matured on Dec. 15. The private bonds from Carlyle are due this year.

This month, Pro-Gest said it had entered court-supervised negotiations and issued a proposal to extend debt maturities, sell assets and reduce rental costs. It also plans to recover funds credited to AMG. The court-supervised procedure, which protects the company against its creditors, can last as long as a year.