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Senate bill calls for NIST to make third party AI audit standards

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5 months ago

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A recently introduced Senate bill would, if passed, direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards for third-party audits of AI.

The bill — sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, and Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia — specifically would require the Director of the NIST to develop voluntary guidelines and specifications for internal and external assurances of artificial intelligence systems, and for other purposes. These specifications would require considerations for data privacy protections, mitigations against potential harms to individuals from an AI system, dataset quality, and governance and communications processes of a developer or deployer throughout the AI systems’ development lifecycles.

It would also establish a collaborative Advisory Committee to review and recommend criteria for individuals or organizations seeking to obtain certification of their ability to conduct internal or external assurance for AI systems, and require NIST to conduct a study examining various aspects of the ecosystem of AI assurance, including the current capabilities and methodologies used, facilities or resources needed, and overall market demand for internal and external AI assurance.

“AI is moving faster than any of us thought it would two years ago,” said Sen. Hickenlooper, who serves as the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security. “But we have to move just as fast to get sensible guardrails in place to develop AI responsibly before it’s too late. Otherwise, AI could bring more harm than good to our lives.”

The bill defines AI along the lines of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020, which said AI means a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments, using machine and human-based inputs to perceive real and virtual environments; abstract such perceptions into models through analysis in an automated manner; and use model inference to formulate options for information or action.

This represents but the latest in a series of actions to encourage regulation and oversight of artificial intelligence, not least of which was the executive order from the White House at the beginning of this year. Others include the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023, the Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act of 2023, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 and the No Robot Bosses Act. Across the ocean, the EU has also been very interested in AI regulation, as evidenced in its EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

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Accounting

In the blogs: Just in time

Published

17 hours ago

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December 24, 2024

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BOI is back; phantom stocks; continuous compliance; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Just in time

  • Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): Who benefits and who loses from extending major provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?
  • Taxing Subjects (https://www.drakesoftware.com/blog): The Republican party can shape legislative priorities for the next two years, setting the stage for long-term policy changes. A downloadable resource offers a breakdown of key policy areas and action steps for tax pros and small businesses. 
  • AICPA & CIMA Insights (https://www.aicpa-cima.com/blog): How the IRS and tax pros can both start prepping for any government shutdown.
  • Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): “Just in time for the holidays,” a federal appeals court has restored the Corporate Transparency Act requirement for businesses to disclose their beneficial owners.
  • Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): And just like that, yet again, with an injunction’s stay, course is reversed.
  • Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): At least they extended the deadlines a whisker.
  • The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): The IRS continues to claw back from non-filers, to the tune of 10 figures and counting.
  • The National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): Favorite headline of the week: “The best gifts for the tax pro in your life this holiday season.”
  • National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): “‘Twas the night before tax season, and all through the land; Tax professionals were working, each with pen in hand; The forms were all sorted with numbers just right; who says tax accounting can’t thrill and excite?”

2025

Continuity

Size matters

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Accounting

H&R Block releases Santa Claus’s tax return

Published

20 hours ago

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December 24, 2024

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That doesn’t look like a 1040 … .

H&R Block has given the world just what it wants to see this holiday season: Santa Claus’s tax return.

Santa has a lot of itemizations to consider. Eight tiny reindeer depend on him for food and shelter, for instance, but are they dependents? How much can you give to one person before reporting it? Does Santa keep good mileage records for his 41.5 million miles? Santa isn’t an employee, so compensation (even in cookie form) over the threshold may create a 1099-NEC.

Old St. Nick, who files MFJ with Mrs. Claus, did all right on 1040 Line 34, but some of his numbers do bear examination: 6.3 million cookies and 2 million gallons of milk means a third of a gallon of milk per cookie. Will the deduction of coal, magic dust and sleighbells stand up to audit? At least Santa has plenty of time on his hands between January and April to find a good preparer.

Santa's tax return

“Even the jolly man in red takes time to report taxes,” reads the announcement from the tax prep giant. “He’s probably the world’s most famous small-business owner, running a gift-giving workshop and distribution network across the globe … Santa is giving us the first ever peek at his tax return and showing us how he used H&R Block Online and AI Tax Assist to get his maximum refund.”

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Accounting

5 changes coming to IRAs and 401(k)s in 2025

Published

21 hours ago

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December 24, 2024

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The SECURE 2.0 Act contained several changes to traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans that are being phased in over the coming years, with several notable changes coming in 2025. The Illinois CPA Society highlighted five changes coming to IRAs and 401(k)s in 2025:

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