Accounting
Cohn says Trump has ‘plenty of time’ to settle on Treasury pick
Chris Kleponis/Photographer: Chris Kleponis/Blo
Gary Cohn, the onetime chief economic advisor to Donald Trump, called the pick for a second-term Treasury secretary one of the key decisions facing the president-elect and downplayed suggestions the search for the nation’s top economic official was taking too long.
“This is one of the most important — if not the most important — pick he is going to make. So getting it right is important,” Cohn said Thursday on Bloomberg Television’s Surveillance.
Cohn noted that two of Trump’s top economic picks ahead of his first term in 2016 were made after the Thanksgiving holiday — including him and former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, saying there was still “plenty of time” to make a decision.
“The transition team is a couple weeks and probably a month ahead on most of the picks,” Cohn said. “We’ve all got this anxiety because this is a second-term president, so he knows how to get stuff done quickly. But if you think of what happened eight years ago, those picks were made in the last week of November.”
Trump tapped Mnuchin for Treasury secretary and Wilbur Ross for Commerce chief in his first term during the last week of November 2016.
The comments from Cohn, an International Business Machines Corp. vice president and former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, comes as Trump is telling advisors that he is not yet sold on any of the candidates for Treasury secretary who he has interviewed so far.
Hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, Apollo Global Management Inc. executive Marc Rowan and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh remain among the leading contenders for the post, and each met with Trump on Wednesday.
Asked if there was a potential name in the mix that has not been reported on, Cohn said he was not involved in the process.
“The President will put any and every name that he thinks can do the job well on the list, and he will choose what he thinks is the best person to do the job,” he said.
Cohn played a prominent role in Trump’s first term as the director of the White House National Economic Council, but left in 2018 after a contentious dispute over tariffs, which the executive opposed. But while in office he also helped shepherd one of Trump’s signature legislative achievements, a sweeping tax cut and reform package through Congress.
Trump has said renewing provisions from that law which are set to expire in 2025 will be a top priority of his incoming administration, as well as enacting additional tax benefits and provisions he pitched on the campaign trail.
Cohn identified taxes — with those tax measures slated to lapse — and securing the U.S.-Mexico border as Trump’s top two priorities as he prepares to retake power, saying he expected the president-elect to work on those “simultaneously.”
“Number one thing on the economic policy front is they’re going to deal with taxes. Number two is, I think simultaneously, we could argue this is economics, but they need to deal with the immigration policy,” he said.
“I do think there will be some tariff policy going in as well,” he added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent named Internal Revenue Service chief operating officer Melanie Krause as acting commissioner after the retirement of acting commissioner Douglas O’Donnell.
O’Donnell has been acting commissioner since January, taking over from former IRS commissioner Danny Werfel, who announced he would be
“The IRS has been my professional home for 38 years,” O’Donnell said in a statement Tuesday. “I care deeply about the institution and its people and am confident that Melanie will be an outstanding steward of the Service until a new Commissioner is confirmed.”
The IRS has been going through a period of turmoil, with an estimated
Senate confirmation hearings have not yet been scheduled for Long, but he is expected to be questioned about his record of
Until Long is confirmed, IRS COO Krause will now move into O’Donnell’s deputy commissioner role and serve as acting commissioner of the nation’s tax agency.
“On behalf of the Treasury Department, I want to thank Doug O’Donnell for his decades of public service and dedication to the nation’s taxpayers,” Bessent said in a statement Tuesday. “He has been a remarkable public servant, and I wish him the best in retirement. At the same time, Melanie Krause and the agency’s leadership team are well positioned to serve during this critical period for the nation in advance of the April tax deadline.”
Krause has served as IRS COO since April 2024 after acting as deputy commissioner of operations support since January of the same year. As COO, she oversees the operations including the Chief Financial Officer; Chief Risk Office; Facilities Management and Security Services; Human Capital Office; Office of Chief Procurement; Privacy, Governmental Liaison and Disclosure; Research, Applied Analytics and Statistics.
She began her career at the IRS in October 2021 as chief data and analytics officer. In this role, in addition to leading the RAAS team, Krause also coordinated research activities including using AI and other advanced analytics. Krause also served as acting deputy commissioner for services and enforcement from November 2022 to March 2023.
Prior to joining the IRS, Krause spent 12 years in the federal oversight community, including the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Krause also maintains an active license as a registered nurse. She holds bachelor, master and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs released a
The report analyzes how accounting firms in Pennsylvania are structuring compensation, navigating retention and recruitment challenges, and adapting their benefits to remain competitive.
Jennifer Cryder
“Our latest findings make it clear: salary alone isn’t enough to attract and retain top talent in today’s market and firms need to be thinking differently about what matters,” said PICPA CEO Jennifer Cryder in a statement. “Holistic compensation strategies that include competitive benefits, flexible work arrangements, and clear career development pathways are critical in today’s world. Above all, we intend for this report to provide firm leaders with the insights they need to build a sustainable workforce for the future.”
The report found the firms surveyed by PICPA are experiencing inconsistencies in their ability to retain talent, with 48.3% reporting an increase in staff retention, while 24.1% of the respondents saw a decrease and 27.6% said retention remained stable. Firms reported an average salary increase of 8% in June 2024, up from 5% in July 2023, indicating slow but consistent average salary growth.
Offering comprehensive benefits remains a priority, with 88.5% of the firms surveyed providing medical insurance, 80.8% offering dental coverage, and 73.1% including vision insurance for employees.
Efforts to attract talent are changing, with 58.7% of the firms that responded to the survey increasing their hiring activity over the past year, while 37.9% maintained steady recruitment levels.
Many firms are responding to employee expectations for work-life balance, with 80% of the surveyed firms allowing flex hours outside of core hours and 76.9% offering flexible work options year-round.
With over half (54.2%) of the surveyed firms identifying hiring and talent retention as a top priority in 2025, the report stresses the need for firms to move beyond traditional compensation models. The report found a shift toward total rewards strategies — integrating salary, benefits, professional development and work-life balance — is essential to attracting and retaining top talent in an increasingly competitive market.
The Lease Accounting Institute has launched the Certified Global Lease Accountant training program and professional designation.
The demand for lease accountants has increased with the adoption of new lease accounting standards, ASC 842 and IFRS 16, while the talent pool of accountants has decreased. The CGLA program is an online, self-study format that allows graduates to earn 16 CPE credits.
andia-faith/andiafaith – stock.adobe.com
“We are in the midst of a talent crisis in the accounting profession,” Matt Waters, founder of the Lease Accounting Institute, said in a
Waters is the lead instructor for the CGLA training program, with over 20 years of experience leading lease accounting teams at Home Depot, American Tower and CoStar Real Estate Manager.
Democrat senators question what Elon Musk plans to do with CFPB data
IRS COO Melanie Krause named acting commissioner
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: CAVA, INTU, WDAY, LCID
New 2023 K-1 instructions stir the CAMT pot for partnerships and corporations
The Essential Practice of Bank and Credit Card Statement Reconciliation
Are American progressives making themselves sad?
-
Economics1 week agoWhat companies say about the impact of MAGA policies
-
Economics1 week agoSo far, mass deportation has been more rhetoric than reality
-
Economics6 days agoElon Musk will check with Trump on idea for tax refunds from DOGE savings
-
Personal Finance1 week agoThey fought for Social Security Fairness Act. Now they wait for benefit increases
-
Personal Finance1 week agoA 20% S&P 500 ‘three-peat’ is unlikely in 2025, market strategist says
-
Finance1 week agoStocks to play EV-maker BYD’s new driver-assist rollout
-
Finance1 week ago5 biggest self-defeating mistakes investors make trying to beat market
-
Personal Finance1 week agoU.S. appeals court blocks Biden SAVE plan for student loans