The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants staff posted a questions and answers publication Thursday to support the adoption and implementation of its IESBA Tax Planning and Related Services Standards. 

The standards offer a principles-based framework and a global ethical benchmark to guide accountants in public practice and in business when they’re doing tax planning.

The Q&A publication highlights, illustrates and explains various aspects of the standards to help firms, jurisdictional standard-setters and accounting organizations adopt and implement the standards, and individual accountants apply them. The publication can also help tax authorities, the corporate governance community, investors, business preparers, educational bodies or institutions, and other stakeholders understand the standards.

The Tax Planning and Related Services standards take effect July 1, 2025.

Tech-forward CPA firms–including those listed in this year’s Best Firms for Technology–reported a variety of areas in need of a tech upgrade, and are planning major investments over the next year to address at least some of these pain points. 

One of the most commonly mentioned areas were firm practice management systems. 

Some, like California-based Navolio and Tallman, wanted better reporting options than were currently on offer from their practice management systems. New Jersey-based Wilken Gutenplan, meanwhile, said they needed practice management software with better billing and reporting features. And others, like top 25 firm Citrin Cooperman, wanted better solutions for internal administrative tasks. Meanwhile, top 100 firm Prager Metis, wanted better workflow and integrations. 

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“[We plan to] focus on improving inward facing practice management workflows that seamlessly provide connectivity between different vendor applications. Effectively automation from client intake to delivering the service,” said chief information officer Gurjit Singh. 

However, such upgrades are not always easy, and in fact can present a major challenge for firms such as Iowa-based Community CPA and Associates. 

“Our biggest technology challenge continues to be managing technical debt and navigating the limitations of our legacy systems—particularly the lack of interoperability and scalability in key platforms like our practice management system (PMS). This system handles many interconnected functions—client tracking, engagement and project management, time entry, billing, and collections—but its tightly integrated design makes it difficult to enhance any one area without impacting others. While we’ve made progress with some integrations and automations, we’re still working to develop and migrate these functions to more robust modern platforms that allow for greater scalability,” said CEO Ying Sa. 

Firms also reported a need to update and improve their technology infrastructure. Top 25 firm Armanino, for instance, was expanding its cloud footprint even further, with the firm wanting to move its remaining on-premise dependencies into native cloud solutions. Illinois-based Mowery and Schoenfeld, similarly, pointed to their server infrastructure as an area that needs updating. 

For others, though, the question of infrastructure was less about hardware and more about software. In particular, while firms have already made upgrades and improvements to their tech stack, getting these programs to talk to each other seems to be a consistent challenge across firms, one that firms such top 50 firm LBMC said they were eager to address in both their client-facing and back-office technology solutions. 

“Our firm’s biggest technology challenge is the ongoing effort to integrate various service-specific applications so they can work seamlessly together. This integration is crucial for enhancing collaboration and efficiency across different service lines,” said CEO Jim Meade. 

But while these were the more common answers, there were many other areas that firms said could stand some improvement. Some, such as the Florida-based Network Firm, were looking to upgrade core service solutions like audit, tax or data analytics software. Others named process efficiency as a priority, such as top 25 firm Cherry Bekaert who named automation readiness/standardization for certain practices as an area due for an upgrade, or top 50 firm UHY who said they were working to streamline the engagement life cycle. 

And of course there were those, such as top 25 firm Eisner Amper, that wanted to boost their AI capacities. 

“Our focus for technology capability additions are in Generative AI where it can help us work smarter and faster—across both client-facing services and internal operations,” said chief technology officer Sanjay Desai. 

AI, automation and infrastructure

These pain points have served to inform these firms’ plans for technology investments over the next year. While firms, just like before, provided a wide variety of plans and priorities, most seemed focused on improved efficiency and insights through automation and AI. 

However, when it came to AI tools at least, most declined to provide specifics beyond their overall intentions to invest in them. Though, they did say they were hoping to use these solutions to speed up workflows in client-facing service areas like tax or audit, or to acquire tools that would let them create or modify their own AIs. 

More expansive visions came when discussing the kinds of hardware purchases that would support these aforementioned AI tools. California-based Navolio and Tallman, for example, elaborated on its plans to purchase new laptops specifically optimized for AI applications. 

“We’re planning to invest in a new generation of laptops that come with Copilot-enabled Neural Processing Units (NPUs). These laptops are designed to accelerate AI-powered tasks, and we see them as an investment that keeps our firm aligned with the future of the tech industry. The laptops will have improved internal specs for multitasking and include touchscreen functionality to make day-to-day usage more intuitive,” said IT partner Stephanie Ringrose. Other firms also made mention of new laptops optimized for AI, including Armanino, which added that it is also considering pairing them with hardwire and storage for internal AI production. 

Beyond hardware, firms like Community CPA and Associates also said they were planning investments in their software infrastructure as well. 

“We plan to begin transitioning to a new ERP and CRM platform as well as explore agentic AI tools for saving time in our accounting services workflows for our clients. We also intend to purchase replacement hardware for routine replacement of equipment that has reached the end of their lifecycle,” said Sa. Cherry Bekaert also said they were looking into new ERPs. 

Other planned investments include virtual servers and desktops, API access for SaaS applications, resource scheduling and pricing solutions, data management and governance tools, cybersecurity solutions, and internal communications software. 

However, some firms, such as the Network Firm, are not planning to purchase new solutions but to make them in-house, and more are planning to buy some and make others, such as Cherry Bekaert, who said they were building a custom intelligent automation platform. Assurance partner Jonathan Kraftchick said the firm is looking at many different avenues to align their technology investments with business objectives. 

“As our portfolio broadens, it introduces new layers of complexity to our operations, requiring cutting-edge systems that deliver actionable insights, enhance decision-making, and streamline internal processes. This challenge propels us to implement diverse technology solutions, meticulously tailored to meet the evolving demands of our expanding portfolio and ensure the seamless integration of new acquisitions,” he said. 

An unclean sweep; quite an education; Ferrari fever; and other highlights of recent tax cases.

Parkton, Maryland: Exec Brett Hill, of Parkton and Berlin, Maryland, has been convicted of 16 counts of failing to collect and pay over payroll taxes.

He was CEO of two telecommunications companies. From the second quarter of 2016 through fourth quarter of 2018, Hill withheld taxes from employees’ wages at one or both of his companies but did not file returns or pay those taxes over to the government, nor did he pay over his companies’ share. Instead, Hill paid himself a salary and paid other expenses.

Total tax loss to the U.S. exceeded $1 million.

Hill faces up to five years in prison for each count.

Philadelphia: Henry “Hank” Collins has admitted to conspiring to defraud the IRS by paying himself and his co-workers cash to avoid payroll taxes.

Collins worked at Davis Brothers Chimney Sweep & Masonry in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He admitted that between Jan. 1, 2018, and April 30, 2024, he conspired with the spouse of the owner to defraud the IRS.

He used a commercial check casher to negotiate a substantial amount of the company’s gross receipts checks and used some of the resulting funds to pay himself and other employees, giving the rest of the cash to the business owner and spouse. Collins then provided false and misleading information to the company’s accounting firm that resulted in filing of payroll returns that omitted the employees paid in cash and their wages.

Collins also admitted filing false individual income tax returns for himself that concealed his cash wages.

He admitted that the conspiracy resulted in a tax loss of some $1 million.

Sentencing is Aug. 18. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. 

Lake George, New York: Michael E. Conner has been found guilty of defrauding investors and failing to file tax returns.

The jury voted to convict Conner of 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of failing to file returns.

He was an inventor of household products and held patents on his inventions, such as a paint bucket called the Paint Caddy, a knife with a heated blade and a rotatable refrigerator shelf. Starting around 2008, Conner convinced other people to invest in his patents and lend him money that he said would help him market and sell his patents.

In 2020 and 2021, Conner fraudulently sought and obtained loans from people who believed they were lending money for business purposes, including to complete the sale of patents, to pay the IRS and to pay legal and accounting fees. Conner instead used the money for personal expenses and to fund his lifestyle, including outings to high-end restaurants in Saratoga Springs, concert tickets and expensive wine.

Since 2008, Conner has received, from investors and lenders, approximately $6 million; he has never sold a patent nor earned revenue from any of his inventions. His victims included residents of Virginia, North Carolina and Warren County.

The jury also convicted Conner of failing to file personal income tax returns for 2020 and 2021. He received more than $136,000 in loans in 2020 and more than $257,000 in loans in 2021. During this time, Conner had no savings and no job. The jury found that he had no intention of repaying the loans and treated them as his income and willfully failed to file federal returns that would have reported the money.

The jury acquitted Conner on one count of wire fraud and two counts of failing to file tax returns (2018 and 2019).

Sentencing is Aug. 14. On the wire fraud convictions, Conner faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release of up to three years. On the tax convictions, Conner faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $100,000.

Redkey, Indiana: Christina Moles, a.k.a. Tina Lashley, 50, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aiding and assisting the making of a false federal income tax return. 

Between 2015 and 2021, Moles falsified 382 federal income tax returns for numerous clients without their knowledge. During this time, Moles was a tax preparer and frequently attracted clients by advertising that her business guaranteed large refunds. Many of her clients received refunds of $5,000 to $10,000 despite having modest incomes.

Moles falsely stated that her clients qualified for the American Opportunity Tax Credit, claiming that her clients incurred educational expenses to either Ivy Tech or Penn Foster online college. In fact, none of these clients had any education expenses and hadn’t attended either school. Also, neither institution provided a 1098-T.

The loss to the IRS was some $567,010, which Moles has been ordered to pay in restitution.

Philadelphia: Rodney Ermel, a Colorado man who owned and managed an accounting firm in that state, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to tax evasion.

Along with co-defendant Kenneth Bacon, Ermel provided accounting and tax prep services for Joseph LaForte and his entities. Ermel conspired with LaForte, Bacon and others to hide some $20 million in income through various fraudulent accounting practices, such as fabricating shareholder loans and bad-debt deductions.

Ermel also filed returns that he knew underreported taxable income by more than $20 million between 2016 and 2018. Ermel’s fraud caused a federal tax loss of more than $8 million.

He is the fourth defendant to plead guilty in this tax scheme. Sentencing is Sept. 3.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida: Business owner Matthew Brown has been sentenced to 50 months in prison for not paying taxes withheld from his employees’ wages and for filing a false return.

Brown owned and operated multiple local businesses, one of which was Elite Payroll. Between 2014 and 2022, Brown did not pay more than $20 million in taxes withheld from the wages of employees of clients of Elite and from other businesses he controlled.

He charged clients the full amount of their tax liabilities but then filed false employment returns with the IRS that substantially underreported their liabilities, pocketing the difference. Brown used the money to buy real estate, including his multimillion-dollar home, a Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht, a Falcon 50 Aircraft and a large collection of cars including Porsches, Rolls Royces and 27 Ferraris.

Brown was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $22,401,585 in restitution and a $200,000 fine to the United States.