Accounting

How the 2024 election and Congress will decide taxes

Published

2 years ago

October 7, 2024

With next month’s election looming as a referendum on so many issues, the recent history of Congress offers a few hints on what may happen to taxes, according to legislative experts.

Financial advisors, tax professionals and their clients trying to prepare for changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ahead of the sunset date for many provisions in the law at the end of next year may want to read up on the Senate procedure known as “budget reconciliation” — a complicated means of passing a bill that doesn’t require a 60-vote supermajority in the chamber. Veteran Washington insiders speaking in a virtual panel held last month by law firm K&L Gates’ Public Policy and Law practice described the possible tax policy implications of that process.

K&L Gates is one of the top lobbying firms with more than $47.8 million worth of business in the last three years per the Open Secrets database, and the roundtable shed light on how the next Congress and administration led by either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will move forward with taxes next year. That process will bring potential shifts in estate taxes, federal income brackets and the deduction for qualified business income — to name only a few policies hanging in the balance.

The upcoming deadline at the end of 2025 presents many different scenarios, according to Mary Burke Baker, a government affairs advisor who is the leader of the tax policy practice in the Washington, D.C. office of K&L Gates and a onetime 28-year veteran IRS staff member.

“Once there’s a tax title moving, then everybody wants to throw their thing at the wall and see if it sticks,” Baker said. “And, as we also all know, for better or worse, the tax code is seen as the solution by both parties for everything — whether it’s U.S. competitiveness, jobs, supply chain or social policies. So that’s going to put a lot of pressure on tax legislation next year.”

Advisors and their clients aiming to understand how the process will play out under either party should likely consult the recent history of budget reconciliation bills used by both Republicans and Democrats in the past 20 years or so and an aspect of the procedure called the “Byrd Rule,” said Mike Evans, a partner in the Washington office’s public policy and law practice who was formerly chief counsel to Democrats on two different Senate committees.

The Byrd Rule forbids the Senate from using the reconciliation process for any bills that raise the deficit beyond 10 years or make any changes to Social Security. That latter “fairly obscure” aspect of Byrd likely rules out any provisions “exempting Social Security benefits from income tax,” Evans said.

“That’s why the TCJA stuff expires now, because it had to, under the Byrd Rule, limit the duration of the bill,” he said. “It limits the scope of the bill. The Byrd Rule comes into effect, and that limits the scope of the bill. Obviously, things that are not budget related are not to be included. You have big debates about whether something is really incidental to the budget or not. But we have seen proposals regarding abortion, proposals regarding minimum wage and proposals regarding immigration reform excluded from the scope of the budget reconciliation bill because of the Byrd Rule.”

Even if former President Trump wins, Republicans are still “going to be very conscious of adding to the debt,” according to Ryan Carney, a government affairs advisor and member of the office’s public policy and law practice who was once chief of staff to two GOP members of Congress. He predicted that a Republican-led White House and Congress would consider how to address research and development tax credits, deductions for state and local duties and the child tax credit. The fact that the government’s debt has risen so sharply since 2017 “means that a full-on extension is going to be challenging,” Carney said.

“There’s some knowledge of how he would govern and what his tax priorities would be,” Carney said of Trump. “At the same time, his signature legislation from his first term is expiring, so, unsurprisingly, a big priority — should Republicans win and get the trifecta of the House, Senate and the White House — would be to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, probably using the reconciliation vehicle. They would want to include bonus and research expensing into that 10-year extension as well. But 2025 is going to be a very different debt environment from 2017.”

The question of whether one party will sweep Congress and the White House will decide whether the expiration of the laws provides “an opportunity with a capital ‘O’ or an opportunity with a small-case ‘O,'” according to Bruce Heiman, a partner in the public policy practice who was the legislative director and trade counsel to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat from New York. If the Democrats use reconciliation, the legislation will “be partisan” and “move fast,” Heiman said.

“If not, I think you’re going to have a lot more negotiation and compromise,” he said. “Whoever controls, there are going to be slim majorities. And so you’re going to have to be working with both sides. Second, Harris has just less experience working with Congress than Biden did, necessarily. She’s been newer to Congress, and she also has fewer personal relationships with members in a more polarized environment, too. All of which means it’s harder to get things done, a greater need for compromise and more pushing toward the middle.”

Accounting

Continuous Auditing Transforms Corporate ERPs

Published

5 days ago

July 21, 2026

Business Finance News

continuous auditing transforms corporate erps

As corporate accounting departments cross the threshold into late July 2026, the adoption of continuous, automated auditing systems has reached a definitive turning point. Driven by advances in artificial intelligence and deep integration with modern Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platforms, leading finance organizations are moving away from traditional, periodic post-hoc audits in favor of real-time, 100% transactional verification. This technological transition is redefining internal control environments, reducing compliance costs, and eliminating the structural delays inherent in legacy quarterly closing processes.

Unlike traditional auditing frameworks that rely on statistical sampling—a process that inevitably leaves operational blind spots—continuous auditing software monitors operational data feeds continuously. Every purchase order, electronic invoice, payroll disbursement, and cross-border wire transfer is automatically cross-referenced against established corporate governance parameters, regulatory tax schedules, and anti-fraud algorithms in real time. Anomalies or unauthorized ledger entries are flagged instantly, allowing internal audit teams to investigate and remediate compliance gaps immediately rather than months after the close of a financial period.

The implications for executive financial management are far-reaching. By embedding continuous verification directly into daily transaction workflows, chief financial officers gain uninterrupted visibility into the organization’s true financial standing. Real-time balance sheet auditing eliminates the severe operational bottlenecks associated with month-end and quarter-end financial reconciliations, freeing accounting professionals to focus on strategic financial modeling, tax planning, and capital allocation rather than manual data entry and spreadsheet consolidation.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting leadership to invest heavily in data governance and technical upskilling. Internal audit teams must evolve from manual ledger reviewers into system architects capable of auditing complex algorithms and validating automated data pipelines. Accounting firms and corporate controllers that master continuous auditing will establish a resilient compliance framework capable of meeting stringent international regulatory standards with total transparency.

Accounting

U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

Published

6 days ago

July 20, 2026

Business Finance News

U.S. Imposes New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Under Rare Legal Provision

WASHINGTON — In a major escalation of cross-border trade friction, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed executive orders imposing new 50% tariffs on a wide selection of Canadian exports, citing discriminatory practices by Ottawa targeting American auto, dairy, and beverage industries.

The new duties, announced Monday, will take effect in 30 days. They target a broad spectrum of consumer and industrial goods—ranging from wine, liquor, and milk products to commercial cement, furniture, clothing, and hockey equipment.

Untested Legal Mechanism

To enact the sweeping measures, the administration invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930—a rarely used legal provision allowing the executive branch to levy additional tariffs of up to 50% on foreign nations deemed to discriminate against U.S. commerce.

White House officials noted that Section 338 addresses trade discrimination rather than national security or economic emergencies. The move comes months after prior global emergency tariffs faced legal challenges in domestic courts, signaling Washington’s pivot toward alternate statutory authorities to maintain import duties.

Senior administration officials briefed reporters that the measure directly responds to Canadian provincial bans on U.S. alcohol, restrictions on American vehicle exports, and import quota disparities affecting U.S. dairy and cheese producers relative to third-party trading partners.

“While the administration continues to secure reciprocal trade agreements globally, Canada retaliated against efforts to protect domestic industry,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated.

USMCA Impact and Carve-Outs

Significantly, the newly ordered 50% duties will apply to designated items even if they otherwise comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

However, the administration confirmed key targeted exemptions:

Energy products (including oil and natural gas)
Potash and critical minerals
Fish and seafood
Goods already governed by sector-specific duties (such as existing steel and aluminum tariffs)

Administration representatives emphasized that the tariffs do not stem from recent disputes concerning drifting Canadian wildfire smoke, noting that policy options regarding environmental spillover remain under separate review.

Canadian Response and Market Reaction

Following the White House announcement, the Canadian dollar experienced a sharp decline against the U.S. dollar, falling approximately 0.4% during evening trading.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement emphasizing that Canada’s earlier counter-duties had merely matched previous U.S. trade actions. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens,” Carney stated, pointing to detailed proposals Ottawa submitted to modernize the USMCA framework.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford took a firmer stance, urging a “dollar-for-dollar” reciprocal response if the measures go into effect on August 19.

With a 30-day implementation window before the duties officially lock in, industry associations and trade groups on both sides of the border are calling for urgent bilateral negotiations to avert further supply chain disruption across North America.

Accounting

Automated Continuous Auditing: Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

Published

6 days ago

July 20, 2026

Business Finance News

Transforming Compliance and Real-Time Financial Oversight

The traditional accounting paradigm—defined by periodic monthly closures and post-hoc annual audits—is rapidly giving way to continuous, automated financial oversight. As of July 2026, forward-thinking accounting practices and multinational corporate finance departments are leveraging continuous auditing systems powered by advanced machine learning models. These systems monitor operational transactions in real time, shifting audit methodologies from sample-based post-analysis to absolute, 100% transaction-level verification.

The operational advantages of continuous auditing are transformative. Standard auditing procedures historically relied on statistical sampling, which, despite rigorous methodology, inherently left gaps where anomalies or fraudulent transactions could go undetected for months. Modern continuous auditing platforms integrate directly with enterprise resource planning (ERP) databases, instantly cross-referencing purchase orders, invoices, bank feeds, and tax records. Any deviation from established control parameters or unusual transaction behavior triggers immediate flags for internal audit teams, dramatically reducing detection lag from quarters to seconds.

Beyond fraud prevention, continuous auditing fundamentally alters internal reporting and decision-making. Executive leadership no longer has to wait weeks after the close of a quarter to evaluate precise financial standing; real-time verified ledger data provides an uninterrupted view of operating margins, tax liabilities, and cash flow dynamics. This real-time visibility enables corporate controllers to adjust capital allocation strategies dynamically, mitigating liquidity constraints and capitalizing on emerging commercial opportunities far more efficiently than competitors bound to legacy reporting cycles.

However, implementing continuous auditing requires accounting professionals to acquire new analytical capabilities. The role of the auditor is evolving from manual data reconciliation toward system validation, algorithmic model governance, and strategic risk interpretation. Accounting firms and corporate finance departments must invest in continuous technical education, ensuring that audit staff possess the data engineering skills necessary to design, maintain, and evaluate complex automated compliance systems.