CCH Says Tax Professionals May Be Next Victims of Madoff, Others

Audio Seminar Details How Practitioners Should Respond

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., February 25, 2009) – Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion investment fraud, the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has affected vast numbers of individual investors, charitable foundations, endowments and pension plans, and now tax practitioners are at risk as well, since failure to firmly grasp the issues and to take the right steps for their affected clients could be a big malpractice issue for the ignorant or unaware tax professional. To help tax and financial advisers respond correctly to Madoff’s and similar schemes, CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business and a leading provider of tax, accounting and audit information, software and services is presenting a two-hour audio seminar entitled Madoff and Other Substantial Losses: Protecting Your Clients and Avoiding Malpractice (CCHGroup.com/Audioseminars).

Robert Keebler, CPA, MST, DEP and a panel of distinguished tax experts will discuss practical income tax and retirement planning issues and considerations related to the Madoff scandal and other similar situations. This convenient and timely two-hour CCH Audio Seminar will bring professionals up to speed on the tax issues, ramifications and steps required that they and their clients need to know in the wake of this and other recent investor frauds.

Program Agenda

At the end of the seminar, participants will understand the tax ramifications of Madoff-type losses, know the potential income tax recovery alternatives and strategies and be able to answer client questions about what to do in the wake of investor fraud losses.

Specific topics include:

Overview of the Madoff scandal;
Potential income tax recovery strategies;
Theft loss deduction under Code. Sec. 165;
How to properly file protective claims;
When you can and should file amended returns;
Statutes of limitation;
Estate tax implications and protective claims;
IRAs and Roth IRAs – what to do;
Rollover IRAs;
Tax issues for decedents and estates;
Understanding the reportable transaction rules;
When to disclose on Form 8275;
Sec. 1341 claim of right filings;
NOL carrybacks and the five-year period under the Stimulus Bill; and more.

In addition, the presentation time will include ample opportunity for participants to ask their most pressing questions to the panel.

About the Speakers

Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, DEP is a partner with Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP and chair of the firm’s Estate and Financial Planning Group. His practice includes family wealth transfer and preservation planning, charitable giving, retirement distribution planning and estate administration. Keebler frequently represents clients before the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service in the private letter ruling process and in estate, gift and income tax examinations and appeals. Keebler is a nationally recognized expert in estate and retirement planning and he works collaboratively with other experts on academic reviews and papers and client matters. He is often quoted in national publications and is a frequent speaker for legal, accounting and financial planning groups throughout the United States. He is the author of more than 75 articles and columns and is the editor, author or co-author of many books and treatises on wealth transfer and taxation. Keebler is also a featured columnist in CCH’s TAXES: The Tax Magazine and a member of CCH’s Financial and Estate Planning Advisory Board.

Mark Heroux, JD is a partner in the Tax Services Group at Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP. He has more than 20 years of experience at the IRS, where he handled tax litigation, technical and program management matters. Heroux specializes in IRS procedures, controversy and dispute resolution. He leads and provides tax and business advisory services to middle-market and large companies and high-net worth individuals. Heroux provides complete representation at IRS Exam and Appeals; advises on actual and anticipated tax disputes and penalty abatement/mitigation and amended returns/claims for refunds; and he provides guidance to the IRS Examination, Collection, and Criminal Investigation Divisions, as well as to the IRS Service Center Directors and the Service’s Taxpayer Advocates.

Otis Damron, EA, MBA is a senior manager in Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP’s Strategic Tax Consulting Group. He has more than 30 years of IRS experience in Examination, Collection and Appeals matters. He specializes in IRS procedures, controversy and dispute resolution, and provides tax and business advisory services to individuals and small businesses. Damron provides representation at IRS Examination, Collection and Appeals; performs analysis of client procedural problems and representation at Taxpayer Advocate; and provides assistance with Code Section 9100 relief for missed elections and works with IRS Service Centers to correct errors to clients’ accounts.

Peter Melcher, JD, LLM, MBA is a senior tax manager with Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP where he specializes in tax planning for high net worth individuals. Melcher has extensive experience in domestic and foreign estate planning, business succession planning and income tax planning for investors and corporate executives. He creates estate and business succession plans; implements sophisticated estate planning strategies; and analyzes the economics of tax planning strategies. Melcher is also a columnist and author for national tax journals.

How the Audio Seminar Works

CCH’s live audio seminars require nothing more than a telephone connection. For the $249 per-site fee, an unlimited number of listeners at a site can participate and get up to speed and in-the-know on these important topics.

CPE Credit

Two hours of CPE credit are also available for the seminar for an additional $25 for each person wishing to receive a CPE certificate for participation in the seminar.

Special Bonus

Along with detailed handout materials, each site registering for this audio seminar will receive a free copy of CCH’s Journal of Retirement Planning as a special bonus.

How to Register

To register online using a credit card, go to http://www.krm.com/cch. To register by phone, call CCH Customer Service at 1-800-775-7654. For more information, go to CCHGroup.com/Audioseminars.

A CD audio recording of the event and handout materials in PDF format will be available one week after the live audio seminar event. It includes a copy of a seminar bonus publication with purchase. (Note: CPE credit is not available for the CD version of the presentation.) Price of the CD is $249; combined price for the live seminar site license and the CD is $349.

About CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business (CCHGroup.com) is a leading provider of tax, accounting and audit information, software and services. It has served tax, accounting and business professionals since 1913. Among its market-leading products are The ProSystem fx® Office, CCH® TeamMate, CorpSystem®, CCH® Tax Research NetWork™, Accounting Research Manager® and the U.S. Master Tax Guide®. CCH is based in Riverwoods, Ill.

Wolters Kluwer is a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2008 annual revenues of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 35 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Visit www.wolterskluwer.com for information about our market positions, customers, brands and organization.

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