⬇️ The Friday Lowdown ⬇️

If you’re new around here, every day I share the 5 best accounting insights I saw in the past 24 hours.

I scroll. so you don’t have to. 

💎 WTF of the Day

Embezzling Accountant Skips Taxes, Lands in Prison

A New Jersey accountant embezzled over $1 million from his own company and thought he could outsmart the IRS by not paying taxes on the stolen cash. 

He was caught when financial discrepancies triggered an internal audit, exposing his scheme. Now, he's been sentenced to 3 years behind bars for both embezzlement and tax evasion. All that for a one way ticket to prison.

Source: NJ.com

💎 What’s poppin in accounting

IRS Halts Penalties for Late Foreign Gift Forms

Good news if you forgot to file Form 3520 for that foreign gift or inheritance, the IRS is stopping automatic penalties for late submissions. Previously, missing the deadline could slap you with hefty fines, sometimes up to 25% of the gift's value. 

This move aims to ease the burden on taxpayers tangled in complex international tax rules. But don't get too comfy, you still need to file to stay on the IRS's good side.

Source: Accounting Today

 📊 Weekly Trend Chart

Starbucks is really struggling 

Luckin Coffee, China's homegrown coffee disruptor, just overtook Starbucks in the number of stores across China. And get this, they pulled it off even after a huge accounting scandal where they admitted to fabricating sales numbers back in 2020. 

You'd think that would've sunk them, but nope! They regrouped, doubled down on their digital strategy with a killer app and unbeatable prices, and kept expanding.

Meanwhile, Starbucks is struggling in the U.S. and losing steam abroad. 

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