Final Section 162(f) Regulations on Fines, Penalties and Other Amounts Have Broad Application

Connie Cheng Cunningham is a Managing Director in BDO’s National Tax Office Accounting Methods group. Based out of the firm’s Los Angeles office, Connie has nearly 15 years of experience in federal taxation and is well-versed in a variety of accounting methods issues, including income and expense recognition, capitalization, and Section 199.

She has extensive experience working with public and private clients across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, automotive, hospitality and gaming. In her current role, Connie handles a wide range of Section 199-related issues, including preparing and reviewing Section 199 computations and related technical memoranda and assisting clients with Section 199-related controversies. Connie also advises clients on federal income tax accounting issues such as income and expense recognition, tangible asset capitalization, and inventories. She assists taxpayers with controversies pending before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has prepared and represented clients for letter rulings from the IRS National Office. Prior to joining BDO, she was a senior manager in a Big Four firm’s national tax practice.

Connie is co-author of Bloomberg BNA’s Section 199: Deduction Relating to Income Attributable to Domestic Production Activities.

Rayth Myers is a Senior Manager in Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Department’s Quantitative Services group in Washington, D.C. He advises clients on federal income tax accounting methods, periods, credits, and inventory issues, and is currently assisting clients nationwide with the implementation of the tangible property capitalization regulations and the Retail-Restaurant Industry Issue Resolution. He also assists companies advises and analyze the tax treatment of federal and state settlement agreements under Section 162(f) and specified liability losses under Section 172(f).

Rayth also advises clients on various accounting method issues arising out of different transactions and restructurings. Rayth works with a variety of industries, including mining and metals and the restaurant and retail consumer product industries. He is also a frequent speaker and panelist at ABA meetings, at industry-specific conferences, tax educational events.

Ian Heminsley is an attorney at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

Sharon Horn is the Branch Chief in charge of Income Tax & Accounting Division at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

Susan Grais is a Managing Director at Ernst & Young LLP’s National Tax Quantitative Services group based in Washington, DC.

Susan has more than 30 years of concentrated experience in the federal tax accounting methods technical area, principally with the firm. She has extensive experience in general accounting method and capitalization matters across industries. Her areas of focus include timing provisions governing income and expense recognition, depreciation, long-term contracts, Section 199A, and Internal Revenue Service procedures regarding changes in accounting methods and periods. As a national technical leader, Susan is responsible for leading firmwide initiatives for the accounting methods practice. She works with a broad range of clients in the real estate, retail, health care, mining, media and entertainment, consumer products, manufacturing, utility and gaming industries. Susan also serves as an executive leader for the National Tax Rotator Program and National Tax Diversity Committee.

Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, Susan was a tax law specialist with the Treasury Department Office of Chief Counsel. She also has public accounting and industry experience.

Susan received an LLM in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center and a JD from the George Washington University National Law Center. She is a member of the Virginia State Bar Association and the District of Columbia Bar Association. Susan also is a CPA.

Susan is a former chair of the American Bar Association’s Capital Recovery and Leasing Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over tangible property capitalization matters. She is a frequent speaker at American Bar Association (ABA) and Federal Bar Association conferences, among other events, and an active member of the American Institute of CPAs’ Tax Accounting Committee, as well as ABA Tax Section committees related to accounting methods, capitalization and cost recovery, and diversity.

Susan currently is a department editor for the Journal of Taxation. She also has published technical articles in the Journal of Taxation, the Journal of Real Estate Taxation, the Journal of Passthrough Entities, The Tax Adviser and other publications. Susan has served as the Virginia State Chair of the Supreme Court Historical Society. She is an active member of the George Washington University Law School Alumni Association and has been a Committee Board Member for the American Heart Association Heart’s Delight auction for the past 20 years.