The United States has taken action in a federal court in Honolulu, Hawaii, to stop James A. Ericson from preparing tax returns for others. The complaint alleges that Ericson, said to have prepared more than 1,000 returns a year, created phony businesses and inflated credits and deductions on clients' returns.

Abila has revived the name MIP for the nonprofit accounting software market. The name as been applied to the fund accounting package that Abila acquired earlier this year when it purchased the former Sage Nonprofit Solutions. The product was most recently called Sage 100 Fund Accounting.

Earlier this year, Congressional haggling delayed the start of tax season. Now, the Internal Revenue Service says the recent government shutdown means the 2014 season will also start late with the delay estimated to be from one to two weeks.