As anyone who has picked up a non-fiction book in the past five years knows, we have entered the “You May Be Surprised to Learn…” era.

Data analytic breakthroughs as well as fresh thinking in the realms of behavioral economics, neuroeconomics and other so-called decision-making sciences have taught us, for example, that most drug dealers make less than minimum wage, bonuses are relatively weak incentives and man is definitely not a purely rational economic actor. On Sunday, I also learned how Japan’s economic failure may be a myth. more

Just how much in taxes does the IRS not collect, or at least not on schedule? Every few years, the IRS tries to come up with an estimate of this number, aka the “tax gap.” Its latest efforts, released earlier this month, indicate that for 2006, the net tax gap came to about $385 billion, compared with total tax payments of $2.2 trillion.

That’s calculates to a compliance rate of 85.5%, or a hair under 2001’s rate of 86.3%. However, the IRS noted that some growth in the tax gap estimate could be attributed to better data and improved estimation methods. What’s more, it should be noted that the United States has one of the highest tax compliance rates in the world at 83.7%, according to a 2011 report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. more

The business analytics landscape is changing rapidly. The changes are being fueled by the surging interest in Big Data—unstructured data from social networking, smartphones, and sensors and meters of various sorts.

McKinsey addresses the growth of Big Data here. McKinsey’s gurus note that advancing technologies and their swift adoption are upending traditional business models. The CFO, in particular, should rethink how the organization handles data analytics.

Ad-hoc querying, multi-dimensional analysis, and data visualization in the past relied on distributed systems running a variety of specialized GUI tools. IBM, however, now suggests a seemingly radical approach and is revamping its analytics offerings. more

As the economy recovers, too many companies are losing their focus on capital management.

The latest figures on corporate cash holdings from REL Consulting indicate both good and bad news when it comes to companies’ management of their working capital. On the positive side, corporate cash balances have grown. In fact, cash holdings at the U.S.’ 1,000 largest public companies increased 11 percent between June 2010 and June 2011, to an eye-popping $850 billion. That compares to $767 billion a year earlier. more

Can the IRS and Treasury celebrate the spirit of the holiday season? This has long been a question that has divided observers. It seems to have been answered in the affirmative this past December 23, when the Government released long-awaited temporary and proposed regulations to clarify the difficult distinctions between currently deductible business repairs and capital improvements.

In general, taxpayers must capitalize amounts paid or incurred for: (1) permanent improvements or betterments which increase the value of property; (2) restoration of property; or (3) adapting property to a new or different use. But amounts paid for incidental repairs and maintenance are deductible business expenses. It is not always easy to distinguish between the two. more