California CPA articles from August 2001

California CPA archives from August 2001

BOARD CHANGE ENHANCES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The face of FASB is changing: In July, John Wulff replaced Gaylen Larson and Gary Schieneman replaced Anthony Cope; while Sept. 1, Katherine Schopper will replace Gerhard Mueller. According to Zaf Iqbal, accounting professor at Cal Poly San...

CALCPA EXTENDS AGREEMENT WITH CPA2BIZ.(California Society of Certified Public Accountants to use)(CPA2BIZ accounting portal)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... CalCPA has signed an interim agreement to participate in the new CPA2Biz accounting portal through the end of this year, reports Susan Waters, CalCPA CEO. CalCPA will continue its affiliation with the network of state societies and the...

Who Collects Headaches?(work stress survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... TRIGGERS Accountants report that disorganized clients' sloppy bookkeeping is responsible for 50 percent of weekly headaches. Librarians, 56 percent stated that people who have "no clue" how to use research resources cause the most...

NEW CHAPTER WEB SITES.(California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Web design wizards at Ca1CPA are in the process of re-designing, updating and, in some cases creating from scratch, new Web sites for CalCPA chapters. Fresh content, updated calendar sections and links, leadership information and contacts...

ELDER CARE TASK FORCE WANTS YOU!(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... America is aging and elder care is among the hottest planning topics for professionals. CalCPA's Personal Financial Planning Committee is organizing an elder care task force and is looking for volunteers. For more information, go to...

FTB REVISES POSITION ON S CORPORATIONS.(Franchise Tax Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... According to the FTB, the U.S. Supreme Court, reversing the 10th Circuit Court, held in Gitlitz v. Commissioner, 2001-1 USTC 50,147, that the S corporation's excluded discharge of debt is an item of income that passes through to the...

NEW TAX NONFILER DETECTION SYSTEM.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Using a newly developed Integrated Nonfiler Compliance system, the FTB has identified more than 750,000 state income tax nonfilers for the 1999 tax year and has been sending notices to these individuals since early June. The FTB claims...

CALIFORNIA'S GOP BEATS OUT FRANCE.(Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. survey on gross domestic product)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 2001... California surpassed France in 2000 to become the fifth largest economy in the world, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., a private, nonprofit research organization. The Los Angeles five-county area's economy has surpassed...

CalCPAONLINE web focus.(California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... GET ONLINE WITH OUR NEW MEMBER DATABASE The BSN is gone, but its most popular feature, Find a CPA, is alive and well. All of the Find a CPA member data has been updated with current information from our membership database, and we'll...

IRS OFFERS ONLINE TAX WITHHOLDING CALCULATOR.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The IRS Web site features a new withholding calculator at www.irs.gov/prod/ind_ info/wh/ that reflects the changes in the income tax rates for individuals that began July 1.

EASY CALIFORNIA LAW AND REGULATIONS URLs.(Legislative Counsel of California)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Attention accountants and auditors: Here's a free, easy-to-access, online resource to bookmark for future reference. The Legislative Counsel of California maintains a Web site where you can search and review California law by code section....

INTERNET USE POLICY.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... If you have Internet access available to your staff, make sure you have an Internet use policy in place, says Susan Bradley, partner and network administrator with Fresno-based Tamiyasu, Smith, Horn & Braun. A clearly defined policy helps...

AGREED UPON PROCEDURES.(Auditing Standards Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Auditing Standards Board has withdrawn SAS No. 75, Engagements to Apply Agreed-Upon Procedures to Specified Element, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement. All agreed upon procedures engagements are now performed under the attestation...

TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO DISCLOSURE STANDARDS.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The SEC has issued a release adopting technical amendments to Form 20-F under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and to Forms F-2 and F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933. The amendments to the forms clarify the requirements regarding the...

BUSINESS CONSULTANTS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The IRS is encouraging audits of business consultants and has recently published a new audit techniques guide to assist examiners with their audits of these individuals. Under scrutiny are an individual's status as an independent...

XBRL INITIATIVE SEEKS COMMENTS.(enhancements to XBRL for Financial Statements)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... XBRL.org has prepared enhancements to its current specification, XBRL for Financial Statements, for public comment. The enhanced version of XBRL is designed to harmonize with the new World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) XML Schema to better align...

GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING & AUDITING IN CALIFORNIA.(California Committee on Municipal Accounting issues white papers)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The California Committee on Municipal Accounting, which is comprised of representatives of CalCPA and the League of California Cities, has recently issued two white papers on GASB Statements No. 33 and 34. In addition, two white papers were...

STARTING A PFP PRACTICE? FREE GUIDE AVAILABLE.(CPA Guide to Structure and Regulation of a Financial Planning Practice)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... To help clarify the labyrinth of rules and regulations that govern a CPA's activities in personal financial planning, two former directors of the New York State Society of CPAs have developed a new guide to facilitate the development of PFP...

NAVIGATING THE INTERNET SALES TAX DEBATE.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Anyone who makes purchases using the Internet or telephone should raise a concerned brow at Congress' recent movement to permit states to force merchants to collect sales taxes from beyond their jurisdiction, according to the Institute for...

ANNOUNCEMENTS.(personnel news)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Wes Nutten has joined Desmond, Marcello & Amster as a principal and will head the forensic accounting and class action claims administration practices... Ted Mitchel has become a partner with Ueltzen & Company... Jack E. Hinsche has been...

ACHIEVEMENTS.(accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Anthony Y. Teng, of Irvine-based Corbin & Wertz, has been named most valuable professor for the College of Business Administration at Cal State University, Long Beach... Ned Leiba, a partner in the Stockton firm of Leiba & Bowers, was admitted...

Petrinovich Pugh & Company.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Petrinovich Pugh & Company in San Jose is celebrating 50 years of service and excellence this year

Caldron, Jaham & Osborn.(joins DFK International)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Caldron, Jaham & Osborn recently accepted membership into DFK International, a worldwide network of accounting firms...

Windes & McClaughry.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Long Beach-based Windes & McClaughry has been chosen as the recipient of the 2001-02 Destination Tomorrow Award by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. The firm also celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

One Hundred Years for California CPAs.(California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... It is with great optimism, enthusiasm and pleasure that I approach my watch as CalCPA chair this year, the centennial anniversary of the CPA credential in California. But before I describe what I see for the future, I'd like to commend my...

Impairment Test Offers Clearer Picture of Goodwill.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In July, the Financial Accounting Standards Board completed its 5-year project on business combinations and intangible assets with the issuance of two separate statements, FASB Statement No. 141, Business Combinations, and FASB Statement No....

Talking California Tax.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... More Highlights From CalCPA's TaxTalk Listserve Tax Treatment of Stock Options California's Employment Development Department has revised its information sheet on stock options (DE 231SK). It is available on the EDD Web site at...

PASSING THE Baton.(succession planning )
August 1, 2001... Succession strategies for CPA Forms You're too young. You're too busy. The estate tax is going to be repealed, so you'll wait. Perhaps you're a procrastinator, or just downright uncomfortable with even the mention of succession...

Worker's Compensation: How to Pick a Ripe Carrier.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Everyone loves a "buyers' market," where sellers jockey for position by offering the lowest possible price. But the 1990s proved that with workers' compensation insurance--cheapest isn't always best. The 1990s marked the most tumultuous...

Estate, Gift and Generation-skipping Transfer Tax Highlights.
August 1, 2001... July's California CPA, Page 10, highlighted some of the provisions in the 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. Following is a summary of provisions affecting estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes. The...

Recession-Proof Your Marketing Plan.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In times of uncertainty or when facing a potential economic downturn, CPA firms comb their financials looking for areas to prune. Unfortunately, many CPAs believe that marketing is one of the first "discretionary" areas that can be cut without...

The Power of Clear Communication.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... We know productivity is the pathway to profits. And in this high-tech world, it's fashionable to look to technology to solve productivity problems. But, before you invest in new-fangled frills, don't forget to focus on old-fashioned...

Sea of Uncertainty.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... One of the more significant provisions of the 2001 Tax Act was the repeal of the federal estate tax in 2010. As a result of the phase-ins, phase-outs and sunset provisions, estate planning practitioners appear to have been left with a set of...