California CPA articles from August 2004

California CPA archives from August 2004

CalCPA adds ADP as affinity partner.(CalCPA News; California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(ADP Small Business Services)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... "Although we only reviewed a Small number of engagements in 2003, we identified significant audit and accounting issues." William McDonough, PCAOB Chair CalCPA recently added payroll services vendor ADP Small Business Services to its...

Awards honor instructors at the Annual Meeting.(Education Foundation News; California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The California CPA Education Foundation honored several veteran instructors at the Annual Members Business Meeting July 16. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ronald Baker: Award for Instructor Excellence for quality instruction and presentation...

New resource guide on privacy issues.(AICPA News; accounting)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The AICPA has released Understanding and Implementing Privacy Services: A CPA's Resource, a reference guide for firms providing privacy services. The guide incorporates significant domestic and international privacy laws, regulations and...

New procedure for U.S. tax certification.(IRS News; residency)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The IRS has implemented a new tax form, Form 8802, Application for United States Residency Certification, for U.S. individuals and businesses to establish that they are entitled to lower foreign tax rates provided by U.S. income tax treaties....

IRS offers penalty refund for EFTPS enrollment.(IRS News; Electronic Federal Tax Payment System)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The IRS is offering an incentive to encourage enrollment in and use of the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Roughly 1 million employers could qualify for a refund of a previously paid federal tax deposit penalty. The EFTPS-FTD...

Defined benefit plan and annuity distribution rules.(IRS News; accounting)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The Treasury and IRS issued final regulations regarding minimum distribution rules for defined benefit plans and annuity products purchased with account balances in other types of qualified retirement plans and IRAs. The final regulations...

SEC OKs Auditing Standard No. 2; PCAOB adopts Standard No. 3.(PCAOB News; Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The SEC has approved its Auditing Standard No. 2, An Audit of Internal Control over Financial Reporting Performed in Conjunction with an Audit of Financial Statements. The PCAOB staff guidance regarding implementation is available at...

Survey IDs Sarbanes-Oxley compliance gaps.(Survey Says)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Most internal auditors believe their internal audit functions related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act still have a ways to go before reaching full compliance. More than 90 percent of internal auditors surveyed say they have identified gaps in...

More financial services moving offshore.(Survey Says)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The number of financial institutions that moved specific business functions offshore grew 46 percent in 2003, according to Deloitte Research. The study predicts that if this trend continues, more than one-fifth of the financial services...

Company size defines Sec. 404 compliance effort.(Survey Says; accounting )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... While companies continue to grapple with Sec. 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, they do so in different ways. Only 21 percent of small companies--those with a market cap of less than $75 million--view software as critical to Sec. 404 compliance,...

FASB issues proposal on fair value measurements.(FASB News; Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Responding to increasing calls for better guidance on measuring fair value, FASB has published an exposure draft, Fair Value Measurements, that establishes a framework for measuring fair value that applies to financial and nonfinancial assets...

FTB holds Tax Gap Symposiums to study taxpayer amnesty program.(FTB News; Franchise Tax Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The FTB held Tax Gap Symposiums June 29 in Sacramento and July 1 in Orange County to study possible solutions to the tax gap, including the proposal of a general amnesty program for taxpayers. The Tax Gap Symposiums were presided over by...

CPA Exam scores to be released by Aug. 15.(CBA News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Candidates who sat for the CPA Exam in April and May should have their grades by Aug. 15, the CBA says. California's candidates will most likely receive their grades later than other states, due in part to the volume of candidates and a...

CBA looking for Administrative, Qualification Committee nominees.(CBA News; California Board of Accountancy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The CBA is looking for CPAs to serve two-year terms on its Administrative Committee and Qualification Committee. The advisory Administrative Committee assists with CBA enforcement activities by monitoring enforcement investigations;...

CBA issues outsourcing disclosure regulation.(CBA News; California Board of Accountancy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The CBA has issued a regulation notice informing licensees of amendments to Regulation 54.1. The changes require CPAs using any outsourcing service to provide clients with a written notice that information is being shared with others. The...

CBA's new phone numbers.(MakeaNote; California Board of Accountancy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The CBA is in the process of changing many of the telephone numbers in its directory. Access the new numbers at www.dca.ca.gov/cba/phonedir.htm.

GASB requires more statistical disclosure.(GASB News; Governmental Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... GASB has issued Statement No. 44, Economic Condition Reporting: The Statistical Section, which enhances and updates the statistical section that accompanies a state or local government's basic financial statements. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

GASB issues exposure draft on Communication Methods.(GASB News; Governmental Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... GASB has published an exposure draft for a proposed Statement of Governmental Accounting Concepts, Communication Methods. The draft provides a conceptual basis for selecting communication methods to present items of information within...

SEC to display comment letters online.(SEC News; Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... To improve transparency, the SEC said it will begin publishing the comment letters it sends to companies related to their disclosure filings. Specifically, the SEC will make available disclosure filings selected for review by staff members...

New CPE requirements in GOV'T Auditing Standards.(CPE News; Certified Public Accounting)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The new Government Auditing Standards, or Yellow Book, has significantly changed its continuing education requirement and firms need to carefully evaluate their CPE in light of these changes. The major change concerns classes that would...

December 1 deadline: born to run? Become a CalCPA officer.(News & Trends; California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Some leaders are born, others are made and still others need a little nudge. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you're interested in helping shape the next group of CalCPA leaders, nominate a member for the job. Or, if you're interested in...

Interested in AICPA council?(News & Trends; American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... If you're an AICPA member and interested in representing your peers in California on the AICPA Council, let us know. The CalCPA Nominations Committee will recommend candidates to AICPA Council. The AICPA Council establishes AICPA...

Web focus: 2004 MAP Survey under way.(CalCPA Online; accounting)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... The 2004 MAP Survey is under way. If you haven't already participated, there's no time like the present. The California CPA Education Foundation is underwriting the costs for CalCPA members' participation. You can access the 2003 MAP Survey...

Speak out: demand for accounting educators not that high.(News & Trends)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Regarding the story "Dude, Where's My Teacher?" (California CPA, June 2004), there are two problems that I see at the graduate level: 1. Ph.D. programs are very expensive to operate for what they produce. 2. Many (most?) of the...

Announcements.(Member Milestones)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Bruce Ferry of San Francisco has been appointed partner at Smith, Lange & Phillips LLP... Abbey Brown has joined the tax department at San Diego-based Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg, LLP. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Send Member...

In memoriam.(Member Milestones; Gary S. Goss)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
August 1, 2004... Gary S. Goss, CPA, died Friday, May 28. Goss became a CalCPA member in November 1961 and was a member of the Peninsula Chapter since its inception in 1980. Goss practiced public accounting in San Carlos since 1961. The firm was initially Goss &...

Accomplishments.(Member Milestones; accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Los Altos-based Sherie Dodsworth has been appointed chair of Borel Private Bank & Trust Company of San Mateo... Sidney Weiss of Indio has been selected chair-elect of the board of directors for the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce, the...

Awards.(Member Milestones; accountants)
August 1, 2004... Beverly Hills-based Charles Rettig received the 2003-04 Presidents Award from the Hawaii Society of CPAs for outstanding volunteer service and commitment to CPAs in Hawaii... The editorial staff of the Consumer Business Review recognized South...

Firm news.(Member Milestones; accounting services)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... West Covina-based Parke, Guptill & Company, LLP celebrated its 40th anniversary in June... San Francisco-based Smith, Lange & Phillips, LLP has joined the Alliott Group. The firm also was named the 19th largest accounting firm in the Bay Area...

Members in the news.(Member Milestones; California Society of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Irving Eisenberg, Peter Lucier and Mitch Freedman were quoted in the April issue of Senior Life... An article by Mitch Freedman was published in the June 1 Practical Accountant... Charles Retting was quoted in the June 3 Wall Street Journal...

More tax amnesty? State hopes to net a bundle from wayward taxpayers in 2005.(GovernmentRelations)
August 1, 2004... California legislators are proposing a tax amnesty program as part of the budget deal being negotiated with Gov. Schwarzenegger. If passed, this would be the first such amnesty program since 1984-85. AB 2203 (Chu), which is becoming a...

Public protector: integrity defines extraordinary forensic CPA.(Certified Public Accountant)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... If, for a single day, fate would allow each of us to appear as our alter egos, Paul Regan undoubtedly would fly into Hemming Morse's San Francisco offices as an evidence-wielding caped crusader. Just ask John DeLorean and Michael Milken--two of...

Our roots run deep by D. Paul Regan, CPA.(Certified Public Accountant)
August 1, 2004... Earlier this summer as I gazed out my window in Maui at a banyan tree, I saw a parallel with our profession and CalCPA. Like the banyan, each CPA can stand against adversity because they are founded on an extraordinary root system that enables...

Are you an expert?(ExpertWitness; accountants)
August 1, 2004... CPAs often are called on to provide expert testimony as litigation support consultants during commercial disputes. As part of that testimony. CPAs may under-take everything from damage calculations and matrimonial lifestyle calculations to...

Rescuing pension rescue plans: dealing with the IRD problem is more difficult, but still workable.(EstatePlanning; income in respect of decedent )
August 1, 2004... The December 2003 California CPA article on the hidden tax traps of income in respect of decedent (IRD) noted that the IRS clobbers certain types of assets, such as qualified retirement plans and IRAs at death. For clients in the maximum...

Dividend deductions; Farmer Bros. ruling: Rev. and Tax Code Sec. 24402 unconstitutional.(CaliforniaTax)
August 1, 2004... In Farmer Bros. Co. v. Franchise Tax Board, the Court of Appeal [(2003) 108 Cal.App. 4th 936, 134 Cal.Rptr.2d 390] held that the California Revenue and Taxation Code Sec. 24402 dividend deduction is unconstitutional. The following outlines how...

Discover the value of membership: CalCPA member services & benefits.(Special Pull-out Section; California Society of Certifed Public Accountants)
August 1, 2004... Discuss * Connect * Learn CalCPA's 14 chapters feature technical committees, specific interest groups and geographically-based discussion groups tailored to meet members' needs. Groups provide excellent professional networking...

A place of one's own.(BusinessDevelopment)
August 1, 2004... Most people tend to think of communities as places, such as cities or neighborhoods. But a community really can be defined as a group of people who maintain relationships based on common interests, goals, locations or values. This can include...

Managing IT threats.(DataSecurity)
August 1, 2004... Many CPAs have learned the hard way that security technology alone can't protect a computer network. Computer users perform common tasks every day that can compromise the security of their computers and networks. Leaving employees...

Tax-free disability benefits: new IRS ruling allows favorable treatment.(FederalTax)
August 1, 2004... Rev. Rul. 2004-55, IRB 2004-26, June 28, 2004, considered the following issue: Under an "Amended Plan" (described below), are long-term disability benefits received by an employee, who becomes disabled, excludable from the employee's gross...