California CPA articles from December 2004

California CPA archives from December 2004

CalCPA names Transitional CEO.(CalCPA News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... John Dunleavy, executive director of the California CPA Education Foundation, has been named CalCPA's Transitional CEO by the CalCPA Board of Directors. The move also was approved by the Education Foundation Board of Trustees. Dunleavy will...

Bilingual? CalCPA wants you.(CalCPA News)
December 1, 2004... If you're bilingual and interested in working with the media, let us know. CalCPA is looking for bilingual CPAs, especially those fluent in Spanish, who are willing to take part in news media interviews on various topics related to the...

Jobs revealed!(CalCPA News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Don't miss this occupational drama in which all walks of the accounting profession convene in one location to face the challenges and rigorous tasks of career fulfillment. Upon arrival, candidates will be expected to align themselves with...

CalCPA members on AICPA Board, Council.(AICPA News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Former CalCPA Chair Steve Wimmers was named a member of the AICPA Board of Directors, and CalCPA members Loretta Doon, David George, Hal Schultz and Anthony Teng have joined the AICPA Council. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Also, John...

AICPA unveils CPA Marketing Tool Kit.(AICPA News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The AICPA's CPA Marketing Tool Kit is free to its members and contains various resources to help promote your firm, including logos; five print advertisements; three PDF brochures to distribute to clients; speeches and PowerPoint presentations;...

AICPA adopts new ethics requirements for outsourcing.(AICPA News)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The AICPA has adopted ethics rules that place new requirements on members who outsource clients' work to third-party providers and broaden the definition of those providers.

Outsource? Get client approval in writing.(CBA News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... If you outsource any of your client's work to third parties, be aware of changes that take effect Jan. 1, 2005 regarding necessary permission you must receive. The California Accountancy Act Sec. 54.1, Disclosure of Confidential...

Expansion of online filing.(EDD News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Employment Development Department has expanded e-file capabilities and California employers now may file the following forms electronically: * Quarterly Wage and Withholding Report (DE 6); * Report of Independent Contractor(s) (DE...

Appeals division gets tough.(IRS Update)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The IRS will not settle with taxpayers who participated in certain abusive transactions unless the taxpayers concede 100 percent of the claimed losses or deductions, reduced by only the amount of transaction costs up to 10 percent of the...

LLCs eligible for voluntary disclosure program.(FTB News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Limited liability companies and their member owners are among the list of entities qualifying for California's Voluntary Disclosure Program. Assembly Bill 3073, enacted Aug. 30, amended the program, which previously included C and S...

Changes to real estate withholding and exemptions.(FTB News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Assembly Bill 1338 changes California's real estate withholding requirements and exemptions effective for all transactions closing on or after Jan. 1, 2005. Among other changes, the waiver process for non-individuals is replaced with a...

Tax Boot Camp.(FTB News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Tax Boot Camp is designed to prepare new staff of CalCPA members for tax season by providing hands-on training in return preparation, work paper techniques, tax research and basic tax law. Students also practice computerized tax research,...

Guidance on Auditing Internal Controls.(PCAOB Update)
December 1, 2004... The PCAOB has issued additional guidance on Sarbanes-Oxley Sec. 404 requirements. The staff Q&A, "Auditing Internal Control Over Financial Reporting," can be downloaded at www.pcaobus.org/Standards/staff_questions_and_answers.asp.

FASB delays controversial stock option rule.(FASB News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The FASB will delay by six months the effective date for public and nonpublic companies to implement Statement 123R, its proposed standard that would require companies to expense the value of employee stock options in the income statement. ...

Retirement plan limitations.(News & Trends)
December 1, 2004... The IRS recently announced 2005 retirement plan limitations, www.irs.gov/retirement. Selected limitations are: 2005 2004 Exclusion of elective deferrals regarding Sec. $14,000...

Find A CPA.(WebFocus)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... As tax season begins, don't forget to register with Find A CPA. This public directory is among the most popular pages on CalCPA.org, receiving thousands of hits each month. The feature has matched scores of taxpayers with the local CPAs who...

Double taxation of dividends?(Speak Out)
December 1, 2004... In exposing the falsity of the claim of "double taxation of dividends," one may note that such a claim is on its face literally unsupportable since there is absolutely no evidence in the federal tax codes that dividends are taxed twice to the...

Estate Planning Forum: timing the termination of an estate.(News & Trends)
December 1, 2004... A recent question on CalCPA's Estate Planning Forum dealt with the timing of the termination of an estate. The estate had a significant capital loss, which would be available to the heirs when the estate filed its final income tax return....

Jerry Kasner.(IN MEMORIAM)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... Jerry Kasner, a longtime author, instructor and speaker for the California CPA Education Foundation, died Oct. 21 after a long illness. He was 71. A CPA and professor emeritus of law at Santa Clara University, Kasner taught continuing...

Larry Stern.(IN MEMORIAM)(NSBN Certified Public Accountants)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... Larry Stern, managing partner at Beverly Hills-based NSBN Certified Public Accountants, died Oct. 14. He was 72. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stern, a well-known member of the Southern California business community, had been with NSBN for...

Announcements.(member milestones)(JGD & Associates)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Caroline Parra has joined San Diego-based JGD & Associates as tax supervisor... Ted Valmassei has joined Los Altos-based ProHorizons as an area sales, mergers and acquisitions consultant serving Arizona, New Mexico and the Las Vegas...

Accomplishments.(member milestones)
December 1, 2004... Carmel-based Alexandra North competed in the Fair Hill 100-mile Ride in Elkton, Md. Oct. 16, a charity event for The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project. North is an endurance horse rider, multiple sclerosis patient and MSQLP spokeswoman...

Awards.(member milestones)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... San Monica-based Stonefield Josephson was presented with the "Outstanding Marketing Initiative Award of 2004" by the Leading Edge Alliance. The award was accepted by Lyne Noella, the company's chief marketing officer... Dave Freeman was named...

Firm news.(member milestones)(McDowell, Dillon & Hunter Accountancy Corporation has merged with Redondo Beach-based Kauls & Company Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Long Beach-based McDowell, Dillon & Hunter Accountancy Corporation has merged with Redondo Beach-based Kauls & Company Certified Public Accountants. The companies will maintain offices in Long Beach and Redondo Beach and operate as McDowell,...

Members in the news.(member milestones)
December 1, 2004... Sandy Murray was quoted in the Sept. 26 San Francisco Chronicle... Michael Eisenberg was cited in an Oct. 8 Investor's Business Daily article... Mary Kay Foss was quoted in an article on BankRate.com Oct. 11... John Dodsworth was quoted Oct....

Tax season: everything you need to navigate through the busy season.(TOOLKIT)
December 1, 2004... While some believe Groundhog Day determines the distance between winter and spring, many CPAs already can sense a growing shadow across their desk cast by a stack of W-2s. As the holiday season turns into tax season--bringing a slew of new...

2004 American Jobs Creation Act: selected highlights.(federal tax)
December 1, 2004... The following are selected highlights of the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, signed into law Oct. 22. Extraterritorial Income (ETI) Exclusion Repealed The Act repeals the ETI exclusion for post-2004 transactions, subject to 2005 and...

New year will ring in new employment laws: here's how you can make sure you're in compliance.
December 1, 2004... Perhaps buoyed by a growing statewide sensibility that a stronger economy will be built in part by retaining and attracting new employers to California, 2004 has brought some relief to employers in the form of a lower volume of major employment...

Stand tall: a benchmarking analysis can help you increase your company's value.(BUSINESS VALUATION)
December 1, 2004... Comparing your company's key performance indicators against those of industry peers, known as benchmarking, produces valuable information to help you improve your company's financial performance and increase its value. A challenge of...

Talk it over: open discourse between internal CPAs and external auditors is critical.(PROFESSIONAL ISSUES)
December 1, 2004... No matter how understanding internal CPAs are, tension is created when company shareholders or other interested parties hire an external auditor to provide an opinion of the internal CPA's work. Knowing and preparing for this tension will...

Above the noise: a well-defined marketing plan can set you apart from the competition.(BUSINESS MARKETING)
December 1, 2004... Writing a marketing plan often falls into the same category as going for a regular physical or getting your car tuned up--you know you should do it, but you always seem to find excuses for putting it off. However, just like the physical and...

Disaster tax tips: roadmap of changes to tax code.(DISASTER RELIEF)
December 1, 2004... The inadequacy of many disaster-related federal tax regulations became apparent after the 1991 Oakland firestorms. As affected communities began to pick up the pieces, they also fought to reform several areas of the tax code. Much of the work...

Coming out party: SEC program allows companies to file financial info using XBRL.(XBRL UPDATE)
December 1, 2004... Like a debutante, XBRL is being introduced to society. Although former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt first mentioned XBRL in 2000, it was not until 2004 that the SEC embraced XBRL with the release of two documents--Concept Release: Enhancing...

Busy year ahead: tax amnesty program and pro forma pilot among year's challenges.(california tax)
December 1, 2004... Gerry Goldberg, executive director of the Franchise Tax Board, recently described the FTB's workload as "mind-boggling." Opening the CalCPA Committee on Taxation's annual liaison meeting with the FTB Oct. 28, Goldberg reported that in...

CBA: get it in writing: clients must grant written permission before you disclose.(government relations)
December 1, 2004... Section 54.1 of the California Accountancy Act prohibits the disclosure of any confidential information concerning a client or a prospective client unless the client or prospective client gives permission for that disclosure or the disclosure...