California CPA articles from January 2001

California CPA archives from January 2001

150-HOUR RULE NOT TO BLAME FOR DECREASE.(fewer accounting majors)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... A new report, "Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future," reveals a possible reason for the recent 23 percent decrease in the number of accounting majors: beginning salaries and misinformation. According to the...

CBA ELECTS OFFICERS.(California Board of Accountancy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... CalCPA member Donna McClusky recently was elected California Board of Accountancy president. McClusky replaces Baxter Rice who was the first public member to have served as CBA president. Another CalCPA member, Michael Snyder, was...

CALIFORNIA LAW AND REGULATIONS URLs.(law web sites)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Looking for a certain law or regulation that applies to California? Well, look no more. Check out two sites, maintained in California, for California regulations and law. The sites feature all of the California codes, not just the various tax...

DID YOUR COMPANY LOSE TO FRAUD?(reported fraud losses)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... DID YOUR COMPANY LOSE TO FRAUD? How much money do you estimate your company or organization lost to fraud in 1999? Under $10,000 20.4%...

MAKE DONATION VIA STATE TAX RETURN.(charitable donations)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Remind your clients to make an easy, tax-deductible donation to a favorite charity via the voluntary contribution section of the 2000 California state income tax form. The state requires each charity to raise a minimum of $250,000 in their...

STATE POSTPONES NEW NONFILER PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The FTB has postponed its new nonfiler system. Originally scheduled to be implemented in January 2001 for individuals and June 2001 for corporations, the FTB now anticipates having the first 500,000 individual nonfiler letters (for tax year...

CORRECTION TO FTB TAX INDEXING RATES.(Franchise Tax Board adjusts California tax rate)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Due to a retroactive correction made by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics in the federal inflation rate computation, the FTB announced that California has revised its indexing rates for the 2000 tax year. California...

IRS ANNOUNCES 2001 STANDARD MILEAGE RATE.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The recent jump in gasoline prices has caused the IRS to increase the optional Standard mileage rate for use in computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business purposes to 34.5 cents a mile. The amount was effective Jan....

NEW TAX DEPOSIT RULES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... In a step to simplify a major area of tax administration, the IRS will end monthly tax deposit requirements for about one million small businesses. According to the IRS Digital Dispatch, beginning Jan. 1, 2001, many small businesses will be...

FORM 941 E-FILE ONLINE FREE FOR 2000.(electronic filing of Employer's Federal Quarterly Tax Return)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Using an Internet connection and a Web browser, businesses can take advantage of e-filing their Form 941, Employer's Federal Quarterly Tax Return. The 941 Online Filing (OLF) program makes it possible for businesses to file Form 941 via...

ERGONOMICS REGS FINALIZED.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Beginning in January, new Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations governing ergonomics will be in effect. The regulations apply to every company, except for those engaged in construction, maritime activities or agriculture....

DISTINCTIONS OF DEBT AND EQUITY CLARIFIED.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... FASB issued a proposed statement that would establish accounting standards for financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities, equity or both. Comments on the proposed statement are requested by March 31, 2001. "Financial...

WE'VE COME A LONG WAY: 12 STATS ON THE NEW ECONOMY.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... WE'VE COME A LONG WAY: 12 STATS ON THE NEW ECONOMY 1970 1980 U.S. households with computers 0% [less than]1% Computer programmers, operators and...

PIRATE WIRELESS NETWORKS.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... According to the Gartner Group, pirate wireless networks are eavesdropping on data and passwords that cross the backbone of any centralized Internet network. With 127 million adults in the United States using the Internet, pirate wireless...

COMPILATION CHANGES TO SSARS 8 FINALIZED.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... The AICPAs Accounting and Review Services Committee has issued the final version of SSARS No. 8, Amendment to SSARS No. 1, Compilation and Review of Financial Statements, effective for financial statements submitted after Dec. 31, 2000. ...

DO YOU OFFER COMPILATIONS, REVIEWS OR AUDITS? READ THIS!(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... California CPAs who perform audits, reviews and compilations are subject to a continuing education requirement of 24 hours in accounting and auditing. This means 24 out of the CBA's 80 hours of required CE must be in the area of accounting and...

Taking the Plunge.
January 1, 2001... What You Need to Know About Working With Internet Startups DOT-COM SUCCESS IS not just about huge venture-capital backed companies, but encompasses millions of startup enterprises, which are developing new infrastructure, "enabling"...

The H-1B Controversy.(foreign worker visas)
January 1, 2001... A YEAR AGO DINESH GHANDI, with a master's degree in computer science and six years of experience as a programmer, went looking for a job in the high-tech industry. He posted his resume on various job Web sites. "To be frank I got a lot of...

CPAs Must Stand Firm in Standard-Setting Process.
January 1, 2001... Accounting professionals want to serve the public interest. It is therefore imperative that the profession maintains its self-regulation. We should be alarmed when even a slight erosion of self-regulation results from restrictions imposed from...

Palm vs. Pocket: which PDA is Right for You?(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Personal digital assistants offer everything, from e-mail, word processing and time and billing to reading e-books and playing games. By interfacing with add-on cards, modems or other accessories, you can use your handheld PDA to surf the...

A Brand New Day.(restructuring at Internal Revenue)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... IRS Restructuring, Backlogs and Changes Ring in Challenges to the New Year The year 2001 marks a significant change at the IRS. Massive restructuring coupled with a huge backlog of Offers in Compromise present unique challenges as tax...

Misreporting on 990s Is Poor Form for CPAs.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Recent studies by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the National Center for Charitable Statistics at The Urban Institute and others have found widespread misreporting of fund-raising costs by nonprofit organizations. According to the Chronicle's...

UAA THE FOCUS AS CRA SUNSET BEGINS.(licensing standards for California's chartered accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... At the Legislature's Dec. 5 CBA sunset hearing, attention quickly focused not on whether the CBA should continue, but whether it should be composed of a majority of public members rather than CPAs. Also discussed was whether or not the governor...