California CPA articles from January 2003

California CPA archives from January 2003

Stay informed, save time. (New Member Service).(CalCPA Daily Clips)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... CalCPA Daily Clips is a great new member service that allows you to stay informed, while saving you valuable time. Each weekday morning, CalCPA scours major media sources and e-mails members headlines and links to news and information that...

New information re: SSNs on tax planners. (Tax Practitioner Alert).(Social Security numbers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A new law intended to protect citizens against identity theft could affect the way you send tax-planning documents to your clients. CPAs can continue to include Social Security numbers on official government forms that they send to clients,...

User fee proposed for Offers-In-Compromise. (IRS News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The IRS has issued proposed regulations which would require a $150 user fee for many Offers in Compromise. A taxpayer would normally be required to pay the user fee at the time of the OIC request. Low-income taxpayers whose incomes fall...

On Second Thought.(financial restatements increase)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 1, 2003... on Second thought... The number of financial restatements has increased 133% from 1997 to 2001 as more and more companies are keeping a closer eye on their numbers. No. of Restatements 1997 116 1998 58...

California Board of Accountancy a player in the regulatory game. (Regulatory Update).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A California Board of Accountancy task force has proposed several regulations to help implement newly enacted laws. The regulations are open for public comment and available online at www.dca.ca.gov/cba/notices/regnot53.pdf. Comments must...

Sec regs could limit tax services to audit clients. (News & Trends).(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued proposed regs that could limit the ability of CPA firms to provide tax services to their audit clients. The regs would revise the SEC's guidelines related to the non-audit services that, if...

Be aware: New laws are here; Although regulations related to these laws are still in the proposal stage, the laws became effective Jan. 1, 2003. (News & Trends).
January 1, 2003... Documentation Audit documentation must be retained for seven or more years. And all firms, whether hey serve public or private companies, must have written retention and destruction policies for audit documentation. The new law also...

AICPA establishes Special Committee on State Regulation. (News & Trends).(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... An AICPA special committee is studying the implications the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may have on state legislation and regulation. Headed by Kathy Eddy, former AICPA chair and a CPA from West Virginia, the Special Committee on State Regulation...

Welcome Inland Empire Chapter. (Chapter Name Change).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The Citrus Belt Chapter has rung in the new year with a new name: Inland Empire Chapter. You can access the chapter's website at www.calcpa.org/IE.

Comment on Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. (Stock Options).
January 1, 2003... The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an Invitation to Comment, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation: A Comparison of FASB Statement No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, and Its Related Interpretations and IASB...

SDI increase. (EDD News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... With the passage of AB749, the taxable wage limits for SDI will increase as follows: * 2003-$56,916 * 2004-$68,829 * 2005-$79,418 The EDD was scheduled to send out rate notices in late-December, but at presstime, no change...

RHI 2003 Salary Guide available. (Compensation Steady).(Robert Half Finance and Accounting)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... On average, starting salaries for accounting and finance professionals should remain little changed from 2002, according to the 2003 Salary Guide from Robert Half Finance & Accounting and Accountemps. For more details, visit...

Women's Financial Health Week. (Personal Financial Specialists).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Did you know that the percentage of women filing for bankruptcy rose from 17 percent of all filers in 1981 to 40 percent of all filers in 1999? What's more, only 32 percent of women have a retirement plan and save only half of what men save....

Don't lose track of your CPE credits. (Web Focus).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The CalCPA Education Foundation's online CPE tracking system provides CPAs with a tally of professional education credits they've earned through the Foundation, chapter CE events, the AICPA or other sources. Visit www.educationfoundation.org,...

Classified advertising discounts for members. (Classifieds).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Beginning Jan. 1, CalCPA is offering one more valuable reason to enjoy the benefits of CalCPA membership. The new year will usher in a new two-tiered system for classified ads, www.calcpa.org/classifieds, that features discounts for CalCPA...

Announcements. (Member Milestones).(appointments)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Lee Hanna has been promoted to partner at Watsonville-based Hutchinson and Bloodgood. Douglas J. Nakakihara joined Carlin & Van Tright as senior manager in the firm's Long Beach office. Los Angeles-based Gursey, Schneider & Co....

Firm news. (Member Milestones).(Wescombe and Johnson)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Gary Wescombe and Roger Johnson have established a new firm, Wescombe & Johnson, based in Newport Beach.

Achievements. (Member Milestones).(appointment, award)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Fountain Valley CPA Jeffrey Kolsin has been selected as an alternate panel member for the Internal Revenue Service's Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). There were more than 1,300 applications for the 80 volunteer TAP positions. The San...

Members in the news. (Member Milestones).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... On Sept. 22, Gregg Wind of Marina del Rey was quoted in the Salt Lake City Tribune, the St Louis Post-Dispatch and several other newspapers. Wind also was interviewed on Nov. 6 by Parents magazine for a column on "last-minute tax tips,"...

In memory. (Member Milestones).(Conley F. MacDonald)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 1, 2003... Conley F. MacDonald passed away Oct. 7 in Sacramento. He was 62. MacDonald graduated from Montana State University and was with the firm Rossman, MacDonald and Benetti Inc. in Sacramento for 31 years, where he had been principal and managing...

Rewards, recognitions that make cents. (Human Resources).
January 1, 2003... Money is the first thing that springs to mind-at least if you're a manager--when you mention employee rewards and recognition. And how better to show employees appreciation than by giving them a raise or a bonus? But then questions begin...

Taming the bears: PFPs help clients face fears as market growls.(personal financial planners)(Cover Story)
January 1, 2003... Romani is not Glenda Moehlenpah's native language. You won't find her dressed in ornamental scarves. And her earrings don't dangle. But Moehlenpah, a CPA and CFP, does own a crystal ball. And it's during financial times like these, as...

No practice continuation plan? No practice. (A Wake Up Call).(importance of succession planning)
January 1, 2003... It's really pretty simple. Without a practice continuation plan, a month after you suffer a disability, illness or worse, die, the value of the practice you spent a career building will have plummeted. And two, three, four months later (if...

Show me the money: Huge budget deficit tops agenda as Legislature reconvenes.
January 1, 2003... The 32 new California Assembly members have joined with the seasoned veterans in the 80-person Assembly to immediately grapple with the critical issues facing California. First among these issues is determining how the state is going to balance...

Ouch! Don't let workers' comp costs squeeze your bottom line.
January 1, 2003... Workers' compensation laws and regulations increase in number and complexity each year. All too often, employers simply rely on their insurance companies to handle any cases and keep workers' comp costs from skyrocketing. While this may work...

Taking a bite outta fraud. (Fraud Standards).(Statement on Auditing Standards 99: Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit)
January 1, 2003... Among the lessons learned over the past year, one that has long concerned CPAs was again highlighted: the expectation gap between what the public believes the auditor's responsibility for detecting fraud should be and the actual responsibility....

Estimating certainty: Property Taxes, Corporate dissolution and more.
January 1, 2003... Do your clients know whether or not they have paid their estimated taxes? Many CPAs seem to have some clients who don't know whether they made their estimated tax payments or how much they paid. To avoid problems down the road,...

Small-business tips: IRS liaison meeting covers tipping, auditing and litigation.
January 1, 2003... The IRS has a major effort under way to educate new small businesses about tax laws. The program focuses on four areas: * Avoidance of tax schemes, including not withholding income taxes from wages paid to employees; * Increasing...