California CPA articles from November 2006

California CPA archives from November 2006

Increase your visibility through Find a CPA.(CalCPA News)
November 1, 2006... Increase your visibility and show your expertise to the world by listing yourself in CalCPA's exclusive database of California financial experts, Find a CPA. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of CalCPA.org's most visited pages, Find a CPA is...

Mobility issues in Illinois addressed.(CalCPA News)
November 1, 2006... The Illinois Division of Professional Regulation filed an emergency rule Sept. 29 regarding registration of out-of-state CPAs. The emergency rule allows temporary and incidental practice for out-of-state CPAs without requiring registration....

Become a CalCPA officer or AICPA council member.(CalCPA News)
November 1, 2006... 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 a leadership role, self-nomination is the best way make your interest known. The CalCPA Nominations...

PCAOB guidance on auditing fair value of share options.(PCAOB News)
November 1, 2006... The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued staff questions and answers about auditing the fair value of share options granted to employees. The guidance provides direction for auditing a company's estimation of the fair value...

Second business valuation exposure draft released.(AICPA News)
November 1, 2006... The AICPA has released an exposure draft of Proposed Statement on Standards for Valuation Services, Valuation of a Business, Business Ownership Interest, Security, or Intangible Asset. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The standard would apply to...

Rule 101, Independence.(AICPA News)
November 1, 2006... The AICPA has issued an exposure draft proposing one new and one revised interpretation under Rule 101, Independence. The first proposal is focused on the impact that certain indemnification and limitation of liability provisions may have...

AB 1868 signed into law.(CBA Update)(California Board of Accountancy )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The governor recently signed CalCPA-sponsored AB 1868, which should correct some of the most egregious problems of the practice privilege statute that went into effect Jan. 1, 2006. This marks another legislative success for CalCPA. Since...

Guidance for measuring fair value.(FASB News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, providing enhanced guidance for using fair value to measure assets and liabilities. The standard also responds to investors' requests...

Defined benefit pension and other post-retirement plans.(FASB News)
November 1, 2006... FASB has issued a standard requiring employers to fully recognize the obligations associated with single-employer defined benefit pension, retiree health care and other post-retirement plans in their financial statements. Statement of...

XBRL gains momentum.(XBRL News)
November 1, 2006... The SEC has awarded three separate contracts totaling $54 million to make its public company disclosure system compatible with interactive data. The investments will modernize the EDGAR database, complete XBRL code writing for financial...

Free fiduciary seminar from the dol.(DOL News)
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Department of Labor is bringing its fiduciary seminar, "Getting It Right--Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities," to Sacramento Dec. 5. The event, which focuses on retirement plan compliance issues facing small businesses, will...

EBSA seeks comment on proposed guidance.(DOL News)
November 1, 2006... The Employee Benefits Security Administration is seeking comments on its proposed guidance regarding the independence of accountants who audit employee benefit plans. The updates would replace Interpretative Bulletin 75-9, due to general...

SEC bulletin addresses misstatements.(SEC News)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The SEC has released a Staff Accounting Bulletin providing guidance on how the effects of the carryover or reversal of prior year misstatements should be considered in quantifying a current year misstatement. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In...

Stock-option accounting guidance.(SEC News)
November 1, 2006... The SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant has issued a letter addressing the appropriateness of stock-option accounting practices that have led to recent company restatements due to errors in accounting for grants of stock options. ...

New risk assessment standards not on test until July 2007.(Exam News)
November 1, 2006... The AICPA Board of Examiners has decided that the risk assessment standards issued in March 2006--Statements on Auditing Standards, No. 104-111--will not be tested on the Uniform CPA Exam until the July/August 2007 testing window. ...

CPA revenues rise in '06.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... CPA firms experienced revenue growth of 9.7 percent in 2006, up from 7 percent in 2005. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Per Partner Firm Annual Growth Rate Income Growth...

Tax Update programs: across the state this fall and winter.(EDUCATION FOUNDATION FOCUS)
November 1, 2006... The California CPA Education Foundation has scheduled its top instructors to bring you key 2006 tax law updates, including: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * Federal and California Tax Update for Businesses and Estates * Tax Tune-Up: Action...

CPAs exempt from Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNED a bill Oct. 13 that exempts CPAs from the annual privacy notice requirement of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The bill became effective immediately upon the president's signature. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The...

Enlist now: next camp is Jan. 8-11.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... Tax Boot Camp is designed to prepare new CPA firm staff members for tax season by providing them with concentrated tax preparation experience. The camp includes hands-on training in tax return preparation, workpaper technique and basic tax law....

CalCPA member discounts on CCH tax guidebooks.(News & Trends)(U.S. Master Tax Guide 2007, 90th ed.)(Guidebook to California Taxes 2007, 58th ed.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... CalCPA has added another great member benefit--40 percent discounts on CCH's U.S. Master Tax Guide 2007 and the Guidebook to California Taxes 2007. The U.S. Master Tax Guide 2007, 90th edition, reflects all pertinent changes to federal...

SEC.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... "There are no irreparable problems with Sec. 404 implementation, although fixing the problems identified will be challenging." SEC Chair Chris Cox

E-filing corps.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... More than 12,500 of the largest U.S. corporations e-filed their 2005 tax returns for the first time, meeting the new mandate's Sept. 15 deadline.--IRS

Single-digit increase.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... Health insurance premiums rose 7.7% in 2006, the smallest increase since 1999.--Kaiser Family Foundation

Hire ground.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... More than 80% of hiring managers think it will be equally or more challenging to find qualified candidates a year from now.--Robert Half

Pension revisions.(News & Trends)
November 1, 2006... 81% of senior finance executives said companies should be required to account for pension plans on their balance sheets.--Grant Thornton

Clarification.(Correction notice)
November 1, 2006... A "Members in the News" item from the Member Milestone section of the October 2006 California CPA stated that San Diego-based Stuart R. Josephs wrote an article for the July 25 Wire. The Wire is the Oklahoma Society of CPAs e-newsletter which...

Announcements.(membermilestones)
November 1, 2006... Los Angeles-based Jeffrey A. Bobrosky has joined Good Swartz Brown & Berns LLP as a partner... Fremont-based Sanjai K Mathur has joined The Sharper Image as financial reporting and SOX compliance manager... Westlake Village-based Anthony...

Accomplishments.(membermilestones)(Dan Cashier elected to boards)(Ilene Eisen to speak to accountants)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Pismo Beach-based Dan Cashier has been elected chair of the Arroyo Grande Community Hospital Foundation Board; reelected to the board of directors of the Sheriff's Advisory Council of San Luis Obispo County; re-elected to the board of directors...

Firm news.(membermilestones)
November 1, 2006... Walnut Creek-based Sharon Rubens and Steve Nunnemaker have formed Rubens Nunnemaker LLP... Sacramento-based Macias Gini & O'Connell will serve as independent financial statement auditor to California Public Employees' Retirement System Board...

Awards.(membermilestones)
November 1, 2006... Milbrae-based Mel Pincus has been selected "Millbrae Man of the Year" for 2006 by the Mayor's Civic Coordinating Council and the Millbrae Chamber of Commerce.

Members in the news.(membermilestones)
November 1, 2006... Livermore-based Keith Zachow was quoted in an August Broker Banker article... Clovis-based Bob Price was noted in the Aug. 18 Clovis Independent as the Clovis Chamber of Commerce's top businessman of the year... Sacramento-based Terri Ryland...

Already covered: CPAs exempt from Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's privacy notice.(governmentrelations)(certified public accountants)
November 1, 2006... President Bush signed a bill Oct. 13 that exempts CPAs from the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's requirement that they send their clients an annual privacy notice. The AICPA has been working to amend the law since it was enacted in 1999. The bill...

As of Oct. 18, 2006, Fast Tax Facts 2006.
November 1, 2006... Welcome to our annual at-a-glance compilation of federal and state tax information. User-friendly tax rate schedules, facts, figures and assorted data make this time-saving section a handy companion. Keep it within arm's reach as you enter the...

Lights camera CPA! CPA Irwin Jacobson talks about breaking the entertainment industry--and the challenges of accounting for it.(Q+A)(Cover story)
November 1, 2006... Irwin Jacobson witnesses magic every day at the office. As vice president of finance and controller for Culver City-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, Jacobson has a front-row seat to the inner workings of some of Tinseltown's highest...

Line of defense: simple, complex security measures help prevent lost and stolen laptops.(PRACTICEMANAGEMENT)
November 1, 2006... Did you read about the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs employee who lost a laptop that contained personal information of some 26 million veterans? Or how about the AICPA employee who lost a laptop that contained Social Security numbers, and...

Get'em early: internships connect students to profession, potential employers.(HUMANRESOURCES)
November 1, 2006... Recruiting and selecting the best and brightest continues to be a top challenge for businesses. But internship programs can ease the pain by identifying, and recruiting, accounting students well in advance of graduation. While the...

Uncertain positions: FIN 48, accounting for uncertainty in income taxes.(corporatetax)
November 1, 2006... The Financial Accounting Standards Board recently released FASB Interpretation 48 (FIN 48), which provides guidance on FASB Statement 109 (FAS 109) and describes the standard for recognizing and measuring the benefit or liability from tax...

TaxTalk and beyond.(californiatax)(tax law, taxation news)(Column)
November 1, 2006... Propositions 60, 90 and 110 provide for transferring the Prop. 13 tax basis from one property to another under certain circumstances and for certain categories of taxpayers. There is some confusion about the rules, but help is available....