Journal of Accountancy articles from April 2004

Journal of Accountancy archives from April 2004

Auditing in the classroom is changing: the new, computerized CPA exam calls for fresh teaching methods.
April 1, 2004... This month the new, computerized version of the Uniform CPA Exam replaces its paper-and-pencil predecessor. The computer-based test is a joint effort by the AICPA, NASBA and Prometric, a developer of technology-based testing services. ...

It takes a team to fully serve a client.
April 1, 2004... Over the last twenty years we have worked with literally thousands of practitioners who have decided to add financial services to their practices. They do it for a variety of reasons, but the most common are: Their clients request financial...

Maintain contact with clients year-round: CPAs who want to survive in a turbulent business environment and grow their firms must emphasize maintaining a relationship with existing and potential clients - that means contacting them more than just a few times annually; follow these simple tips to help you stay in touch.
April 1, 2004... * Maintain a high level of contact throughout the year. You should touch base with a client at least 18 times a year. Some studies even recommend contacts numbering in the high 20s, says Martin R. Baird, president of Advisor Marketing, Phoenix,...

Truth and transparency: the federal government's financial condition and fiscal outlook; America needs to understand the nature and magnitude of a daunting challenge.
April 1, 2004... I wear many professional hats as Comptroller General of the United States, including head of the General Accounting Office [GAO], lead partner on the audit of the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements and de facto chief...

The rich truly are different: very wealthy clients have special goals and objectives.(in financial planning)
April 1, 2004... Most of the financial advisory clients CPAs work with require a full range of products and services to meet their investment needs. The ultrawealthy client, however, demands broader services and skills than the merely wealthy one. Because the...

Tips for working with female clients: women approach investing differently from men.
April 1, 2004... By 2010 the amount of wealth controlled by women will swell to more than $22 trillion. And, according to TrendSight Group, a market research company in Winnetka, Illinois, by that time women will hold half the Fortune 500's top 20 jobs. Even...

A tech tools sampler for PFP: planning tools aren't pencils and calculators anymore.(personal financial planning)
April 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * TECHNOLOGY TOOLS CAN HELP personal financial planners provide reliable cost-effective services to clients. This article presents a range of useful personal financial planning (PFP) software as well as Web sites with...

A joint effort to fight corporate fraud: CPAs stand as a solid line of defense in thwarting basic accounting fraud.
April 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CORPORATE FRAUD, the FBI's top financial crime investigators have taken their case to the CPA profession, seeking expanded cooperation between accountants and law enforcement officers. * THE...

Foreign advance-fee scams: there are many variations of these con games.
April 1, 2004... Chances are you or your clients have received a letter similar to the one shown in the exhibit below (usually with more errors of punctuation and usage). If not, it's probably just a matter of time. These solicitations used to come by mail, but...

Attorney-client privilege: CPAs and the e-frontier; CPAs performing litigation support must be careful not to inadvertently waive privilege.
April 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE EXTENDS to accountants under the Kovel rule when a CPA acts at the direction of the lawyer to provide information for the client. Inadvertent disclosure of confidential information may lead to...

A do-it-yourself automated invoicing system: even a CPA with little computer training can build one.
April 1, 2004... Key to Instructions To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we use two different typefaces. Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs. Sans serif type indicates commands and...

The importance of IRD: greater diligence can help CPAs avoid costly tax return omissions.(income in respect of the decedent)
April 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * CPAs MUST EXERCISE CAUTION TO CAPTURE CORRECT income in respect of the decedent (IRD) deductions on clients' returns. Since clients typically don't understand the issue well enough to volunteer the existence of IRD,...

Valuing a private annuity.
April 1, 2004... As more states start using lotteries as revenue sources, CPAs will face an increased number of tax questions from winners. Recently the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals considered how to value for estate purposes the prize a taxpayer had won. The...

Service agrees - unmarried parent can claim/waive dependency exemption.(from The Tax Adviser)
April 1, 2004... In King, 121 TC 245 (2003), the Tax Court held that the IRC section 152(e) support test applies even if the parents were never married to one another (for background see "Who Gets the Exemption?" JofA, Jan.04, page 86). Now, the IRS has revised...