Journal of Accountancy articles from August 2007

Journal of Accountancy archives from August 2007

Ideas that really work to recruit and retain staff.
August 1, 2007... Does your firm have a consistent hiring message and formalized training program for new hires? CPA and consultant Steve Erickson developed 10 tips to help firms in achieving their hiring and retention goals. * Increase focus and...

Managed accounts: a new direction for 401(k) plans.
August 1, 2007... Companies, it seems, have tried everything to get their employees to save enough for a secure retirement. But all of the brown bag lunch seminars on the basics of retirement investing, matching contributions and even investment advice have only...

The red carpet treatment: employers are offering generous compensation and progressive benefits to entice - and keep - top accounting talent in today's tight labor market.
August 1, 2007... Individuals with solid accounting and finance skills and experience are in great demand but short supply It is clear that the current market favors ob seekers, especially in the accounting profession. More than 50% of 1,000 hiring managers said...

ABCs of batch processing: assign the batch cost to the product that required the batch activity? Maybe not!(activity-based costing)
August 1, 2007... When it comes to adding or reducing products or services, accurate cost information is critical. Activity-based costing (ABC) provides solutions to measuring costs that traditional methods do not address. Rather than simply dividing costs among...

Getting a handle on loan fees: financial institutions - from community banks and credit unions to home-financing giant Fannie Mae - have had to restate their financial results, in part because of faulty accounting for loan origination fees.
August 1, 2007... During the housing boom of 2001-2005, lenders earned substantial fees from loan origination. Such fees are accounted for according to FASB Statement no. 91, Accounting for Nonrefundable Fees and Costs Associated With Originating or Acquiring...

Wading into litigation support: CPA consultants can uncover the flaws in an opposing side's expert witness reports.(certified public accountant)
August 1, 2007... Wouldn't it be great if you could test the waters in litigation support to find out if it would be a good practice area for you? By serving as a consultant or adviser to an attorney about the financial matters of a case, you can reap the...

A treasure trove of accountancy's past: the AICPA Library forms the core of an accounting collection at the University of Mississippi unparalleled in the world.
August 1, 2007... Where else would you find a complete set of back issues of the journal The Management Accountant of India? Or photos of the 1907 staff baseball team of Haskins & Sells, a predecessor firm of Deloitte & Touche? Or you might want to go back to...

Eight special women in accounting: they had to make their own way in the male-dominated profession, sometimes with a 'grain bin for a desk and a salt box for a chair'.
August 1, 2007... Among the AICPA-donated volumes at Ole Miss are two binders containing photographs of individuals appearing in the JofA or at accounting conventions from 1887 to 1979. Of the 446 individuals featured, eight are women--Christine Ross, Ellen...

Add muscle to Excel: user defined functions empower calculations.
August 1, 2007... Have you ever wanted to do something in Excel only to find that it has no function for that task? That shouldn't stop you, because Excel has a built-in ability to help you customize your own functions. The key is Excel's macro tool, which...

Crackdown on fraudulent tax return preparers: recent criminal and civil enforcement against fraudulent tax preparers has been highlighted in stepped-up activity by the Treasury and Justice departments.
August 1, 2007... Total investigations initiated by the IRS'S Criminal Investigations division rose in fiscal year 2006 from the previous year, as did the division's time spent on tax-related investigations, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration...

Transitional relief for changes to preparer penalty.
August 1, 2007... Transitional relief has been granted through the end of the year for changes to the tax return preparer penalty under IRC [section] 6694(a) that were enacted as part of the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007. The changes...

No "red magic" for Heinz.(stock redemption)
August 1, 2007... Many companies engage in stock buyback programs, or redemptions, often for financial reasons but occasionally for tax purposes. In May, the Court of Federal Claims denied a $42.5 million refund sought by processed-food manufacturer H.J. Heinz...

Is it alimony?(tax deductions)
August 1, 2007... In a ruling against the IRS, the Tax Court underscored that while alimony must be made under a divorce or separation instrument to be deductible, the payer doesn't have to be legally obligated to make the payments. Under IRC [section] 71, cash...

No "alternatives" to tax lien foreclosures.
August 1, 2007... The IRS is not required to exhaust "alternative collection methods" before foreclosing tax liens, because IRC [section] 7403 contains no such requirement, a district court in Nebraska ruled. The court rejected the argument of taxpayer Jennifer...

Disregarded entities held in high regard: single-member LLCs in like-kind exchanges.(limited liability companies)(from The Tax Adviser)
August 1, 2007... In the decade since the "check-the-box" (CTB) regulations took effect, tax and business planners have taken advantage of their flexibility to structure a wide variety of transactions. Perhaps the most beneficial tax and business planning tool...

Accounting Best Practices, 5th ed.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Accounting Best Practices (Fifth Edition) by Steven M. Bragg, CPA John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007, 490 pp. Steven M. Bragg is back with new and enhanced tips designed to improve the efficiency of business accounting departments. Bragg, a...

Computer Forensics: An Essential Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Managers.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Computer Forensics: An Essential Guide for Accountants, Lawyers, and Managers by Michael Sheetz, J.D. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007, 152 pp. For novices and experts alike, Michael Sheetz traces the evolution of computer forensics from...

Small Business, Big Life: Five Steps to Creating a Great Life with Your Own Small Business.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Small Business, Big Life: Five Steps to Creating a Great Life With Your Own Small Business by Louis Barajas, MBA, CFP Thomas Nelson Inc., 2007, 199 pp. As a 13-year-old, Louis Barajas was an integral part of his father's small business,...

Buy-Sell Agreements: Ticking Time Bombs or Reasonable Resolutions?(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Buy-Sell Agreements: Ticking Time Bombs or Reasonable Resolutions? by Z. Christopher Mercer, ASA, CFA Peabody Publishing LP, 2007, 324 pp. Predicting the future is practically impossible. For businesses, that uncertainty makes planning...

Life Is Short, Art Is Long: Maximizing Estate Planning Strategies for Collectors of Art, Antiques, and Collectibles.(Brief article)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... Life Is Short, Art Is Long: Maximizing Estate Planning Strategies for Collectors of Art, Antiques, and Collectibles by Michael Mendelsohn Wealth Management Press, 2006, 421 pp. Accountant, financial planner and outsider art collector...

The last word. (woman certified public accountant's perspective on the profession)
August 1, 2007... I have been a cyclist for nine years. I had one of my clients, a plumbing contractor, put a shower in my office building so that I could ride my bike to work. The contractors did a 150-mile bike ride to Parker Dam (on the Colorado River between...