Journal of Accountancy articles from February 2007

Journal of Accountancy archives from February 2007

Contemporary Issues in Financial Reporting: A User-Oriented Approach.
February 1, 2007... Contemporary Issues in Financial Reporting: A User-Oriented Approach By Paul Rosenfield, CPA 562 pages; hardcover Routledge; New York, N.Y.; 2006 Business Fairy Tales: Grim Realities of Fictitious Financial Reporting By Cecil W. Jackson,...

How will democratic control of Congress affect you?
February 1, 2007... November's midterm elections swept the Democrats to power in both chambers of Congress, ending 12 years of Republican control. The 110th Congress leaves Democrats with a larger margin in the House of Representatives than the Republicans had...

A united profession, takin' care of business. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
February 1, 2007... I'm from a midsize firm in Alabama. There are fewer than 100 of us in our firm, spread across five offices. But long ago when I joined the AICPA--and before that the Alabama Society of CPAs--I came to realize that we CPAs are a vast family of...

Found in translation: a guide to using foreign financial statements.
February 1, 2007... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * More CPAs are finding themselves working with foreign statements. As progress is made in convergence and harmonization between FASB and the IASB, the interpretation of foreign financial statements should become easier....

Changes in accounting for changes: implementation implications of FASB 154.
February 1, 2007... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Companies have always faced a major issue of how to reflect changes in accounting methods and error corrections in financial statements. In 2005 FASB issued Statement no. 154, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections....

Valuing preferred stock: dividend yield, earnings and equity are key to the process.
February 1, 2007... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Preferred stock--a class of ownership with priority over common stock--once was issued mainly by large companies but now is common in small to midsize privately held companies, too. CPA/ABVs may be engaged to value...

What's hot, cool and very useful: hardware, software and handy suggestions. (for accounting services)
February 1, 2007... In the nearly three decades that CPAs have embraced the computer--replacing their yellow columnar pads, pencils and typewriters--they have become more effective and sophisticated at controlling and analyzing corporate finances. But rather than...

To Roth or not to Roth: more choice - and individual responsibility - in retirement investing means workers need to consider their options carefully.
February 1, 2007... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Companies took a wait-and-see attitude toward the Roth 401(k) in the plan's first year, but researchers say 2007 is nearly certain to see rapid growth in participation by companies and enrollment by employees. *...

Automatic enrollment rules for 401(k) plans: new law aims to increase employee participation.(from The Tax Adviser)
February 1, 2007... Because many Americans are not saving for retirement properly, a primary objective of the recently enacted Pension Protection Act of 2006 was to encourage employee participation in defined contribution plans by facilitating automatic enrollment...

Clear reflection of income.(JP Morgan Chase & Co. v. Commissioner)
February 1, 2007... As a general rule taxpayers have the right to select their method of accounting--but this right is restricted by the requirement that the selected method clearly reflect income. Recently, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals remanded a case to...

Early distributions from inherited IRAs.(individual retirement accounts)(Gee v. Commissioner)
February 1, 2007... Taxpayers who inherit individual retirement accounts (IRAs) pay no income tax if they directly roll over the funds into IRAs in their own names. Generally, if the taxpayer receives distributions directly from the inherited IRA, the...

Taxing damages for emotional distress.
February 1, 2007... The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Dec. 22, 2006, vacated its judgment from four months earlier in Murphy, Marrita v. IRS in which the court held that a lawsuit award for emotional distress was not taxable. The government had...