Journal of Accountancy articles from January 2003

Journal of Accountancy archives from January 2003

Smart stops on the web.(investment sites)
January 1, 2003... INVESTMENT SITES Understand Where the Money Goes www.investoreducation.org The Alliance for Investor Education Web site gives investors as well as brokers and CPAs in personal financial planning information on bonds, futures, mutual...

Fine-tune your marketing know-how.(certified public accountants)
January 1, 2003... Both professionals and firms must forge an identity. As the CPA, you are the brand and you have to put that brand in front of your intended audience. You accomplish this by getting the word out about your firm's services. Prospective clients...

Auditors' responsibility for fraud detection: SAS no. 99 introduces a new era in auditors' requirements.
January 1, 2003... Auditors will enter a much expanded arena of procedures to detect fraud as they implement SAS no. 99. The new standard aims to have the auditor's consideration of fraud seamlessly blended into the audit process and continually updated until the...

Audit redux: practice considerations in accepting and performing reaudits.
January 1, 2003... Many companies that have changed auditors over the last year have elected to undergo a reaudit of prior-period financial statements. Corporate executives and boards of directors view reaudits in conjunction with an auditor change as a way to...

Socially responsible investing: balancing financial needs with a concern for others.
January 1, 2003... Conventional wisdom has long held that stock market investors care only about profits. This attitude began to change in the late 1960s when socially conscious investors banded together to promote the stocks of certain companies. These investors...

What's hot, what's not: what every CPA should know to keep pace with the changing investment climate.
January 1, 2003... To be successful financial planners and investment advisers, CPAs must keep up with a wide range of changes in investment products, technology, economic conditions and client management techniques. While the body of required knowledge may at...

It works for them: seven talented planners tell us what's helped make their PFP practices successful.(personal financial planners)
January 1, 2003... Personal financial planners help clients identify financial goals, organize ways to achieve them and set timetables for implementation. Together, a planner and client look at the client's total financial picture, including income, savings,...

A Napster for financial data? A boon to financial planners and individual investors.
January 1, 2003... Imagine this: At any time of the day or night, and with just a few clicks of the mouse, a financial planner or an individual investor can access a company's present and past financial reports in extraordinary detail. In addition, an array of...

Web sites worth a visit.(personal financial planning)
January 1, 2003... PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING SITES www.ihatefinancialplanning.com Don't let the URL fool you. Whether they love or hate financial planning, PFP professionals and clients can find useful information at this Web site. Visitors can...

Maintain excellence, cut risk: firms that operate at the highest standards minimize liability problems. Here are some pointers.
January 1, 2003... Despite a year of bad headlines, we all know that most CPAs are "good guys"--that is, intelligent men and women of character who respect their role as the cornerstone of the U.S. capital formation process. Nevertheless, recent company failures...

Don't volunteer for trouble: risk-avoidance strategies can help protect CPAs who do unpaid work for NPOs.(not-for-profit organizations)
January 1, 2003... Make sure you don't put yourself on the road to hell when you act on your good intentions. Not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) always need volunteer services, including those only certified public accountants can provide, and at one time or...

Timely refund claims.
January 1, 2003... Proper tax practice requires CPAs and clients to file necessary forms within prescribed deadlines. One such deadline is the one in IRC section 6511 for filing refund claims. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed its own 1994...

An IRA distribution or not? .
January 1, 2003... When a taxpayer takes a cash distribution from a regular individual retirement account (IRA), the entire amount is gross income unless part of the distribution represents a return of his or her nondeductible contributions. Suppose the IRA...

When are ERP costs deductible?(enterprise esource planning software)
January 1, 2003... The IRS normally takes the position that businesses must capitalize the cost of enterprise-resource-planning software (ERP) and amortize it over 36 months. ERP software incorporates financial accounting, inventory control, production, sales and...

Intentionally defective irrevocable trusts; estate planning for insecure times.
January 1, 2003... In tumultuous economic times, intentionally defective irrevocable trusts (IDITs) offer taxpayers a powerful triple play: an estate-freeze and wealth-transfer technique, as well as an estate planning opportunity--despite terrorism, the market's...