Journal of Accountancy articles from March 2008

Journal of Accountancy archives from March 2008

2007 in review: Congressional impact on CPA profession.
March 1, 2008... Last year, CPAs had plenty of reasons to pay attention to policymakers' proposals. Legislation under consideration has the potential to improve tax practices, alter audit practices, and even pave the way for greater competition. * AICPA VP...

Implementing enterprise risk management.
March 1, 2008... Managing risk is imperative for successful leadership in today's business world. Leaders must develop processes like enterprise risk management (ERM) to improve their ability to manage risks effectively ERM cuts across an organization's silos...

Assiting troubled business clients: a midsize dilemma for CPAs.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Experienced CPAs will often recognize early signs of financial distress when performing routine audits, accounting or tax services for a midsize business. * A turnaround requires decisive...

Are your ESO values on target? Valuing employee stock options for closely held companies.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Employee stock options (ESOs) more closely resemble warrants than traditional options in that they result in the issuance of additional shares of stock. Like warrants, ESOs impact stock values...

Allocating value among different classes of equity: valuation models can be tailored to unique financing structures.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * It is essential for board members, executive officers, CFOs, auditors and private equity investors to comprehend option-pricing models used to determine the per-share values of common and...

Take your new team to the top: how to motivate the accounting and finance team to add value to your organization.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Vision. Start with a clear vision of a finance team that is involved in the business and engaged in key management decisions. * Stakeholders. Identify and engage key stakeholders right...

Building value in people.(Deloitte & Touche L.L.P. CEO Barry Salzberg)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... Barry Salzberg took the reins of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP as CEO in June 2007, three decades after the firm hired him as a tax specialist. As the U.S. managing partner from 20032007, he helped then-CEO James Quigley shape Deloitte's strategy...

A 401(k) tax break that's often no break.
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Withdrawing company stock from a 401 (k) to take advantage of a tax break called net unrealized appreciation (NUA) sounds like a no-lose proposition, and most advisers tell their eligible clients to go for it. But...

Environmental cleanup, price-fixing settlement not claims of right.
March 1, 2008... Two recent appellate cases further circumscribed the ability of taxpayers to claim a section 1341 deduction for income subject to a "claim of right." Section 1341 allows a deduction when a taxpayer had an apparent right to an amount over...

A hard night at the casino. (tax deduction of gambler's losses)
March 1, 2008... In a summary opinion, the Tax Court ruled that a woman who operated a trucking business by day and played casino slot machines by night was a professional gambler, allowing her to deduct $1.4 million in gambling losses as a business expense...

Dunn does it again.
March 1, 2008... The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a Tax Court judgment and allowed a valuation discount of 100% of an estate's built-in capital gains tax. The court based the contingent tax liability and resulting discount on an assumed immediate...

Economic substance prevails against another son of BOSS.
March 1, 2008... The IRS scored a major success in its war against Son of BOSS-type tax shelters in Jade Trading LLC. The Court of Federal Claims used the application of the economic substance doctrine in Coltec Industries to disallow losses involving...

Pitt falls in FICA case.(Federal Insurance Contributions Act)
March 1, 2008... The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that payments to tenured faculty and administrators at the University of Pittsburgh who relinquished tenure rights under an early-retirement plan were subject to FICA taxes. The ruling was...

Return preparer penalties guidance issued.
March 1, 2008... The IRS said it will revise regulations before the end of 2008 to incorporate provisions of the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 concerning preparer penalties under section 6694 and related sections. In the meantime,...

Partnership incorporation provides planning opportunities.
March 1, 2008... It is common for business owners to conclude that they must change the legal form of the entity through which a business has been conducted. When incorporating a business that has been a partnership, CPAs should pay close attention to the form...

Life Cycle Planning for the CPA Practice: Practical Strategies and Forms.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... * Life Cycle Planning for the CPA Practice: Practical Strategies and Forms by Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, J.D., PFS AICPA, 2007, 183 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As accounting practices grow, they often experience similar...

At the Crossroads: The Remarkable CPA Firm That Nearly Crashed, Then Soared.(Book review)
March 1, 2008... * At the Crossroads: The Remarkable CPA Firm That Nearly Crashed, Then Soared by Gale Crosley, CPA, and Debbie Stover John Wiley and Sons, 2008, 208 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This story follows a fictional accounting...

Make More, Worry Less: Secrets from 18 Extraordinary People Who Created a Bigger Income and a Better Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Make More, Worry Less: Secrets From 18 Extraordinary People Who Created a Bigger Income and a Better Life. by Wes Moss, CFP FT Press, 2008, 220 pp. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If your New Year's resolution about finding more...

100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and Competitive Tax Plan for the United States.(Book review)
March 1, 2008... 100 Million Unnecessary Returns: A Simple, Fair, and Competitive Tax Plan for the United States. by Michael J. Graetz, LL.B., the Justus S. Hotchkiss Professor of Law Yale University Press, 2008, 254 pp. [ILLUSTRATION...

The last word. (disaster-recovery effort)
March 1, 2008... The Young CPA Gulf Coast trip gave me a renewed sense of faith in humanity. I led a group of 10 volunteers from the North Carolina and Louisiana societies on a small business disaster-recovery project in New Orleans in November 2007. Over four...