Journal of Accountancy articles from November 2002

Journal of Accountancy archives from November 2002

AICPA Launches Assault on Fraud.
November 1, 2002... This month the AICPA auditing standards board (ASB) took a major step forward in the fight against fraud by releasing Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) no. 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit, superseding SAS no. 82....

North American practice barriers to be lowered.(professional accounting )
November 1, 2002... The United States, Canada and Mexico agreed in September to mutually recognize the substantial equivalency of each nation's professional accounting designations: the CPA, the CA (chartered accountant) and the CPC (contador publico...

Tips to Make That Merger Work
November 1, 2002... The current economic downturn and market focus on the quality of corporate earnings highlight the problems of companies that overpay for assets. Recent studies have shown that more than half the mergers and acquisitions during the 1990s...

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: BV 101: Learn How an M&A Valuation Engagement Develops to See If BV Is for You
November 1, 2002... A CPA/valuator familiar with merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions can be a tremendous asset to a client, bringing into focus facts that help bridge the needs of both buyers and sellers. To perform business valuation in M&A, you...

Differences between Mergers and Acquisitions: A CPA Valuator Can Help Clients Decide Whether to Merge or Acquire
November 1, 2002... Business owners need valuations for many reasons--a divorce distribution, shareholder actions, financial and tax planning, estate and gift tax calculations and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), for example. Although companies that merge...

The New GAO Independence Standard: What Auditors Need to Know: Maintain Auditor Independence While Performing Nonaudit Services.
November 1, 2002... In January the GAO amended Government Auditing Standards (the yellow book), significantly tightening its auditor independence provisions. In issuing the new standard, the comptroller general stated that protecting the public interest and...

NYSE Sets Audit Committees on New Road: It's No Longer Business as Usual for Audit Committee Members and Auditors
November 1, 2002... Headline, grabbing accounting scandals such as the ones at WorldCom, Adelphia Communications, Global Crossing and, of course, Enron, cost investors hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of employees their jobs. Corporate financial...

Accounting for Trade Dress: Companies Need to Accurately Value Their Product's Unique Packaging or Appearance
November 1, 2002... As a result of rule changes by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, "trade dress" has become an important concept for CPAs to understand. Statement no. 141, Business Combinations, requires companies entering into such combinations after...

Work Smarter with Smart Tags: This Office XP Feature Acts as Your Very Own Personal Robot.
November 1, 2002... Picture this: You type a name into a document and a tiny icon instantly appears next to it. When you pass your cursor over the icon, a menu unfolds that offers you options such as' Insert the person's address and phone number, send him or her...

It's Time to E-File: CPAs Can No Longer Postpone Signing Up for the IRS Electronic Filing Program.
November 1, 2002... Change, in the words of British theologian Richard Hooker, does not come without inconvenience--even when it is to better from worse. CPA firms that see themselves as anchors of fiscal stability and project an image of timeless continuity...

The Surprising Benefits of Nexus: Multistate Taxation Actually Can Lower a Company's State Income Tax Bill
November 1, 2002... The U.S. economic landscape consists mostly of small businesses. In 1997, of the 5,541,900 businesses in the United States, 98.3% had fewer than 100 employees. To keep abreast of the constantly changing tax rules in the 50 states where these...

Nondeductible Alimony
November 1, 2002... Divorce can create a host of personal and financial problems for the parties involved. A misunderstanding about the tax consequences of a settlement agreement can exacerbate these difficulties. John Lovejoy instituted divorce proceedings...

The Constitutionality of the Parsonage Allowance
November 1, 2002... Constitutionality became a much discussed issue when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in a public school was unconstitutional. In a less publicized opinion, the Ninth Circuit also questioned the...

Deducting Tuition and Related Fees as Medical Expenses: Easing the Cost of Special Education
November 1, 2002... Many schools and programs provide education and treatment to students with learning and other disabilities, including emotional and behavioral disorders. Insurance rarely covers such costly programs. CPAs can assist parents in determining the...

Ten Steps to a Top-Notch Interview: It's More Than Just the Questions You Ask
November 1, 2002... It takes a combination of careful observation and inquiry to conduct an effective audit. Although auditors are adequately trained to be alert at a client site, most learn on the job how to ask questions to elicit specific information. This is...

How to Respond to Policy Changes: Coping with Rising Premiums and Decreasing Death Benefits
November 1, 2002... Insurance companies can alter policy terms as often as they wish. Sometimes the changes benefit the carriers; sometimes they benefit the policyholders. Interest, mortality (the probability a given individual will die) and expenses are the...