Journal of Accountancy articles from November 2004

Journal of Accountancy archives from November 2004

You are what you charge: ultimately, a business is defined by that for which it collects revenue, and it collects revenue only for that which it decides to charge.
November 1, 2004... Prices comprise the language of business, indeed of society. They serve three crucial functions: First, they transmit information; second, they provide an incentive to use methods of production that are least wasteful and most valuable; and...

Managing change: interview with incoming AICPA chairman.(Robert L. Bunting)(Interview)
November 1, 2004... Robert L. Bunting, chairman and CEO of Moss Adams LLP in Seattle, assumed the AICPA chairmanship at the Institute's annual meeting. His acceptance speech will appear verbatim in a future issue of the JofA. Moss Adams is in the vanguard of...

20 steps for pricing a patent: to value an invention you have to understand it.
November 1, 2004... Inventors help solve vexing problems, both sophisticated and simple, and as a result sometimes enjoy considerable celebrity and rewards. Our society's economic success, too, is based on innovation. To encourage public disclosure of inventions,...

Damages aren't always patently obvious: CPA litigation-services consultants can help resolve high-stakes IP infringement disputes.(intellectual property)
November 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * IN PATENT DISPUTES, CPA LITIGATION CONSULTANTS help patent holders demonstrate that "but for" an infringement they could have sold more of their product. Quantifying damages in patent infringement cases can be the focus...

Radio frequency identification: the wave of the future; as bar codes give way to RFID tags, accounting for inventory will go high-tech.
November 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION has the potential to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of managing and accounting for inventory. * AN RFID SYSTEM consists of tags, transceivers and a computer system. These...

Install your own wireless network: access your computer, printer and peripherals without cables.
November 1, 2004... Would you like to access the Internet, your printer and your other computers, including laptops, without stringing wires throughout your office or home? The solution is a wireless local area network (WLAN) and we'll tell you how easy it is to...

Accounting education; response to corporate scandals: helping the profession find opportunity in crisis.
November 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * IN THE WAKE OF THE CORPORATE SCANDALS CAUSED by Enron, WorldCom and others, the CPA profession has taken numerous steps to turn crisis into opportunity. In particular colleges, universities and their accounting...

Avoid the payroll tax trap: using withheld payroll taxes for other purposes can be a dangerous and expensive game.
November 1, 2004... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * AN EMPLOYER BECOMES A TRUSTEE FOR THE U.S. government when it distributes payroll checks to employees. Withheld payroll taxes are called "trust fund taxes" and, in the eyes of the IRS, belong to the government....

Avoid the tax trap when repaying shareholder loans: careful planning can shield recognition of gain on loan repayment.
November 1, 2004... It is not uncommon for S corporation shareholders to make cash advances to the corporation during years when the company's operating results are unfavorable or cash is tight. In return shareholders get an increase in their basis that they can...

Tax deductions may help fight obesity.
November 1, 2004... A disease is defined as a sickness of the body or mind. Until recently, obesity was not considered a disease but a self-inflicted, controllable affliction caused by poor lifestyle choices, such as lack of exercise or improper eating habits. ...

Appeals court confirms treatment of assumed liabilities.
November 1, 2004... The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a Tax Court ruling (see "Acquiring Contingent Liabilities," JofA, June04, page 73) that a corporation must capitalize its payment of an assumed liability. The appeals court's analysis offers...

Alimony payments must terminate at death.
November 1, 2004... IRC section 215(a) says an individual who makes alimony payments may deduct them and the recipient must include them in his or her gross income. Under IRC section 71(b)(1), payments must meet four requirements to be considered alimony: 1....

Telephone excise tax: does "and" mean "both" or "either"?
November 1, 2004... When long-distance telephone service does not take into account the distance of the call, should the 3% federal excise tax apply? In two recent cases, two district courts reached opposite conclusions. American Bankers Insurance Group...

Nonindividual QTP contributions: how employers can help workers save for college.(qualified tuition programs)(from The Tax Adviser)
November 1, 2004... IRC section 529 qualified tuition programs (QTPs) provide a tax-favored way to invest for qualified higher education expenses (QHEEs). While individuals usually contribute to benefit family members, nonindividuals also may contribute. Thus,...

The quarter-million-dollar caper: a fraudster is nipped in the bud.
November 1, 2004... Let's face it--conducting a routine audit of a good, stable client can be boring and repetitive. Every year seems much like the last: tracing and vouching, reconciling, ticking and footing, examining documents and ledgers, evaluating controls....