Journal of Accountancy articles from November 2007

Journal of Accountancy archives from November 2007

Points for Retention: Retaining Valuable Staff Members Is Becoming Increasingly Difficult in Today's Competitive Environment. in Addition to Ideas about Flexible Work Arrangements, Compensation and Benefits, Consider These Recommendations for Retaining Valuable Employees
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [check] Re-recruit top performers before they get a better offer. Retaining valued staff means being proactive. Remind top performers of their value to your firm and discuss opportunities with them. [check] Implement...

Refining Fair Value Measurement: FASB 157 Upgrades the Quality of Financial Reporting
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FASB issued a standard in fall 2006 with the understated title Fair Value Measurements. On one hand, FASB Statement no. 157 appears to shake the foundation of historical cost measurement. On the other, it appears...

Accounting for Gift Cards: An Emerging Issue for Retailers and Auditors
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Black Friday, so called because it kicks off the holiday shopping season that retailers hope will bring the $4.7 trillion industry into the black, is just weeks away. But last year, continuing a growing trend, more...

The Human Element: The Weakest Link in Information Security
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Businesses spend a significant portion of their annual information technology budgets on high-tech computer security. But the firewalls, vaults, bunkers, locks and biometrics those dollars buy can be pierced by...

Management Accounting Research for the C-Suite: Consider Findings from Cutting-Edge Research to Take Your Company to the Next Level
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This second installment in a series of columns on accounting research summarizes results from the field of management and cost accounting. The 2006 through June 2007 issues of five top-tier journals in management and...

Building Long-Term Value: Objective Financial Analysis Focuses Clients on Business Revenue Growth
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Privately held companies are often their owners' most significant asset. But when resources are diverted from profitable products to concentrate on short-term revenue, a company's future value may be at stake. This...

Be a Star CPE Instructor: Being a Discussion Leader Offers Plenty of Opportunities to Unleash Your Inner Pedagogue
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Providers of continuing professional education are frequently looking for discussion leaders to teach classes. And most at some point have probably wondered what it would take to be a discussion leader. The benefits...

Tools for Financial Analysis: Boost Your Consulting Practice to a Higher Level
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What do you do when a client asks you to look beyond the standard financial statements and help develop financial goals, forecasts and what-if scenarios? If you re like many accountants, you'd hunker down with a...

Be Wary of Taxes Sapping Life Insurance Proceeds
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Life insurance can provide an "instant" source of liquidity to the estate of an owner of a closely held business, preferably when the policy insuring the business owner's life is held by an irrevocable life insurance...

Son of Boss Goes into Overtime
November 1, 2007... As a general rule, the statute of limitations on income tax returns is three years, extended to six years under section 6501 for a substantial omission of gross income. Courts in recent tax shelter litigation involving overstatement of basis...

Embezzlement No Excuse
November 1, 2007... The Third Circuit recently affirmed a district court's opinion holding a corporation liable for payroll taxes embezzled by its payroll agent. Pediatric Affiliates PA of New Jersey (Pediatric) hired PAL Data Processing Inc. (PAL) to handle its...

Horses, Houses and a Profit Motive
November 1, 2007... Taxpayers who deduct as business expenses what the IRS might regard as spending on an unrelated hobby generally run a distinct risk of an underpayment assessment. In one recent case, however, the Tax Court accepted that two seemingly dissimilar...

Work Product Stands Up to IRS Summons
November 1, 2007... The decision in United States v. Textron gives taxpayers a boost in efforts to protect tax workpapers from an IRS summons, although the Service's Chief Counsel Donald Korb cautions the victory "may be short-lived." The U.S. District Court in...

Hiring Incentives Target Veterans, Rural Counties
November 1, 2007... The work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) has been in existence for years; however, the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007, P.L. 110-28 (SBWOTA), expanded the definition of some of the target groups, creating tax incentives that...

Attestation Engagements That Address Specified Compliance Control Objectives and Related Controls at Entities That Provide Services to Investment Companies, Investment Advisers, or Other Service Providers
November 1, 2007... Space considerations prevent publishing here the appendix to SOP 07-2. Since the appendices often are important to understanding SOPs, readers are advised to obtain complete copies. To obtain a copy of SOP 07-2 (product no. 014946), visit...

The Last Word
November 1, 2007... We lived for a period of time when I was young in housing projects in St. Louis. I saw a lot of things growing up that, if given the opportunity, I would have changed. And I guess you could say that I have spent the better part of my life, as...