Journal of Accountancy articles from November 2008

Journal of Accountancy archives from November 2008

On the Web: introducing the new journalofaccountancy.com.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FIND IT FAST The new www.journalofaccountancy.com provides access to more than 10 years of JofA archives through a new full-text search feature, easily accessible from anywhere on the Web site--just look in the...

Does private equity belong in your client's portfolio?
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Faced with a slumping stock market and low-yield bond portfolios, some fund managers may be tempted by the higher potential yields of private equity. Before leading clients to this option, advisers should ask some...

Time to think differently: new AICPA chairman committed to approaching challenges from broad perspective. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' 2008-2009 chairman Ernie Almonte) (Interview)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ernie Almonte, the 2008-2009 AICPA board chairman, believes that thinking and acting differently is critical to success in our rapidly changing world. As Almonte begins his one-year term, he is stressing the...

Noncontrolling interest: much more than a name change: new consolidation rules for partially owned affiliates: FASB 160.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
November 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * The most visible innovation in Statement no. 160 is the name change from "minority interest" to "noncontrolling interest,' The old terminology does not encompass the full range of combination scenarios. For example,...

Shaking up financial statement presentation: an early look at the FASB and IASB financial statement project.(Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Accounting Standards Board)
November 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * The proposed financial statements are intended to help predict cash flows for equity valuation. These statements shift focus from net income to total comprehensive income, as all other comprehensive income items are now...

The firm of the future: new model shuns time sheets, favors value creation.
November 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * The traditional business model of focusing on top-line revenue has several limitations when it comes to running a CPA firm because it overemphasizes the benefit of every marginal dollar of revenue and every client and...

Depreciate property in like-kind exchanges consistently: practitioners must give special scrutiny and apply new depreciation matching rules.
November 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Final regulations of Treas. Reg. [section] 1.168(i)-6 provide rules and examples to help harmonize depreciation treatment under the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) of the exchanged basis of...

Price tags on technology: no simple solutions.
November 1, 2008... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Apart from customer-related intangibles, trade names or trademarks, current technology is often the primary intangible asset identified and valued. Determining a technology's value apart from other business intangible...

Protect your wireless network - and your business: you don't have to be a systems expert to better defend yourself against hackers.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's hard to stop hackers from gaining access to something as ethereal as an electronic signal. That s why it has always been challenging to secure a wireless network. If yours isn't secure, your business and its...

Documenting a casualty loss.
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The ordeals of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005 and Gustav and Ike this year taught us in the Gulf Coast a lot about serving clients who have experienced casualty losses. Here are some ideas to keep in mind...

Economic substance redux.(tax shelters)
November 1, 2008... The Court of Federal Claims ruled against another Son of BOSS shelter, upholding penalties despite the taxpayers' reliance on the advice of tax attorneys. The Welles family owned Therma-Tru Corp., a leading manufacturer of insulated doors....

Open transaction doctrine applied to demutualization.
November 1, 2008... The Court of Federal Claims ruled that gain was not recognized in the sale of stock received in exchange for policy ownership interests in an insurance company's demutualization. A mutual insurance company is owned by the policyholders...

Widow of ex-San Francisco mayor held to be an innocent spouse.(Alioto v. Commissioner)
November 1, 2008... The widow of Joe Alioto, who served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1968 to 1976, was granted relief under section 6015(f) from paying nearly $2 million in taxes for tax years 1995 and 1996. The Tax Court had dismissed the case in September...

Guidance issued on dividing CRTs, assisting divorcing couples and squabbling annuitants.(charitable remainder trusts)
November 1, 2008... The IRS has issued Revenue Ruling 200841 (www.irs.govlpub/irs-droplrr-Od41.pdf) confirming that charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) can be divided into separate but equal trusts for each recipient without adverse tax consequences. If properly...

Phone company on the hook for incentives.
November 1, 2008... The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Georgia district court decision holding that federal and state incentive payments to a local telephone company were gross income. The appellate court accepted the lower court's analysis that the...

Applying at-risk rules risky.
November 1, 2008... On remand from the Sixth Circuit, the Tax Court has held that a deficit restoration obligation (DRO) added to the operating agreement of a limited liability company didn't allow its member to create recourse debt. Despite the DRO, the at-risk...

Intentionally defective grantor trusts.
November 1, 2008... Estate tax planners have long employed intentionally defective grantor trusts to freeze the value of an asset for estate tax purposes while transferring assets out of the estate free of gift tax. An intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT)...

AICPA ... where to turn. (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) (Directory)
November 1, 2008... Member Service Center 1-88-777-7077 * Option #1 Order/CPE/Conference Inquiries * Option #2 AICPA Membership Inquiries Including Dues * Option #3 Webcast/AICPA.org Web Site/CPA2Biz Including Log In & Access Inquiries * Option...

The last word. (accountant's management of college athletics program)
November 1, 2008... As CFO of the Big 12 Conference in collegiate sports, I feel I have a dream job. Since I was part of the initial staff of the conference back in 1996, it has been very gratifying to watch it grow and see its teams do well. Today, our members...