Journal of Accountancy articles from September 2003

Journal of Accountancy archives from September 2003

Computerized CPA exam only months away.(Uniform CPA Examination)
September 1, 2003... The Uniform CPA Examination is entering a new era that gives individuals more flexibility as they prepare to take the exam. A joint effort by the AICPA, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and Prometric, a developer...

Revenue recognition issues lie at heart of many a fraud.(excerpts from Revenue Recognition: Guidance, Implementation, and Fraud Concerns video course)
September 1, 2003... Highlights from a live AICPA Webcast Revenue recognition issues play a large part in many of the financial scandals of recent years, figuring in four out of ten earnings restatements. "The results have been damaging, not just to the...

Smart stops on the web.(for CPAs)
September 1, 2003... SOFTWARE SITES Search for Solutions www.knowledgestorm.com Information technology consultants an CPAs can register for free at this Web site and compare hardware and software in categories such as infrastructure and systems...

Sarbanes-Oxley software; ten questions to ask: section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires a company to document and periodically test its internal controls and the company's external auditors to offer an opinion on those controls. While public companies are developing their project plans and evaluating software applications to help them manage this process, the area is a new one for most.
September 1, 2003... The software an entity needs to comply with the act must enable it to document its financial and operations risks as well as the controls in place to mitigate those risks and to test the controls to ensure they are operating effectively. The...

CPAs as Audit Committee members: be part of the new vanguard in corporate governance.
September 1, 2003... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * WITH THE ADVERT OF SARBANES-OXLEY, CPAs ARE LIKELY to receive more invitations to serve on the audit committees of corporate boards of directors. Before accepting these offers, accountants should make sure they are...

Six points to ponder when invited to join an audit committee.
September 1, 2003... Audit committee membership can be an awesome responsibility. This is particularly true since the advent of Sarbanes-Oxley. Here are some suggestions from board members that CPAs should evaluate before accepting a company's invitation to join...

A strategy for finding the right accounting software; by-product of the search: a better understanding of your business operation.
September 1, 2003... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * SHOPPING FOR ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE is difficult. The software must be just the right size, it shouldn't contain more or fewer features than you need and you should feel secure that its publisher will be able to provide...

How Sarbanes-Oxley will change the audit process: CPAs will have to develop new procedures and scrap some old ones.
September 1, 2003... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * SARBANES-OXLEY WILL MEAN BIG CHANGES FOR BOTH auditors and the companies they audit. The former now will be required to certify a company's internal controls and will no longer be able to use certain common audit...

Have a fallback plan: take a lesson from the Boy Scouts and "be prepared".(CPA continuation plan)
September 1, 2003... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * A PRACTICE CONTINUATION PLAN ENSURES that in the event of death or disability, a CPA's practice will go on and its value will not evaporate. * TYPICALLY, SUCH AN AGREEMENT PROVIDES for four basic elements: The...

To your health: sensible self-care can help CPAs maintain stamina in the run-up to those filing deadlines.
September 1, 2003... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * Long busy-season hours give CPA's so little time for exercise or regular meals that stress can build. This can weaken a person's immune system and make him or her more prone to illness. The overload also can diminish...

There is art to conducting admission-seeking interviews.(Sherlock Holmes, CPA, part 2)
September 1, 2003... The scenario: During a routine audit of a client, you discovered the company was paying twice the market price for widgets. By looking further, you believe--but are not sure--the purchasing agent is engaging in a pass-through billing scheme, in...

IRC section 1341 - a reversal.(tax deduction)
September 1, 2003... Most taxpayers normally know when and how much income they have earned. In certain cases, a taxpayer has to give back to the original payor an amount it previously reported as income (for example, a refund). In these situations, the taxpayer...

Bonuses and accumulated earnings prove troublesome.(to calculate tax deductions)
September 1, 2003... Under IRC section 162(a)(1), businesses can deduct bonuses they pay employees as reasonable compensation for services actually rendered in the current or prior years. The courts have generally applied either a single-factor independent-investor...

The section 412(i) retirement alternative: hedging against an uncertain future.(from The Tax Adviser)
September 1, 2003... Recent stock market declines have triggered substantial losses for many retirement plans, leading clients to rethink investment strategies and life insurance companies to tout IRC section 412(i) plans as a way to protect retirement funds. CPAs...

Official releases: SOP 03-1 ... ethics interpretations and rulings.(Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises for Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts and for Separate Accounts)
September 1, 2003... Space considerations prevent publishing here the appendices to SOP 03-1. Since the appendices often are important to understanding SOPs, readers are advised to obtain complete copies. To obtain a copy of SOP 03-1 (product no. 014936), contact...

A better line of communication.
September 1, 2003... Middle managers--bosses without portfolios, the interface between top executives and staff and the source of the best business intelligence--tend to be misused, underused and overworked. As you'll see, that is not a contradiction. Because...