Accounting Today articles from April 2006

Accounting Today archives from April 2006

FASB, IASB agree to push on with convergence effort.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(International Accounting Standards Board)
April 3, 2006... London -- In a handshake across the sea, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have agreed to continue their efforts to converge American and international standards. And if all goes...

Preparers scramble as tax season heads to finish.(accounting reports)
April 3, 2006... Increased use of e-filing, delays in software releases and confusion over a number of new tax law changes are chief among preparer concerns as this year's filing season rapidly draws to a close. "Filing started off slowly, but it seems to...

Transparent sales.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... You get more flies with honey - but who wants flies? When it comes to reeling in prospects, a little honesty and transparency go a long way. That's not to say you need to be vinegary; the truth can be tactful, too. * Talk about price. If...

J.H. Cohn revenues up 12%.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Roseland, N.J. -- J.H. Cohn LLP announced a 12 percent increase in revenues for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2006. Revenues increased to $144 million. "This past year, we positioned ourselves to leverage all of the positive events in the...

Report: Restatements good SOX sign.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... San Francisco -- The doubling of restatements by U.S. companies last year could signal that the changes made under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are having their intended impact. Research firm Glass Lewis & Co., which works with money managers...

Rehmann unit unveils merger.(Rehmann Financial merges with Advisor Group Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Saginaw, Mich. -- Rehmann Financial, a unit of CPA and business advisory firm The Rehmann Group, has merged with financial services concern the Advisor Group Inc., of Troy, Mich. Terms were not disclosed. Gary Gilgen, former president...

IRS, charities clashing over possible political activities.(Internal Revenue Service)
April 3, 2006... The rules have been on the books for roughly half a century, but it's only recently that those who work at the Internal Revenue Service are considering the degree to which they may be ignored or abused. The rules in question are those that...

AccountMate previews latest upgrades at partner confab.
April 3, 2006... San Rafael, Calif. -- Excitement over the latest upgrade from open source code provider AccountMate ushered in a change in tone and attitude among attendees at Synergy 2006 - the company's annual partner conference. "It's very rare to see...

Hill wrestles with health care tax reform.
April 3, 2006... Washington -- Congress has begun to focus in on reforms for the nation's health care tax policy - a move that could impact hundreds of billions of dollars a year in cherished tax breaks for individuals and employers. That worm can spilled...

Compliance officers now a fixture at broker/dealers.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
April 3, 2006... There's a new sheriff in town at the country's investment advisors and broker/dealers. The Securities and Exchange Commission's new rules on the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 require firms to have a...

Matherne to leave AICPA.(Louis Matherne resigns from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
April 3, 2006... New York -- Louis Matherne, one of the early proponents and pioneers of the Extensible Business Reporting Language format, is leaving his role as the director of the American Institute of CPAs' XBRL program effective April 10. Matherne has...

Interstate Issues.(accounting law)
April 3, 2006... * AICPA State News and Information - www.aicpa.org/states/ This section of the American Institute of CPAs' site has links to state boards and societies, issue briefs and digests on state issues, mobility licensing requirements, the latest...

Footnotes.(endowments)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... MOSS ADAMS FOUNDATION GIVES SECOND ENDOWMENT TO WWU: The Moss Adams Foundation, a nonprofit arm of national CPA and business advisory firm Moss Adams, has matched employee and partner contributions in the amount of $43,000 for Western...

Chasing balance.
April 3, 2006... As you can imagine, we here at Accounting Today receive our fair share of unsolicited books, some of which we readily anticipate for their reference value (i.e. Who Audits America), while others are viewed as the equivalent of an ossified...

Commentary: Another reason for an interstate compact.
April 3, 2006... Recently, the California Board for Public Accountancy instituted what has already become a controversial new regulation. Dubbed "Practice Privilege," the regulation requires out-of-state CPAs to pay California a small fee before using the...

Are you using or misusing your intellectual capital?(management)
April 3, 2006... While leaders and the concept of leadership have developed during the last 20 years, they still have a long way to go if firms hope to prosper and survive in the 21st century. There are many facets to leadership, and it has often been said that...

Unacceptable political intervention.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Recently, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson listed several examples of inappropriate political intervention. Among them: * Distribution of printed materials that encourage members to vote for a particular candidate; * Religious leaders...

Taxing Issues.
April 3, 2006... IRS MEMO SAYS CALIF. DOMESTIC PARTNERS MUST FILE SEPARATELY: Domestic partners in California must file their federal tax returns separately, despite a 2003 law that extended equal legal rights to registered same-sex couples in the state. A memo...

Section 199 deduction may drive biz filers to Section 8.(tax deduction regulation)
April 3, 2006... The new Section 199 deduction, a boon to taxpayers who qualify, is anything but to the filers who are struggling with the new concepts, rules, exceptions and safe harbors of the legislation. The domestic production activities deduction,...

Guidance begins to emerge on new energy tax breaks.(tax law )
April 3, 2006... The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 created a number of new tax breaks for individuals, with respect to their homes and cars, and for businesses, with respect to their commercial buildings and the construction of homes and appliances. ...

A&A Briefs.
April 3, 2006... REPORT POINTS TO FORMER FANNIE CFO: An exhaustive internal report on the accounting woes of mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae says that the company's former chief financial officer, J. Timothy Howard, was "primarily responsible" for deviating...

ASB issues eight standards on audit risk assessment.(Auditing Standards Board)
April 3, 2006... The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of CPAs has issued a suite of eight new standards on risk assessment that should significantly improve the quality of audits of private companies. For the many audit firms that have...

FASB addresses pensions: One small step for ....(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
April 3, 2006... With uncharacteristic decisiveness, the Financial Accounting Standards Board acted quickly last November to create a new major project. In doing so, it responded to growing alarm about the critical state of defined-benefit pension and other...

'A sweeping change'.(Accounting Standards Board)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... The ASB's eight releases * SAS 104: Amendment to SAS 1, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures (Due Professional Care in the Performance of Work) * SAS 105: Amendment to SAS 95, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards *...

PFP Briefs.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants honours Steven I. Levey)
April 3, 2006... LEVEY FETED BY AICPA: The American Institute of CPAs named Steven I. Levey, CPA, PFS, the recipient of its 2005 Distinguished Service Award - the highest honor bestowed by the institute's Personal Financial Planning Division. The award is...

Advisors and investors wary of slowing real estate prices.(Real estate investment trusts)
April 3, 2006... As an asset class, real estate is growing in importance to professional advisors and their clients. Not only did the asset class provide high returns in the past few years, but managers kept improving the opportunities for investments....

Cash balance plans might enhance clients' retirement.
April 3, 2006... Are your clients making the maximum allowable tax-deductible contribution to their defined-contribution plans (as much as $49,000 in 2006)? Would they be interested in contributing much more if possible? If the answer is "Yes," they should...

Tech Briefs.(Intuit's earnings)(Avanquest Software releases new software)(Bruno Combe joins Cartesis)
April 3, 2006... INTUIT'S 2Q REVENUES UP 15 PERCENT: Intuit Inc. announced that its second-quarter revenues for the 2006 fiscal year had increased 15 percent over last year's numbers, to $742.7 million. The company said that growth was driven by strong...

Microsoft 'snaps on' new programs for Dynamics.
April 3, 2006... Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft Corp. has unveiled Microsoft Dynamics Snap - a collection of software programs that integrate with Microsoft Office 2003 to help users handle data and business processes. Microsoft's first set of releases from...

CCH's CertiTax achieves MSGold Partner status.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Riverwoods, Ill. -- Tax and accounting software provider CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, has attained Gold Certified Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program for its CertiTax suite. CCH's CertiTax suite provides integrated real-time...

Sage hires Grass for Abra.(Karl Grass appointed Abra Software Inc.)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Karl Grass was named vice president and general manager of Sage Abra HRMS and Sage Payroll Services at Sage Software, a manufacturer of accounting software. Grass will be responsible for overseeing the Sage Abra and...

Data Security: Online acc'ting: Who's backing up your data?
April 3, 2006... Warren Ullman and Timothy Hart, co-owners of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based CPA firm Ullman & Hart CPAs, have not had a headache from a back-up issue in four years. Ever since they started using NetSuite, an online accounting software provider,...

Technology strategy for the future - and today!(technology application)
April 3, 2006... "You don't have to know how to build the watch, but you had better be able to tell time." I made this statement when I acquired my first IBM personal computer. Not only has a lot happened with technology since that date, but the speed of...

Software & Gear.(Diary entry)
April 3, 2006... Equity genealogy Researching the ancestry of an equity - its swaps, spin-offs, mergers, splits and other corporate actions - is a task so complicated it would daunt even a Mormon genealogist. But much as the Mormons have made genealogical...

Books.(Diary entry)
April 3, 2006... Dear Baby Boomers: Please don't retire! Ever! But if you must, do it now, so we can stop worrying about the impending demographic nightmare we've been hearing so much about, and start dealing with it. One part of that nightmare is the...

People.(Cherry, Bekaert and Holland appoints Gilbert J. Weiner)(Stacie Benes promoted at Reznick Group)(Patrick G. Dunleavy Virchow Krause and Co.)
April 3, 2006... COLORADO Pam Baumgartle, Lisa Cunningham and Donna Hardy have been promoted to principal at Dalby, Wendland & Co. CONNECTICUT Bruno Combe has joined Cartesis, Norwalk, as chief financial officer, while Michel Delloye has been...

Firms.(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... INDIANA The Fort Wayne office of Crowe Chizek and Co. LLC has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Northeast Indiana by the Fort Wayne Business Journal and the Preston Joan Group. NEW JERSEY Friedman LLP and...

Coming Events.
April 3, 2006... - APRIL - 3: MSM Residency I, The American College. Bryn Mawr, Pa. Contact: www.theamericancollege.edu. 5-8: GS 811 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management, The American College. Bryn Mawr, Pa. Contact: (888) 263-7265 or...

Advertiser Index.(Image)(Brief article)
April 3, 2006... Advertiser Page Capital One 15 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business 32 Creative Solutions 2 GoSystem Tax. 13 Intuit ...

Responding to Crises.(Accountants advise is must )
April 3, 2006... "You must give some time to your fellow men. Even if it's a little thing, do something for others-something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it." These words from Albert Schweitzer embody the cover story of this issue of...

Asset Builders.(Merrill Lynch and Company Inc.)
April 3, 2006... Rebranding Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch has announced a rebranding initiative for its asset management business, which will be known as Princeton Portfolio Research & Management. The new name, while no longer using the Merrill Lynch...

Partners.(Bear Stearns Companies Inc. signs RiskMetrics)(AccountAbilities partners with Eisner L.L.P.)(Strategic Financial Solutions Inc. acquires Whittaker Garnier)
April 3, 2006... Solutions to Investment Advisors Bear Stearns and RiskMetrics have entered into an agreement to offer the latter's technology platform to independent advisors and family offices via the Bear Stearns WealthSET wealth management solution....

Practice Growth.(accounting )
April 3, 2006... CPE Credit on Private Foundations Seminar Foundation Source, a provider of support services for private foundations, has announced that its new seminar on "Private Foundations: Rules of the Road," has been accepted by the Certified...

Regulatory Watch.(portfolio management)
April 3, 2006... Eyeing Family Partnerships The IRS says that it will target family limited partnerships by increasing the number of audits it will perform. According to the agency, it will investigate taxpayers with incomes of $100,000 or more. Aileen...

Tech Tools.(retirement planning)
April 3, 2006... Retirement Planning for Baby Boomers Retirement Road Map from Impact Technologies offers financial advisors a complete planning solution for the baby boomer marketplace. The product focuses on retirement distribution planning and helps...

Picking up the Pieces.(investment advisers)
April 3, 2006... Life was good until August 29, 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast and changed everyone's life forever," says Steve Johnson, CPA in New Orleans. "The destruction caused by the storm is beyond anyone's belief. There are thousands of...

Pioneering in Japan.(investment advisers)
April 3, 2006... Many readers remember the tumultuous days of the 1980s when some CPAs fought their state accountancy boards to change their rules prohibiting CPAs from receiving any commissions and therefore, to be compensated for providing investment advice...

Benefit Plans: Uses and Abuses.(tax deduction law)
April 3, 2006... For years, promoters of life insurance companies and agents have tried to find ways of claiming that the premiums paid by business owners were tax deductible. This allowed them to sell policies at a "discount." The problem became...

Capital Gains Deferral: Private Annuity Trust.(annuities)
April 3, 2006... The number one issue concerning/upsetting wealthy clients today is paying taxes. Clients in some states pay 45+ percent in income taxes, and everyone pays 15 percent or more in capital gains taxes. How you can help your clients defer and...

Portfolio Management: Working Smarter, Not Harder.(portfolio management)
April 3, 2006... As an investment advisor, there are three pillars that support your practice: portfolio management, distribution, and operations. One support - operations - is uniquely tied to client service. Since an advisor's core responsibility is keeping...

Managing Portfolios: Three Strikes, You're Out!(surveys on investments)
April 3, 2006... Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright. The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light. And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout, but there is no joy in Mudville, mighty Casey has struck...

Leasing Strategies: Designs for 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges.
April 3, 2006... Under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, taxpayers of investment property or property used in a trade or business are allowed to defer capital gains taxes by rolling the proceeds from the sale of their relinquished property into another...

Medicaid Law: Opportunity to Serve Seniors.
April 3, 2006... By the time you read this, the President will have signed into law significant restrictions to the Medicaid law. These restrictions are intended to stop abuse of the Medicaid system by middle income and even wealthy seniors. Until now, the law...

Phishing for filers, with refunds as bait.
April 17, 2006... For filers anticipating this year's tax refund, it naturally comes as a welcome e-mail: "We have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of [X] dollars. To access the form for your tax refund, please click here." Who...

Nusbaum speaks out: Grant Thornton CEO talks about SOX, scandals, staffing and more.(Interview)
April 17, 2006... Since 2001, Edward E. Nusbaum has served as chief executive and executive partner of Grant Thornton, the nation's seventh-largest CPA and business advisory firm. Under his aegis, GT has swelled into a concern that generated nearly $800 million...

Recruiting strategies change with the times.
April 17, 2006... Pizza parties, betting pools on the TV show Survivor and a team-building "camp" for new hires are images that do not come immediately to mind when pondering accounting firms. However, these are all tactics that CPA firms are currently using to...

Help wanted.
April 17, 2006... At the risk of repeating ourselves, we'll note that CPA firms are having a tough time finding good staff. The American Institute of CPAs is on the case, and put out a white paper on the subject. Among their suggestions: * Go to school....

PCAOB keeps Big 4 problems quiet.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said that it won't publicly release the control problems and structural deficiencies uncovered at the Big Four firms during its initial round of inspection reports. The board said that...

IRS considers loosening tax privacy.(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- The Internal Revenue Service is considering a proposal to loosen the privacy standards of federal income tax returns. The change could allow accountants and other tax return preparers to sell information from individual returns to...

GAO: Gov't contractors owe billions.(General Accounting Office investigations of tax cheating)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- Widespread tax cheating by the government's own outside contractors is costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and giving crooked firms an edge over honest competitors, congressional auditors charged. ...

Mandatory peer review gains momentum, support.(from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
April 17, 2006... New York State does not have a mandatory peer review process, despite the fact that 41 other states have opted into the American Institute of CPAs' nearly 30-year-old peer review program. All this may change, however, as both the New York...

IRS debunks frivolous tax claims.(Internal Revenue Service introduced guidelines for filing tax returns)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance describing 26 frivolous arguments that taxpayers should avoid when filing their tax returns. Five revenue rulings issued in conjunction with the notice address specific...

Chamber says SEC taking its job too far.(Chamber of Commerce about corporate wrongdoing)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that the Securities and Exchange Commission is overstepping its bounds in seeking to punish corporate wrongdoing. In a report, the Chamber of Commerce, which lobbies for 3 million U.S....

AICPA, NASBA clash over inspection report disclosure.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(National Association of State Boards of Accountancy)
April 17, 2006... New York -- In the latest turf battle to come to light between the two groups, the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy skirmished over NASBA's interest in the details of public company audit...

Bankers rejoice over new servicing rights standard.(as Financial Accounting Standards Board issues guide lines)
April 17, 2006... Norwalk, Conn. -- In a move to simplify accounting for servicing assets and liabilities, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a standard that makes it easier for mortgage bankers and other servicers of financial assets to report...

Corporate Governance.(Web portals)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... * 404 Institute - www.404institute.com/ This Web portal established by KPMG includes best practices, discussion and research related to compliance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley, the portion of the reform bill mandating management's...

Footnotes.(Deloitte Foundation's educational grants to doctoral students)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Deloitte Foundation Announces 2006 Grants: The Deloitte Foundation, the not-for-profit arm of Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche, announced the 2006 recipients of fellowship grants through the organization's Doctoral Fellowship Program. ...

Numbers don't lie.(accountants)
April 17, 2006... One of the very few things that managed to encamp in my head during my tenure in junior high school was the ability discern the difference between exact and inexact sciences. The chasm between the two often surfaced during trigonometry tests,...

Basic communications: For auditors and registrants, it's that simple.
April 17, 2006... Business advisors: That is what auditors wanted to be before Enron and the collapse of Arthur Andersen. Auditors were routinely advising their clients on new business ventures and transactions on a real-time basis, including advice on the...

Miller & Bahnson should follow their own advice.(Miller and Benson International Ltd)
April 17, 2006... Miller and Bahnson advise Financial Executives International and the Institute of Management Accountants to "Be careful what you ask for" (Accounting Today, Feb. 27-March 19, 2006, page 12). I suggest that they follow their own advice and...

The discipline of practice growth in 2006: Predictions and creative solutions for building the best strategies for your firm in the next year.
April 17, 2006... If you're hoping to hit the ground running on or about April 24 (factoring in a few days of recuperation on a sun-drenched beach) with solid growth strategies you couldn't focus on during the busy season, here are some thoughts. Continuing...

Taxing Issues.(Internal Revenue Service given contracts to accounting firms)(tax e-filing procedure)(survey of accountants about their tax services fee)
April 17, 2006... IRS SELECTS FIRMS FOR COLLECTION EFFORT: The Internal Revenue Service awarded contracts to a trio of firms to participate in the first phase of its private debt collection initiative. A total of 33 firms took part in the bidding process. ...

CPA avoids QPSC status with a win in Tax Court.(Certified public accountants)
April 17, 2006... Columbus, Ohio -- An Ohio CPA can thank his inability to properly separate his accounting business from his financial planning business for a win in U.S. Tax Court that saved him thousands in additional tax. "It was an uphill battle against...

IRS offers interim guidance on manufacturing deduction.(Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Advocate Service)
April 17, 2006... The new domestic production activities deduction (a.k.a., the manufacturing deduction) has generated many unresolved questions. In fact, the problem areas are so significant that individuals and businesses have reported delayed filing of 2005...

Change of Auditors.(Willbros Group Inc appoint GLO CPAs as their auditors)(Alliance Semiconductor Corp. appoint Mark Bailey & Co. as their new independent accountant)(Trend Micro Inc. appointed KPMG Azsa & Co. as its new auditor)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... * RIVERA TOOL TAPS BDO SEIDMAN: Rivera Tool Co., a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based manufacturer of medium-to-large-scale stamping die systems used in the high-speed production of sheet metal parts, named BDO Seidman as it new independent accountant....

SEC committee digs into SOX's impact on small cos.(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
April 17, 2006... Washington -- Sarbanes-Oxley may be helping to protect investors, but it is also hitting small public companies with a big accounting burden. The Securities and Exchange Commission established an advisory committee in April of 2005 to see...

Users say: GAAP statements aren't good enough.
April 17, 2006... This is our third installment on the recent CFA Institute monograph, A Comprehensive Business Reporting Model: Financial Reporting for Investors. The work, authored by a committee of experienced analysts, updates the 1993 commentary called...

PFP Briefs.(Cuna Mutual Group introduces new mutual fund services)
April 17, 2006... U.S. WEALTH MANAGEMENT NAMES CFO: U.S. Wealth Management, a firm specializing in providing wealth management programs through CPA firm affiliates and financial advisors, has named George T. Clarke to serve as its chief financial officer. ...

Health savings accounts: 21st century insurance.(Bush, George W. recomends Health savings accounts and Health insurance)
April 17, 2006... President Bush has voiced his excitement about health savings accounts, and accountants should be excited too. The advent of HSAs, coupled with a high-deductible health insurance plan, spells plenty of opportunity to advise and work with...

How your clients can profit from their insurability.(investment companies purchasing life insurance policies)
April 17, 2006... Proper financial planning involves making sure you are taking advantage of every available asset and financial opportunity. However, there is one asset that people often ignore that could potentially add hundreds of thousands of dollars to...

Tech Briefs.
April 17, 2006... SAGE SOFTWARE REVEALS AGREEMENT WITH TIMELINE: Global business software provider Sage has acquired non-exclusive rights to data mart patents from Timeline Inc., a Seattle-based business applications developer. The data mart capabilities to...

Don't turn your firm into a disaster zone - plan ahead.(Quirk and Associates)(CPA plan against future natural calamities)(CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business)
April 17, 2006... When Hurricane Rita ripped through southwest Louisiana last fall, Kenneth Quirk, co-owner of CPA firm Quirk and Associates, was without power and water for almost two weeks. "This area had 500 tornadoes taking place during the hurricane....

Microsoft unveils BI app.(Business Intelligence Optimization.)(Microsoft Corp.)(NexVue Information Systems )
April 17, 2006... Redmond, Wash. -- One year after talks began between Microsoft Corp. and channel partner NexVue Analytics Corp. - a business analytics software provider for the mid-market - the pair have collaborated on a new business intelligence product for...

Software Review: Are time & billing apps still necessary?(technology application)
April 17, 2006... Advocates of value-added billing have been loudly declaring, at least for the last several years, that time & billing is an application that is no longer needed. Despite all of these protestations, T&B continues to sell very well, and has even...