Accounting Today articles from August 2005

Accounting Today archives from August 2005

Shared Services effort grinds to halt.
August 8, 2005... Dublin, Ohio -- Efforts to create a shared member database between the American Institute of CPAs and state CPA societies will be shelved indefinitely, after beta sites grappled for nearly two years with a flawed version of the platform. ...

Congress targeting fraudulent preparers.
August 8, 2005... Washington -- Congressional investigators are taking aim at incompetent and fraudulent activity by the nation's tax return preparers - a problem that they say is adversely affecting millions of U.S. taxpayers. In scheduling a new round of...

Revenue surge may help tax reform plans.
August 8, 2005... The unexpected jump in tax receipts projected for the fiscal year ending in September provides additional momentum for real tax reform, according to observers. Aided by the April surge in tax receipts, the Bush administration is now...

Allow 4-6 weeks for scams.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Con artists love it when your firm gets larger, because it means you'll have a harder time verifying that the items on the fake invoices they send you were actually ordered. And it's not just fraudsters - perfectly reputable businesses may try...

Social Security reform off until fall.(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Washington -- Republican leaders have said that movement on President Bush's plans to overhaul Social Security is unlikely to happen until after Congress' August recess. Several politicians released statements after a planned Social...

PwC to pay $41M for travel billing.(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (New York, New York))(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... New York -- PricewaterhouseCoopers will pay $41.9 million in civil penalties to settle claims that it over-billed the government for travel-related expenses. The U.S. Justice Department announced in early July that the settlement involves...

Fined in Norway, KPMG fights in U.S.(KPMG A/S)(Finance Credit Norge A/S)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Oslo, Norway -- The Norwegian branch of KPMG International was ordered to pay $100 million in damages in early July, after Oslo's district court found that the accounting group was negligent in auditing the books of Finance Credit. KPMG...

Hammering out the details: SSTP gets closer to reality.(Streamlined Sales Tax Project )
August 8, 2005... During a recent meeting in Chicago, representatives of the 18 states in the Streamlined Sales Tax Project reached agreement on how items are to be classified across the board for purposes of assessing sales tax. The uniform definitions for...

IRS OKs e-sigs on some returns.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Washington -- Corporate officers or other authorized corporate agents can now sign employment tax forms by facsimile, including alternative signature methods such as computer software programs or mechanical devices. The new Internal...

Another Enron executive pleads guilty.(Christopher Calger)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Houston -- A sixteenth former Enron executive has pleaded guilty in the Justice Department's investigation into the energy giant's bankruptcy. Christopher Calger, 39, a former Enron vice president, entered his guilty plea in early July at...

Bush SEC nominee Cox has major stock, fund holdings.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Christopher Cox)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Washington -- California Rep. Christopher Cox, President Bush's nominee for chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed his stock, mutual fund and other assets in early July, the value of which could range from $2.7 million to...

Some worried by growing use of structured products.
August 8, 2005... Structured products are wending their way into portfolios, with investors recently sucking up half a billion dollars on just three new issues of the vehicles - three of some 67 offerings of structured products launched this year. Some say...

News Resources.(accounting services)(Brief Article)(Directory)
August 8, 2005... * The Analyst's Accounting Observer - www.accountingobserver.com Since 1992, The Analyst's Accounting Observer has been explaining front-burner accounting issues to institutional investors and analysts. Published by R.G. Associates, the...

Footnotes.(Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants Educational Foundation)(accounting scholarships)
August 8, 2005... VSCPA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS: The Virginia Society of CPAs Educational Foundation recently awarded $25,000 in accounting scholarships to 16 Virginia college and university students for the 2005-2006 academic year. To qualify for a VSCPA...

Shared services or shattered vision?(Column)
August 8, 2005... I've been asked on more than one occasion why I pursued the writing and reporting side of publishing, in lieu of the more profitable positions available in display advertising. Aside from the fact that I would have trouble selling climate...

Outsourcing will improve quality.
August 8, 2005... In his recent article, "What are you doing about the profession's issues?" (Accounting Today, June 20-July 10, 2005, page 8), August Aquila does a wonderful job of outlining current internal and external issues for accounting firms to consider....

Align compensation to your firm's strategic goals.
August 8, 2005... If you really want to drive results in your firm, you need to align owner and employee compensation to the firm's strategic initiatives. But before we get into this discussion, here are some questions that you should ask yourself and your...

Keeping score.(Illustration)
August 8, 2005... Actual Area Objective Target Weight performance Financial Revenue growth 20% 20% 20% Financial Profitability 6% 20% 6% increase ...

Taxpayer advocate sounds off on collections and OIC.
August 8, 2005... Washington -- National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson urged the Internal Revenue Service to focus more broadly on steps to increase voluntary compliance. In the first of this year's two required reports to Congress, she emphasized the...

New developments highlight IRS focus on executive comp.(Internal Revenue Service)
August 8, 2005... Executive compensation has been under scrutiny on several fronts in recent years. The Financial Accounting Standards Board guidance on expensing stock options has become effective for public companies, in spite of legislative efforts to...

Is there comfort in being the silent majority?(future of accounting profesionals)
August 8, 2005... Over the last number of years, the headlines in the business press and accounting trade periodicals have been focused on issues that sell newspapers - but do these issues really mean anything to the majority of America's businesses and CPAs?...

Change Of Auditors.(contract of Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. and Reznick Group)(contract discontinuation of Del Global Technologies Corp. and Deloitte & Touche LLP)(merger of Moore Stevens Ellis Foster Ltd. and Ernst & Young L.L.P.)
August 8, 2005... * MONMOUTH RETAINS REZNICK: Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp., a real estate investment trust, has hired Reznick Group as its independent accountant, replacing Big Four firm KPMG. In a federal filing, the company said that the change in...

Questions surround FASB draft on business combos.
August 8, 2005... Norwalk, Conn. -- The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board have issued an exposure draft of a proposed new standard on business combinations. If approved, the standard should help facilitate...

PEAP: Proof that FASB has faulty premise on 203.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Politically Expedient Accounting Principles)(Column)
August 8, 2005... This column is the third in our series on why we think the Financial Accounting Standards Board is mistaken in its exposure draft on the hierarchy of accounting principles. For those who may have missed it, the draft proposes doing away with...

PFP Briefs.(American Express Financial Advisors Inc. pays fine for theft)(appointment of Arthur Levitt)(partnership of Fiserv Investment Support Services and Efficient Forms LLC)
August 8, 2005... N.J. ATTORNEY GENERAL BUSTS AMEX FINANCIAL ADVISORS: American Express Financial Advisors Inc. will pay New Jersey $5 million and implement company-wide reforms to address allegations that it failed to reasonably supervise its financial...

Get your clients started: 10 smart moves for retirement.
August 8, 2005... Ask any reputable financial planner how to secure a decent retirement, and you might just get a laundry list of what you should or should not do. Most represent pretty good thoughts. Broker/dealer giant Fidelity Investments maintains that...

FPSB seeks nominees for board.(Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd.)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... New York -- The Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. - the nonprofit umbrella organization that manages the CFP certification program outside the U.S. and its territories - is now seeking nominations from the U.S. for a three-year position...

CITP cred needs stronger member growth, marketing.(Certified Information Technology Professional)
August 8, 2005... Will the Certified Information Technology Professional designation survive? It's a question that has been on the minds of many CPAs - especially those who have already paid the application fee and taken the comprehensive exam to earn the...

M'soft to target small biz apps.(Microsoft Corp. expands business)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... Minneapolis -- Speaking to a conference of small technology partners in July, Microsoft Corp. chief executive Steve Ballmer said that his company will continue to expand its small business software lines for a variety of industries, beginning...

Tech Briefs.(partnership of SysPro and Business Objects)(RSM McGladrey uses document management software of Immediatech)(IBM Corp. launches new unit)
August 8, 2005... SYSPRO AND BUSINESS OBJECTS CREATE PARTNERSHIP: A partnership between software makers SysPro and Business Objects will result in the integration of Crystal Reports XI with the SysPro 6.0 business software as early as the end of this year....

Payroll apps - still active after all these years.
August 8, 2005... Though among the least complicated computing applications in the accounting marketplace, payroll software and services continue to set the trends in both utilization of advanced technologies and business development for accounting firms. ...

Vendor information.(accounting software)(Directory)
August 8, 2005... * Abra Payroll Sage Software 888 Executive Center Dr. West, Ste. 300 St. Petersburg, Fla. 33702 (727) 579-1111 www.sagesoftwareinc.com/ Pricing: Licensed on a per-company basis; license fees - start at $1,755 for a...

The unexpected by-products of going paperless.
August 8, 2005... Striving for objectives - such as a paperless office - generally results in attaining objectives that typically were not given consideration during the planning process. That is assuming that firms spent any time planning their paperless...

Software & Hardware.
August 8, 2005... CRM as you like it Not sure that this whole "Internet" thing is going to last? Frankly, neither are we. Sage Software is apparently aware of our ambivalence, because they're offering their new CRM software for small and midsized businesses...

Books.(Business Valuation and Taxes)(Practice Made Perfect)(Successful Practice Sales)(Book Review)
August 8, 2005... 'Fraud 101' We here at New Products, being dedicated to our life of crime, should reverse-engineer the second edition of Fraud 101 and figure out how to commit the ultimate investigation-proof business scam. For those with a less felonious...

People.(appointments )
August 8, 2005... ARIZONA Patty Schumacher has joined Abalos & Associates PC, Phoenix, as a senior accountant. She brings 15 years of experience in law office accounting and administration. CALIFORNIA John W. Pollaro has been promoted to senior...

Coming Events.(accounting firms)(Calendar)
August 8, 2005... - AUGUST - 8-9: Enrolled Agent Training Workshop, National Association of Tax Professionals. Schaumburg, Ill. Contact: www.natptax.com or (800) 558-3402 ext. 3. 8-9: U.S. Transfer Pricing Planning and Controversies, Council for...

Firms.(Crowe, Chizek and Company L.L.P)(Holthouse Carlin and Van Trigt L.L.P)(Saltmarsh, Cleaveland and Gund P.A)(Brief Article)
August 8, 2005... CALIFORNIA Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP has opened an office in Pasadena, which will include two partners, Vicken M. Haleblian and Kevin A. Cordano, and six staff. FLORIDA Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund, Pensacola, has opened an...

Advertiser Index.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
August 8, 2005... Advertiser Page 1st Global 15 AccountantsWorld 7 Accounting Profit Systems 23 ADP 27, 29, 31 CCH...

Block party! H&R acquires AmEx TBS.
August 22, 2005... Kansas City, Mo. -- American Express' foray into acquiring and operating accounting firms has ended. Earlier this month, the financial services conglomerate sold its Tax and Business Services division to tax-prep giant H&R Block for $220...

PCAOB adopts tough rules for tax services.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
August 22, 2005... Washington -- The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board adopted new ethics and independence rules for auditors that place clear limits on the ability of accounting firms to offer tax services to their audit clients. Although the new...

May it please the court: Litigation support is hot.
August 22, 2005... How many lawyers does it take to provide detailed evidence regarding a financial crime? None - if they've got the right accountant. Litigation support provides a niche area of expertise for accounting professionals who are comfortable...

Picking an ISP.(Internet service providers)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... If you don't have a Web site yet, get one. If you've got one, be sure your Internet service provider is meeting your needs. * Know what you need. This means estimating how much bandwidth and storage space, and what kind of other services...

Andersen to pay $25M for Global Xing.(Arthur Andersen L.L.P)(Global Crossing Ltd)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... New York -- Defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP will pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by investors over its role in the collapse of telecommunications company Global Crossing Ltd. Lawyers for Andersen announced the deal...

KPMG partners may face tax charges.
August 22, 2005... Washington -- Federal prosecutors have notified as many as 20 former partners at Big Four firm KPMG LLP that they may face criminal charges for selling illegal tax shelters. According to reports, "tough concessions" from KPMG are likely to...

Errors at Block lead to restatement.
August 22, 2005... Kansas City, Mo. -- Tax preparation giant H&R Block Inc. has said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it overstated net income for 2003 and 2004 by $91.1 million, due mostly to accounting errors. Most of the revisions...

Clarification.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
August 22, 2005... The Web site and listserv addresses for CPAs Reforming Our Profession in "Crop: AICPA financials need serious examination" (Accounting Today, July 25-Aug. 7, 2005, page 6) included hyphens because they broke between two lines due to length. The...

Tax preparation ASPs: More room in the market.(more and more companies are coming up with Application service providers rax preparation technology)
August 22, 2005... The dominant players in application service provider tax prep technology continue to consolidate their positions. But there is still room for smaller ones to enter the market. Once described as "the next big thing to still be coming," the...

Outsourcers remain optimistic despite missing growth targets.
August 22, 2005... Barbara Kogen and her partners at the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based accounting firm NSBN LLP decided to relieve their employees during the "crunch time" of tax season 2002 by outsourcing a few hundred K1s, 1099s and other returns. Using...

AICPA gets ready to expose drafts on audit standards.(American Institute of CPAs has finalized several documents that should improve the auditing of private companies)(Auditing Standards Board is also assessing its recent exposure draft on audit documentation)
August 22, 2005... The American Institute of CPAs has finalized several documents that should improve the auditing of private companies and the development of nonaudit reports and compilations. Three of the documents, approved by the Accounting and Review...

Fin. planners performing mid-year client checkups.(investor plans could go hatwire with terrorist attacks)
August 22, 2005... Advisors who are planning for the rest of 2005 face changes that could derail even the best-made investor plans. Calm waters in both equity and fixed-income markets could face hurricane gales in the face of terrorist attacks, a continued...

AICPA resources.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
August 22, 2005... The American Institute of CPAs has an enormous wealth of resources available online - so much so that it's sometimes overwhelming. Here's just a sampling of what they've made available. * 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy for Women -...

Footnotes.(Citrin Cooperman & Co. LLP gives away its first annual high school grants)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... CITRIN COOPERMAN - TOO COOL AT SCHOOL: Citrin Cooperman & Co. LLP, a New York-based CPA firm, has determined the winners of its first annual high school grant program. Students were selected based on academic achievements, as well as a...

Should A-M-T be G-O-N-E?(Alternetive Minimum Tax was recently abolished by President's Panel on Tax Reform )
August 22, 2005... On a professional level, tax time for me means a series of futile attempts to contact CPAs and whole firms that have basically gone into hibernation until the tulips and crocus begin to bloom. Even the simplest request, such as confirming an...

My old Roget.(an appreciation of Roget's thesaurus)(Column)
August 22, 2005... As a writer, I am curious as to the style and substance of other writers. Verbiage is unlimited, and I have long noted in the writings of some a desire to impress the reader with words that may be motivated by conceit rather than to report, to...

Many audit committees are still 'rubber stamps'.(the functioning of many audit committees is not up to the spirit of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 )(Column)
August 22, 2005... The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 mandated significant changes in the relationship between CPA firms and their publicly held clients. Specifically, Section 301 of the law established that "the audit committee... be directly responsible for...

Taxing Issues.
August 22, 2005... * IRS SUSPENDS PLAN TO CLOSE ASSISTANCE CENTERS: The Internal Revenue Service will scrap its plans to close 68 Taxpayer Assistance Centers after Congress insisted the agency further study the potential impact of the closures. In a...

AMT bill could stop some taxpayers' option nightmare.(AMT Credit Fairness Act)
August 22, 2005... The AMT Credit Fairness Act has been introduced in the House with significant bipartisan sponsorship. The bill provides relief for incentive stock option alternative minimum tax victims by accelerating the refund of stranded ISO AMT overpayment...

Early distribution penalty exceptions: Be very careful!( withdrawals from Individual Retirement Accounts for medical expenses, higher education expenses or first-time home buying will be penalty-free should not be assumed)
August 22, 2005... IRAs, 401(k)s and similar retirement savings vehicles have experienced phenomenal growth over the past several years, both in terms of the number of participants and in the sheer dollar value of those accounts. Unfortunately, the opportunities...

Change of Auditors.(ConAgra Foods Inc auditor is Grant Thornton L.L.P)(Intrado Inc auditor is Grant Thornton L.L.P)(Kewaunee Scientific Corp auditor is Bekaert & Holland )(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... * AFC DISMISSES KPMG: Fast-food operator and franchisor AFC Enterprises dismissed Big Four firm KPMG as its auditor and named Grant Thornton as its replacement. The Atlanta-based parent to the Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits brand did not state...

Some analysts grumbling over GAAP; some aren't.(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
August 22, 2005... The preparers of financial statements have long been grumbling about accounting standards, which they say are needlessly complex and painfully burdensome. The users of financial statements, on the other hand, have generally advocated detail and...

WYWAP: When GAAP meets Alice's restaurant.(the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposal to eliminate the Rule 203 exception will create misleading financial statements. )
August 22, 2005... Back in the 1960s, Arlo Guthrie arrived on the scene with a song that lasted about 40 minutes if every part was performed. The enduring refrain is, "You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant." The chorus about an endless menu...

PFP Briefs.(Paychex Inc ranked among 401(k) recordkeepers)(American College unvieled Foundations of Financial Planning course)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants awarded 2005 Summit Award )
August 22, 2005... * AICPA WINS AWARD FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY EFFORTS: The American Institute of CPAs has received a 2005 Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives for its national 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program. The AICPA...

Rating risky borrowers: Determining credit scores.(criteria that determine risks)
August 22, 2005... What criteria determines a good or bad credit risk? Lenders often use a FICO score for an objective measure of credit risk. This is a calculation of your credit report by the Fair Isaac Corp., a Minneapolis-based provider of creative...

Survivor benefits for the spouse of a plan participant.(laws and regulations of survivor annuity)
August 22, 2005... A survivor annuity, either in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity, or QJSA, if the participant is alive on the starting date, or a qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity, or QPSA, if the participant dies before the starting...

Tech Briefs.(Blackbaud Inc revenue)(Cougar Mountain Software Inc introduction of shipping software called CMShip)(Sage Software Inc partnered with First Research Inc)
August 22, 2005... * COUGAR MOUNTAIN RELEASES SHIPPING SOLUTION: Nonprofit and point-of-sale software provider Cougar Mountain has released new shipping software called CMShip. Integrating directly into Cougar Mountain software, the CMShip product pulls...

Everyone wants suites - but what exactly are they?(a suite is built around the idea that when a customer buys a solution, he buys as comprehensive a solution as he can)
August 22, 2005... What exactly is a suite? It's a question for which even suite software providers have a difficult time formulating one answer. One thing they could all agree on, however, was that a suite is a set of solutions, or one all-inclusive...

A 'differentiating' retreat.(the Siegfried Group LLP's summit in Las Vegas)(Column)
August 22, 2005... I recently experienced the most "differentiating" firm retreat (I prefer to call it a firm summit). It occurred in May at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. I know what most of you are thinking... the partners must have had a great time....

Software & Services.(CCH Tax and Accounting allows users to take the CPE exam online with immediate grading)(RIA's online tax and accounting research platform now has more source material and new functionalities)(American Institute of CPAs' online portal, CPA2Biz, recently unveiled its Audit & Control Technology Store)
August 22, 2005... CPE exams online Having survived the remote train wreck, and the 20-day trek through the unforgiving desert, you stumble home in the middle of the night only to realize that you need to get some continuing professional education credits...

Books.
August 22, 2005... Making technology pay Here's the thing about people who work in technology departments: They like technology. Some of them even love it - which means that they often lose sight of its real purpose in the business environment, which is to...

Coming Events.(Calendar)
August 22, 2005... - AUGUST - 22-23: AICPA National Governmental Accounting & Auditing Update Conference - East, American Institute of CPAs. Washington. Contact: www.cpa2biz.com/conferences. 22-23: Financial Statement Fraud, Association of Certified...

People.(appointments)
August 22, 2005... CALIFORNIA Haskell & White LLP, Irvine, announced a number of promotions: Andy Chung and Rose Luu have been promoted to manager in tax; June Chang, Karen O'Campo and Ryan Woodhouse to senior in tax; and Haijin Wang and Tiffany Huynh to...

Firms.(accounting services)(Brief Article)
August 22, 2005... CONNECTICUT Kostin, Ruffkess & Co. LLC, Farmington, will merge in Themistos & Dane PC, Springfield, Mass., effective Sept. 1. MASSACHUSETTS G.T. Reilly & Co., Milton, a six-partner firm with 30 employees, is celebrating its 50th...

Advertiser Index.(accounting services)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
August 22, 2005... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 ADP 4 CCH Tax and Acctg. 11, 23, 31, 33 Creative Solutions 2 Lockhart 8, 9 ...