Accounting Today articles from February 2008

Accounting Today archives from February 2008

Security still tops tech concerns.
February 11, 2008... New York -- For the sixth consecutive year, information security management reigns as the top initiative that will affect IT strategy, investment and implementation over the next 12 to 18 months, according to the American Institute of CPAs...

Accounting PACs boost funds to Dems.(Political action committees)
February 11, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- With Democrats running both Houses of Congress, the normally Republican-leaning political fundraisers for the accounting profession are starting to tilt to the left. A new Accounting Today analysis of campaign...

Taxpayer Advocate turns focus to cash economy.
February 11, 2008... Unreported income from the cash economy and late-year Tax Code changes are the focus of the first of this years two reports to Congress by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson. In her report, Olson proposed a comprehensive strategy to...

GASB poised to grapple with big issues in 2008.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
February 11, 2008... Norwalk, Conn. -- The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has a host of complex projects on the docket for 2008. The first half of the year will see a few new documents, while the second half will entail mostly discussions. Two of the...

SOX costs lower than SEC thought.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)(Securities and Exchange Commission )(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Worcester, Mass. -- A new report finds that the cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 internal control audit requirements for smaller public companies is actually about 14 percent lower than originally estimated. The...

The delicate art of picking mutual funds.
February 11, 2008... Are you feeling overwhelmed by the task of sorting through a multitude of mutual funds to offer clients? Think of narrowing down the appropriate funds as a funneling process. This technique works for Sean Bergin, managing director of Citrin...

In Brief.(trends in accounting service)
February 11, 2008... AUDIT MARKET GROWING MORE CONCENTRATED Washington, D.C. The audit market for large public companies has become more concentrated among the Big Four firms, but not enough to require corrective action, according to the Government...

Editor's Desk: Presidential tax-onomies.
February 11, 2008... Recently, the front end of my SUV and a wild turkey in dire need of an air traffic controller met head on at roughly 50 miles per hour, sending feathers flying and scattering pieces of my bumper across the road. For some strange reason, the...

Estate tax article recycles old myths.
February 11, 2008... I was really taken aback and terribly upset by Roger Russells article, Calls increase for estate tax repeal, (Accounting Today, Jan. 7-27, 2008, page 10), which repeats many of the well-worn shibboleths concerning the estate tax. By blatantly...

EU's cross-border tax loss faces multi-year fix.
February 11, 2008... Brussels -- The on-again, off-again issue of the offset of tax losses from one part of a company against profits at its headquarters located in another European Union state is resurfacing. But many of those involved in the discussion dont...

IRS guidance seeks to bolster conduct, ease penalty fears.
February 11, 2008... The Internal Revenue Service hopes that new interim guidance for tax preparers will ease concerns over the expanded preparer penalties and heightened standards of conduct that must be met to avoid the penalties. The guidance, contained in...

In Brief.(Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury)
February 11, 2008... IRS BEEFS UP TAXPAYER PRIVACY Washington, D.C - The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury have released final regulations and a revenue procedure requiring tax preparers to obtain consent before they can distribute taxpayer information...

Tax Strategy: Mortgage debt relief act generates new tax strategies.
February 11, 2008... The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 has introduced a new paradigm of tax strategies for those who are falling behind on their home mortgage payments (or anticipate falling behind as the result of a pending adjustable rate mortgage...

Speeding toward convergence: The merging of GAAP and IFRS is closer than you think - and the profession must be ready.(International Financial Reporting Standards)(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
February 11, 2008... The pace of accounting standards convergence is accelerating, and is being driven primarily by an investment community that is rapidly embracing International Financial Reporting Standards. At the same time, technological changes, such as...

Change of Auditors.
February 11, 2008... LANDEC DISMISSES E&Y Landec Corp., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based manufacturer and marketer of polymer products for agriculture, dismissed Big Four firm Ernst & Young as its auditor and named McGladrey & Pullen as its new independent...

Off-balance-sheet financing: Holy Grail or holey pail?
February 11, 2008... One dirty little secret of financial reporting is off-balance-sheet financing. Managers strive after it like the Holy Grail, wanting to take on debt while reporting none or only some of it as liabilities on their balance sheets. They hope...

Abercrombie & Fitch: Effect of OBSF for fiscal year 2007.
February 11, 2008... With OBSF Without OBSF Debt/equity ratio 0.6 1.5 Net income ($mn) $422 $383 Return on total assets 19% 11% Cash from operations ($mn) $582 $703 EBITDA ($mn) $804 $1,027 (c) 2008 Accounting Today and...

Deferred compensation: A new alternative to options? By Steve Parrish.
February 11, 2008... The challenges for creating an effective executive compensation package are many. The executive wants more pay but less taxation, while the company wants incentive-based benefits that bind the executive more closely to the company. The...

In Brief.(merger of Yampolsky Mandeloff Silver Ryan and Citrin Cooperman & Co. LLP)(American College and National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors have entered into marketing and educational agreement)(Financial services conglomerate Raymond James surpassed $1 billion in revenue )
February 11, 2008... CITRIN COOPERMAN CREATES WEALTH MANAGEMENT FIRM A new wealth management firm will launch in May as a result of the merger between Yampolsky Mandeloff Silver Ryan and Citrin Cooperman & Co. LLP. Private investment management company...

Business planning software gets back to basics in 2008.
February 11, 2008... As the marketplace for business planning software matures, it is being cleanly divided into two separate branches. The first addresses the needs of established companies that are looking to validate the performance of the company and gain...

In Brief.
February 11, 2008... MACDONALD JOINS DELTEK Taylor Macdonald, Sage Softwares former executive vice president of channel and sales operations, has joined Deltek as the business software developers vice president of worldwide channels and sales alliances....

IT: A key to profitability, culture, retention and attraction.(Viewpoint essay)
February 11, 2008... I am often asked what differentiates firms that are successful with technology from those that struggle. My standard response is that firms struggle with technology when they view it as overhead, but they invariably profit from it when they...

Help your people to think and act strategically.
February 11, 2008... Perhaps one of the most difficult things is to get young and old accountants to think and act strategically. Most accounting and tax professionals are very good at following work plans. But its a different story when you ask them to change the...

New Products.(accounting software)
February 11, 2008... SOFTWARE, HARDWARE & SUPPLIES BEYOND CHECKLISTS Checklists are fine, as far as they go, but weve found that with a little effort and application, its easy to skip or miss any number of items on a checklist. CPA Service Groups new Disclosure...

People.(RBZ L.L.P.)(Templeton & Co. LLP)
February 11, 2008... CALIFORNIA Sergio Salas has been promoted to manager in the real estate practice of RBZ LLP, Los Angeles, and Dmitriy Pinus has been promoted to senior supervisor in the tax practice. FLORIDA Gary D. Jenkins has joined Templeton &...

Firms.(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... FLORIDA Rachlin Cohen & Holtz LLP, Miami, has changed its name to Rachlin LLP. ILLINOIS Crowe Chizek and Co. LLC, Oak Brook, has been named 2007 Due Diligence/Valuation Firm of the Year by Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor. ...

Coming Events.
February 11, 2008... February 12: Tax Landscape of a Mergers & Acquisitions Deal Conference, Illinois CPA Society. Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, Chicago. Contact: www.icpas.org or (800) 993-0393. 12: Administrative Burden, National Conference of...

Siding With Incumbents.(House and Senate candidates seeking support from the accounting profession)
February 11, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- House and Senate candidates seeking support from the accounting profession are likely to find a receptive ear if theyre already a member of Congress and hold a seat on a key committee responsible for legislation affecting...

Siding With Incumbents.(House and Senate candidates seeking support from the accounting profession)
February 11, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- House and Senate candidates seeking support from the accounting profession are likely to find a receptive ear if theyEre already a member of Congress and hold a seat on a key committee responsible for legislation affecting...

Advertiser Index.
February 11, 2008... Advertiser Page ADP Small Business Services 7 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business 32 Delphis 9 LexisNexis 31 Sage Software 11, 13 Thomson Creative Solutions 2

A Healthy Check on Payroll Expenses.
February 11, 2008... For many not-for-profits, personnel expenditures including payroll, payroll taxes, and fringe benefits can be greater than 50 percent of their total expenses. Yet, many not-for-profits have trouble accurately tracking these costs for all of...

A Healthy Check on Payroll Expenses.
February 11, 2008... For many not-for-profits, personnel expenditures including payroll, payroll taxes, and fringe benefits can be greater than 50 percent of their total expenses. Yet, many not-for-profits have trouble accurately tracking these costs for all of...

Fund Accounting Fills a Definite Need.
February 11, 2008... In 2008, technology will continue to become an integral part of nonprofit accounting. However, the initial wow of certain technological facets has faded and users are realizing the difference between functions that are flashy-but-useless and...

Flexible Financial Systems a Must.
February 11, 2008... Epicor has helped many different kinds of non-profit organizations to be successful in todays business environment by providing enterprise systems and implementation expertise designed to meet the needs of non-profit concerns. Epicor for...

Accounting for Accountability.
February 11, 2008... Accountants may not have the creative reputation typically attributed to the marketing or fundraising departments, but they can play a significant role in the success of fundraising efforts. From single fundraising events to constituent...

Gain Time with BI.(Business intelligence )
February 11, 2008... Nonprofit financial officers, directors, and managers are hired and fired by their ability to manage the financial health of the organization. They are asked to be the change agents, tighten expenditures, manage to the budget, adhere to...

A Note to Nonprofit Investment Committees: Buyer Beware.
February 11, 2008... Increasingly, nonprofits are moving into alternative investments: private investment funds, hedge funds, real estate funds, venture capital funds, oil, and gas funds. The goal is generally higher returns and diversification. In going...

Securing Valuable Data.
February 11, 2008... Its every not-for-profit organizations worst nightmare: you find out that someone has hacked into your computer system and accessed your valuable information. You dont know what was stolen. It could be information about your organizations bank...

Remain Profitable and Serve Not-for-Profits.
February 11, 2008... The call comes in: Were a not-for-profit, can you work with us? Knowing all too well that not-for-profits typically have limited funds and challenging cost allocation issues to contend with, you affirm, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, that you...

Moving Not-For-Profits Forward.(Not-for-profit organizations )
February 11, 2008... Not-for-profit organizations find themselves in a very challenging position. Government and funding sources thrust extremely sophisticated reporting requirements upon them, yet budget and personnel constraints often hamper their ability to...

Supporting Not-for-Profits.
February 11, 2008... From the CFO to the grants administrator and from the development manager to the volunteer in the field, the Serenic Navigator financial and operational software suite supports and enhances the unique workflow processes of not-for-profits,...

Nonprofits Facing New Hot Buttons.(Internal Revenue Service)
February 11, 2008... The start of a new year is always a good time to take a moment to assess the hot buttons that can impact your organization during the coming year. For 2008, IRS reporting requirements and new auditing standards for your external auditors will...

Seven Questions to Ask Before Approving the Purchase of a New Accounting System.
February 11, 2008... Many organizations updated their accounting systems in the late 1990s as they prepared for the new millennium and the requisite change in date structure. With most software having a life cycle of six to eight years, many CFOs are now reviewing...

A wide world of taxes: As companies go global, so do tax issues.
February 25, 2008... As more U.S. firms look toward overseas markets, suppliers or manufacturing facilities, international tax issues have multiplied. At the same time, international tax is less understood and more complex than any other area of tax law,...

Before the storm: Having the right insurance is a crucial part of disaster recovery.
February 25, 2008... Its no secret that creating a firmwide disaster recovery plan helps ensure business continuity in the face of crisis, but having one in place could ultimately affect your insurance premiums as well. Gary Marchitello, managing partner and...

Tax reform looms large in race for White House.
February 25, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- While Democrats and Republicans slug it out on the campaign trail, theres one issue of deep concern to accountants that all of the 2008 presidential candidates agree on: the need for reform of the federal tax system. ...

In Brief.(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... ENRON AUDITOR AGREES TO SEC INJUNCTION Washington, D.C. David B. Duncan, former global engagement partner for Enron at the defunct audit firm Arthur Andersen, agreed to an injunction by the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle...

PCAOB approves new auditing standard.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted to adopt Auditing Standard No. 6, Evaluating Consistency of Financial Statements, and an accompanying set of amendments to its interim auditing standards. The new...

IMA launches small business committee.(Institute of Management Accountants)
February 25, 2008... Montvale, N.J. -- Small companies in the United States have long complained that its unfair in terms of costs and time that theyre required to meet accounting standards that were written for companies that are many times their size. And it...

In Brief.(Financial Accounting Standards Board's income tax accounting standard)(Marks Paneth and Shron Consulting L.L.C's merger with Schneider and Associates)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' opposition to patent law)
February 25, 2008... FASB AGREES TO DEFER FIN 48 Norwalk, Conn. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has agreed to defer the effective date of Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, for nonpublic entities to years beginning...

Editor's Desk: Fiscal and mental fitness.(Editorial)
February 25, 2008... Like most of you, Ive heard my share of employee horror stories over the years. Drawing on personal experience, I once reported to someone who, over the span of just two years, accumulated more harassment complaints than a Kiss concert in a...

Commentary: Accountancy 101, etc., etc.(Personal account)
February 25, 2008... It was June 1936, in the midst of the worst depression with 30 percent unemployment and I had just graduated from Seward Park High School in Manhattan. I had applied to Columbia University, New York University and City College of New York all...

Miller & Bahnson's column has insufficient funds!(Letter to the editor)
February 25, 2008... Every time I open the pages of Accounting Today and turn to the Spirit of Accounting column, Im not sure whether I should don my clown outfit or sackcloth and ashes. The article titled This accounting for cash is not outstanding (Jan. 7-27,...

In Brief.(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission's settlement with auditors)(shortage of accountants in Minnesota)
February 25, 2008... SEC SETTLES WITH UNREGISTERED AUDITORS Washington, D.C. The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued settled administrative orders against eight auditors who improperly issued audit reports on the statements of public companies while...

Lawmakers and White House strike tax rebate deal.
February 25, 2008... Washington, D.C. -- In a deal that lawmakers and the White House hope will help jumpstart a wheezing economy, leaders on both sides of the aisle agreed on a $150 billion economic stimulus plan that would hand most taxpayers rebate checks of...

In Brief.(Weltman Katz Mikell and Nechtow's merger with iseman Leader Adler and Bolnick )(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... CHICAGO FIRMS MERGE Buffalo Grove, Ill. Two venerable Chicago accounting firms have merged. Sixty-year-old Weltman Katz Mikell & Nechtow has combined with 80-year-old Wiseman Leader Adler & Bolnick to form Weltman Bernfield LLC. ...

LexisNexis case hinges on High Court ruling.(LexisNexis Group)(MeadWestvaco Corp.)(Case overview)
February 25, 2008... A case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court could have huge implications for state tax law when its decided in late spring. MeadWestvaco v. Illinois Department of Revenue, argued before the high court in January, is one of the most...

In Brief.(Internal Revenue Service)
February 25, 2008... IRS BOOSTS TAX AUDITS Washington, D.C. u The Internal Revenue Service said that it has increased its enforcement efforts, auditing 84 percent more returns in fiscal year 2007 of individuals with incomes of $1 million or more compared to...

Tax Strategy: Preparer penalties - interim guidance for this tax season.
February 25, 2008... In November, we devoted a column to the issues surrounding the new return preparer penalty standards under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 6694 enacted as part of the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007. Those changes focused on the...

In Brief.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... IRS FILES OVERWHELM STORAGE SPACE Washington, D.C. u The Internal Revenue Service is running out of storage space for the copies of documents it stores on cases closed by its Office of Appeals, according to a report by the Treasury...

Commentary: There they go again!: A timely lesson from the past of standard-setting.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Mortgage Bankers Association)
February 25, 2008... In January, the Mortgage Bankers Association, supported by five of the nations largest lending institutions, asked the Financial Accounting Standards Board to relax certain accounting rules concerning how restructured that is, failed loans...

Change of Auditors.(Esmark's contract with Deloitte and Touche L.L.P.)(Marcus Corp's contract with Deloitte and Touche L.L.P.)(Invesco Ltd's contract with Ernst and Young L.L.P.)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... ESMARK APPOINTS DELOITTE Steel services concern Esmark has appointed Deloitte as its independent accountant effective immediately. In a filing, the Chicago Heights, Ill.-based company said that it previously did not have an independent...

Statement 141R - it's more than bargained for.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
February 25, 2008... In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards 141 (Revised) to implement a number of major modifications and additional refinements in how to account for business combinations....

In Brief.(United States. Securities and Exchange Commission's settlement with Monster Worldwide Inc's Andrew McKelvey)
February 25, 2008... EX-CEO OF MONSTER SETTLES BACKDATING CHARGES Washington, D.C. Andrew McKelvey, the former CEO of job listing provider Monster Worldwide, has agreed to pay $275,989.72 to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges of stock...

Safe and secure: Protecting funds in a 1031 exchange.
February 25, 2008... For investment property owners, the first and last concern in a Sec. 1031 exchange transaction should be safety. Will my funds be secure? is the most important question to ask a qualified intermediary before beginning a Sec. 1031 exchange. ...

In Brief.(2007 Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award)(Dalbar Award)
February 25, 2008... EISENBERG GARNERS PFP DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD The American Institute of CPAs has named Michael Eisenberg, CPA/PFS, of Los Angeles, the recipient of the 2007 Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award. Eisenberg...

Strategies for online backup: Don't wait for a disaster - protect your data now!
February 25, 2008... Backup and recovery are critical for anyone who is building a data-protection structure. From the earliest days of computing, setting aside a recoverable second copy of essential business data has made the difference between a business survival...

In Brief.(Intuit Inc's planning)(Adaptive Planning's contract with RBC Ventures Inc. for finance)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... INTUITES ACCOUNTANT STRATEGY Intuit officials disclosed their 2008 accountant strategy, saying that they would target both full-service firms and tax-driven firms this year. The company, which makes the TurboTax, Lacerte and ProSeries tax...

The different levels of leadership.
February 25, 2008... While many view the terms leadership, management and administration as synonymous, significant differences exist among them. Its not unusual for firms to expect employees to have the skills required for each. However, unique abilities...

Marketing: Does your firm suffer from marketing paralysis?
February 25, 2008... In speaking with CPAs from across the country, Ive diagnosed many cases of marketing paralysis, or inactivity. The symptoms include: * Not knowing how to begin a marketing program. * Outdated firm marketing plans. * The...

New Products.
February 25, 2008... Software & supplies THE CLOCK TICKS As no one tires of pointing out, the Baby Boomers are on the very brink of retiring. Few mention that the next step after retirement is death, but either way, these massive demographic movements mean...

Coming Events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
February 25, 2008... FEBRUARY 25: CCFL Breakfast Series, Illinois CPA Society. Illinois CPA Society Education Center, Chicago. Contact: www.icpas.org or (800) 993-0393. 25-March 1: Public Seminars, Institute of Internal Auditors. Orlando, Fla. Contact:...

Firms.(Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP has acquired certain assets of Barrasso Consulting LLC)
February 25, 2008... CONNECTICUT Haggett Longobardi, Glastonbury, a division of J.H. Cohn, has made a $10,000 donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Tim Friar, left, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut, accepting a...