Accounting Today articles from January 2005

Accounting Today archives from January 2005

PCAOB proposes tax service limits.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
January 10, 2005... In a move triggered by lawmaker's concerns over the marketing of abusive tax shelters by some accounting firms, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed new rules restricting the ability of accountants to provide tax services...

A job for all seasons: Moving from tax prep to planning.(Tax preparation services)
January 10, 2005... Practitioners who began adding tax planning services to their basic preparation several years back have found that it's a small step to branch out completely into year-round financial planning. "There's a natural link between tax prep and...

This is not your father's CPE.(continuing professional education)
January 10, 2005... James Simpson, CPA and owner of Indianapolis-based Financial Technologies & Management, remembers all too well the continuing professional education classes of recent years. "We used to sit through the whole eight hours like a sponge,...

Turn out that light!(office electricity saving tips)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... You know that hum that forms the background noise in your office? That's your office equipment devouring electricity. Some money-saving tips: * Turn 'em off. Shut of PCs, monitors, printers, copiers and lights every night. If you can't...

New guidance on SAS 99: Do auditors get enough?(Statement on Auditing Standards)
January 10, 2005... What four words cause public accountants to cringe more than, "Where were the auditors?" That's the question when financial fraud comes to light, especially when someone other than the auditors found it. It happened at Enron. It happens...

CFOs: Q1 hiring forecast's flat.(hiring of accounting and finance professionals )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Plans to hire accounting and finance professionals apparently aren't on the list of New Year's resolutions of most chief financial officers, according to a Robert Half International survey. The vast majority of CFOs surveyed (86 percent)...

FASB hands down final options rule.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... At long last, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued its final rule mandating that companies expense at fair value the stock options that they grant to their employees. The rule, years in the making, moves options from the...

GASB issues ED on firing benefits.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board issues exposure draft that establishes guidance for termination benefits)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has published an exposure draft that establishes guidance for termination benefits to state and local government employers. The draft, Accounting for Termination Benefits, would establish accounting...

Citrin Cooperman merges in firm.(Citrin Cooperman and Co. merges with J.P. Bryan and Co. )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Accounting and business consulting firm Citrin Cooperman & Co. has merged Brewster, N.Y.-based CPA firm J.P. Bryan & Co. into its fold. The deal will add revenue of $600,000, one partner and three staff to Citrin Cooperman's White Plains...

Deloitte names deputy CEO.(Deloitte & Touche LLP has named Brian Derksen to the post of deputy chief executive.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche LLP has named 26-year veteran Brian Derksen to the post of deputy chief executive. Derksen, 53, also remains a member of Deloitte's executive committee and a member of the global board of directors of Deloitte...

High 'degree' of changes for 529 college savings plans.(investments)
January 10, 2005... Saving for college has become a cottage industry. There are now over 80 varieties of the Section 529 plan alone. The result is a complex maze of investment options, cost structures, tax benefits and financial aid implications. The federal...

EU's insurance accounting moves along at snail's pace.(European Union)
January 10, 2005... Europe is bracing for two major accounting reforms in the insurance industry, but most fear that the schedules could extend to at least 2007 and possibly to 2010. One of the reforms currently in the pipeline will consist of IFRS4 Phase II,...

Education Resources.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... * AICPA - www.aicpa.org Right on the institute's homepage are sections for students and educators, as well as a section on the CPA Exam. For continuing education, check out the institute's portal, CPA2biz.com. * CourseBrowser.com -...

Footnotes.(Dana Basney and Josh Maxwell, an accounting firm, gets The Enrique S. Camarena Educational Foundation Inc. award)
January 10, 2005... HOOSIER CPAS GATHER FOR DAY OF SERVICE: In an effort to mobilize hundreds of CPAs throughout Indiana, the Indiana CPA Society recently organized its second annual "CPA Day of Service." Some 378 volunteers donated a full day to assist with a...

Help wanted?(Accounting services)
January 10, 2005... During the time when my parents were pouring money into the widening black hole that was my college education, my roommate once queried me as to the shortest amount of time I had spent on a summer job before either quitting or being shown the...

What is your brand?(Accounting services)
January 10, 2005... I see it all the time in the accounting profession: firms focusing their client messages on a listing of the services that they deliver or the products that they implement. Unfortunately, these listings don't mean as much to clients and...

The discipline of practice growth: The research call.(Certified public accountants)
January 10, 2005... You may be surprised to uncover a health tip in an article about revenue growth, but that's exactly what I've got for you. It's guaranteed to minimize stress, and it has nothing to do with food or exercise. It's "the research call," an...

Grassley, Baucus call for investigation of IRS OICs.(Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus are calling for independent investigation for Offer in Compromise Program)(United States. Internal Revenue Service)
January 10, 2005... Senate Finance Committee chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Max Baucus, D-Mont., are calling for an independent investigation by the Government Accountability Office of the Offer in Compromise Program. In a letter to Treasury...

When a regular tax advisor becomes a 'material advisor'.(Tax law)
January 10, 2005... With the tax law becoming increasingly complex, it is no surprise that there often can be several well-intentioned interpretations of a particular provision. Also no surprise is the expectation of many clients that a fee for planning advice...

Taxing Issues.(Interest rates for calculating amount owed on refunds and deficiencies)(increase in minimum threshold for Federal Unemployment Tax Act deposits)(instructions for Schedule M-3, Net Income (Loss) Reconciliation for Corporations with Total Assets of $10 Million or More)
January 10, 2005... IRS INTEREST RATES UNCHANGED FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2005: Interest rates for calculating the amount owed on refunds and deficiencies will remain unchanged for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2005, the Internal Revenue Service said. ...

Accounting for IPR&D - a work still in progress.(In-process research and development)
January 10, 2005... Nearly a decade has passed since IBM purchased Lotus Development Corp. and attracted widespread attention to the potentially large write-offs that were possible on financial statements for purchased in-process research and development. The...

Changes in IPR&D.(In-process research and development)
January 10, 2005... Pre-1990s * Amounts written off for IPR&D were not significant portions of purchase price. * Little scrutiny by SEC. * Few companies using IPR&D write-offs. 1990s * IPR&D write-offs were large percentages of purchase...

The relevance and reliability of future cash flows.
January 10, 2005... Our series on the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Conceptual Framework has focused so far on broad issues. We first explained the need to acknowledge that the goal for standard-setting is promoting efficiency in the capital markets by...

Change Of Auditors.(appointment of auditors)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... AMEX AUDIT COMMITTEE APPROVES PWC: The audit committee of financial services conglomerate American Express Co. approved the appointment of Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as its auditor for 2005. PwC succeeds Ernst & Young as the...

Hedge funds go mainstream but they're not for everyone.
January 10, 2005... Hedge funds. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett thinks they're a fad, while fellow billionaire George Soros used them to strike it rich. Hedge funds are controversial, complex and often shrouded in mystery. And while they've long been a...

Build a grantor trust that breaks the rules on purpose.(tax law)
January 10, 2005... It's possible for transfers to a trust to be completed gifts for gift and estate tax purposes, even though that trust may still be treated as a grantor trust for income tax purposes, so that the income of the trust is taxable to the grantor...

PFP Briefs.(Ernst & Young sells off investment banking arm to Giuliani Partners LLC)(Ron Alvarado replaces Sean Harrigan at California Public Employees Retirement System)
January 10, 2005... E&Y SHEDS INVESTMENT BANKING ARM: Big Four firm Ernst & Young has shed its investment banking arm by selling the practice to the consulting firm run by former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. Giuliani Partners LLC bought Ernst &...

Outperforming: Hedge fund returns.(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... (part 1 of 2) Strategy 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Aggressive growth 0.50% 35.50% 15.10% 16.40% 35.20% Distressed securities 2.70% 18.40% 20.80% 14.70%...

Survey: Obsolete software is costing U.S. firms billions.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Obsolete and redundant software is a major drain on companies' information technology budgets, according to a survey by the Business Performance Management Forum. Among 226 IT professionals and C-level executives surveyed, more than 40...

Chief execs see IT as key to future gains in productivity.(Chief executives fastest growing private companies expect increase in productivity)
January 10, 2005... Chief executives of the nation's fastest growing private companies expect a significant increase in productivity over the next 12 months, with most of the credit going to workforce efficiencies and technology improvements, and some attributed...

Tech Briefs.(TaxSlayer Pro partners with Vertical Lend)(Best Software introduces Simply Accounting 2005 Basic)
January 10, 2005... BEST UNVEILS SIMPLY ACCOUNTING 2005: Best Software has released Simply Accounting 2005 Basic, an updated version of its proprietary integrated solution for small businesses. Priced at $49, Simply Accounting 2005 features a clear graphical...

In mid-range software, the only constant is change.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 10, 2005... For the past few years, the mantra in the mid-range has been that Best Software will soon own the market. Acquiring solid and reliable competitors and positioning its lineup well, Best has indeed made strong inroads. But it doesn't own the...

Vendor information.(Directory)
January 10, 2005... * Accpac Advantage Series V. 5.3 Accpac (Best Software) 6700 Koll Center Pkwy., Third Floor Pleasanton, Calif. 94566 (800) 945-8007 www.accpac.com Pricing: Small Business Edition - starts at $495 per module. * Accpac...

Five strategies for improving your firm in 2005.
January 10, 2005... Firms are faced with opportunities and challenges as they head into the 2005 busy season. Most firms have had a good year, but are concerned over their inability to attract people and the challenge that they face in how to handle the...

The No-Growth Model: Revenue is stagnant, but overhead grows 5% annually.(Accounting services)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 10, 2005... Current Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Revenue $5,500,000 $5,500,000 $5,500,000 $5,500,000 Labor and overhead $3,946,000 $4,143,300 $4,350,465 $4,567,988 Net before partner salaries...

Software.(Accounting software)
January 10, 2005... Simply Accounting 2005 Simply Accounting received a "World Class" award for Best Business Accounting Software from PCWorld in 2003 and 2004, and they're aiming for similar honors with their 2005 release of this small business accounting...

Books.(Lasser's Tax Guide)(Mason Looks Back)(The Complete UCITA)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 10, 2005... Lasser's tax guide Among our predictions last issue was that tax season was coming, and here's proof: the arrival of the 2005 edition of J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax, the perennial guide to income tax prep. It covers all the tax law...

People.(Wentzel, Berry, Wentzel & Phillips)(appointments)
January 10, 2005... * ARIZONA David S. Mork and Timothy H. Shaffer of the Restructuring Group of CBiz Miller Wagner Inc., Phoenix, have received the Certified Turnaround Professional designation from the Association of Certified Turnaround Professionals. ...

Firms.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... CONNECTICUT Blum Shapiro, West Hartford, has joined the American Institute of CPAs' Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. MARYLAND Stout, Causey & Horning, Hunt Valley, has joined SC International, a global independent...

Advertiser Index.
January 10, 2005... Advertiser Page 1st Global 15 CCH Tax & Accounting 9, 32 Cougar Mountain Inc. 23 Creative Solutions 2 Intuit Payroll 19 ...

Hiring troubles hit PCAOB hard.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
January 24, 2005... The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has fallen behind in its plan to recruit a small army of veteran auditors for the coming year. As a result, the oversight body is mulling raising salaries as it tries to compete in a tight...

Looking to sell your firm?(selling management)
January 24, 2005... Just as homeowners have felt the impact of factors such as fluctuating interest rates when hanging up a "For Sale" sign, CPA firms in a selling mode have seen a series of seismic shifts alter the buyer-seller market within the accounting...

Let the tax filing begin!: E-filing, easier forms headline '05 tax season.
January 24, 2005... Tax law changes, expanded electronic services from the Internal Revenue Service, simplified tax filing rules for certain forms and an expected increase in total returns mark the start of the 2005 tax filing season. While the total number...

You're just going to sit on it.(purchasing office equipment)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... The days of the $600 Aeron chair are over. Splurging on expensive office furniture can no longer make up for the lack of common sense or a business plan. In fact, saving on the furniture your staff is just going to kick around and spill coffee...

Bringing the curtain down on solo practice in the U.K.?
January 24, 2005... Solo practitioners represent a unique feature of the accountancy profession in the United Kingdom. From the earliest days of practice, one-man firms have served local clients with purpose, dedication and originality. Their clients often...

Virchow Krause expands in Detroit.(Zalenko and Associates PC)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Midwestern accounting and consulting powerhouse Virchow, Krause & Co. kicked off the New Year by flexing its acquisition muscle. The top-ranked firm has expanded its Detroit area presence with the merger of Zalenko & Associates PC, a $6...

News Briefs.
January 24, 2005... FANNIE PICKS DELOITTE, INTERIM CRO Washington - Two weeks after ousting former auditor KPMG LLP, beleaguered mortgage giant Fannie Mae has hired Deloitte & Touche LLP to perform its 2004 audit and to re-audit prior-period financial...

Survey: It pays to hold CPA designation.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Accounting, finance, and banking professionals who hold a professional credential of some type earned 30 percent more on average than employees in those fields working without a credential, according to a survey by CareerBank.com. ...

GAO reports to lawmakers: EITC fraud drains billions.(Government Accountability Office, Earned Income Tax Credit)
January 24, 2005... Taxpayers who misreported their income to snare unjustified Earned Income Tax Credits are draining $2 billion a year from the U.S. Treasury, auditors at the Government Accountability Office recently told Congress. Another $2 billion a year...

FASB fine tunes income tax statement to fit with AJCA.(American Jobs Creation Act of 2004)
January 24, 2005... Thanks to the help of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, more American jobs may stay in America in the near future. The FASB action came in the form of two staff positions that clarify accounting for corporate income taxes under the...

Web Cites: New search tools.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... * PubSub - www.pubsub.com Short for "publish and subscribe," PubSub is a matching engine that tracks newly posted content and alerts users whenever a match to their query is produced. The site monitors Securities and Exchange Commission...

Footnotes.(Mercadien Group)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... MERCADIEN CONTINUES TOYS FOR TOTS CAMPAIGN: For the fourth consecutive year, Princeton, N.J.-based CPA and business advisory firm The Mercadien Group continued in its tradition of serving as an official Toys for Tots drop off site. "We...

Social Security reform: An oxymoron?(Column)
January 24, 2005... Although I like to consider myself a reasonable distance from retirement, I happen to have an energetic and persistent mother who, between 12-mile hikes in waist-deep snow and bike trips through Canada, lectures me about the evils of the Bush...

Profitability, not growth.
January 24, 2005... Making money in today's competitive environment for clients and professional staff requires a different approach. During the last year, my consulting has focused more on serving fewer clients and measuring client profitability than on expanding...

Outsourcing Boomer.
January 24, 2005... Regarding Mr. Boomer's column, "Outsourcing: Is it time for you to reconsider?" (Accounting Today, Dec. 20, 2004-Jan. 9, 2005, p. 24): Would you consider outsourcing L. Gary Boomer's column to India? Then he won't have to be bothered to write...

Marketing effectively when you're already inside.
January 24, 2005... If you've ever found yourself in this dreaded scenario, you're not alone: As you're wrapping up a meeting with a long-term client, she asks how your firm is doing in the race for a project being sponsored by another executive. You're stunned...

Circular 230 changes tighten standards for pro tax advice.
January 24, 2005... New regulations to Circular 230 calling for "highest quality representation" may encourage malpractice litigation involving tax advisors, according to some observers. The new regs were issued as part of an ongoing effort to improve ethical...

Computing the new sales tax deduction with IRS Pub. 600.
January 24, 2005... The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 permits taxpayers to deduct either their state and local income taxes or their state and local sales taxes as an itemized deduction for 2004 and 2005. As usual with itemized deductions, taxpayers will...

Taxing Issues.
January 24, 2005... BLOCK FINANCIAL ADVISORS SETTLES WITH NASD: H&R Block Financial Advisors, the investment arm of the tax prep giant, agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and to return $325,000 in clients' mutual fund trading profits to settle charges brought against...

FASB stock comp rule ends decade-old debate - for now.
January 24, 2005... Last month, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued its long-awaited final statement on share-based compensation or "stock comp." But many wonder if that's the last that we'll hear of it. Not likely. Statement 123R (R as in...

Fixing the framework: Relevance and reliability.(Column)
January 24, 2005... We have been writing about the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Conceptual Framework, offering suggestions to the board as it fixes up the framework some 20 years after it was produced. So far, we have looked at the overall goal of...

Change Of Auditors.
January 24, 2005... PWC DECLINES RE-ELECTION: Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers declined to stand for re-election as the independent accounting firm for information technology consulting and software engineering provider Tier Technologies, following the...

Clients keen on franchising need lots of planning help.
January 24, 2005... Life gets complicated for entrepreneurs who become franchisors, and many fail for lack of planning. They must exercise special care in forecasting revenues, which can take time to appear, much less mature. They must have a robust back-office...

The deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.
January 24, 2005... There is an above-the-line deduction available for many individual taxpayers for qualified tuition and related expenses. The deductible expenses are defined in the same manner as they are for the purposes of the Hope Scholarship Credit and the...

PFP Briefs.
January 24, 2005... MOST TAX PROFESSIONALS ENTER PFP ARENA VIA BROKER/DEALER: The majority of tax professionals who enter the financial planning business do so by hooking up with an independent broker/dealer firm, according to a report by market research and...

Information security tops AICPA's tech list for 2005.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
January 24, 2005... For the third consecutive year, information security - the processes and procedures designed to protect information technology systems from internal and external threats - has remained the country's No. 1 technology concern, according to the...

CFOs upbeat on economy; expect jump in capital, tech spending.
January 24, 2005... Despite acknowledging the impact of higher producer prices, chief financial officers expect higher capital and technology spending at their companies during the next 12 months, according to a recent survey. The 185 corporate CFOs surveyed...

Tech Briefs.
January 24, 2005... LEXISNEXIS BUYS INTERFACE: Interface Software, which makes the Interaction CRM software line for the professional services market, has been acquired by LexisNexis. Terms were not disclosed. About 120 Interface employees will remain at...

Intuit paycards now accepted by MasterCard merchants.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Intuit Inc., a high-volume provider of business and financial management software, said that its PayCard debit cards will now be accepted at roughly 24 million MasterCard merchant locations worldwide. The PayCards are payroll cards that...

Gartner Inc. to pay $162mn for Meta Group.(acquisition)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Technology researcher Gartner Inc. has agreed to acquire research competitor Meta Group for $162 million in cash. Gartner, which reported $858 million in revenues in fiscal 2003, will pay $10 per share in cash for Meta, which posted revenues of...

Data warehousing: The next generation of usage.
January 24, 2005... In the beginning, there were mainframes - computer behemoths that occupied whole rooms and buildings, churning, blinking, beeping and droning, storing information and eventually producing oversized green-and-white-striped printouts. And...

Leadership: Hard work just isn't enough anymore.(accounting firms human resource management methods)
January 24, 2005... Leadership isn't developed in a day. It takes a lifetime. In today's accounting firms, more focus needs to be put on leadership than simply on charge hours. With the current shortage of accountants (experienced and inexperienced), firms...

Software & Services.(Exact Business Analytics, Master Builder V. 10, SmartDraw 7, LexisNexis AlaCarte!)
January 24, 2005... Exact Business Analytics Giving users more - and more useful - access to the data locked in their computer systems has been a big trend over the past year, and Exact Software is right there at the forefront with its Exact Business...

Books.(on internet fraud)
January 24, 2005... A life of fraud Every time we at New Products steal a paper clip or block of Post-Its from the office, we wonder what our lives would be like if we were big-time corporate fraudsters. The main thing that keeps us from going over to the...

Franchising guides.(Franchising and Licensing: Two Powerful Ways to Grow Your Business)(Franchising: Pathway to Wealth Creation)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 24, 2005... Most books on franchising target would-be franchisees, not franchisors, and they cover such basics as the importance of location in any franchise operation. Exceptions are Franchising and Licensing: Two Powerful Ways to Grow Your Business,...

IRS names new members to Advisory Council, IRPAC.
January 24, 2005... The Internal Revenue Service has appointed 12 new members for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, the group that serves as a forum for IRS officials and public representatives to discuss relevant and emerging tax issues. Council...

People.(appointments)
January 24, 2005... ARIZONA Mark Eberle, managing director of Henry & Horne PLC, Tempe, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Arizona Society of CPAs.... Barry Friefield has joined Abalos & Associates PC, Phoenix, as tax partner. He brings over...

Firms.(accounting services)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... CALIFORNIA ReNew Group, Oakland, has launched "Trust," its client needs analysis application, in North America. The program was created by CEO Shannon Vincent and RAN-ONE co-founder Paul Dunn. FLORIDA Gunn & Co. PA, Jacksonville,...

Roussey receives AICPA recognition award.(Robert S. Roussey gets award from American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... The American Institute of CPAs has named California accounting professor Robert S. Roussey as the 2004 recipient of its Special Recognition Award, which is presented to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the accounting...

Coming Events.
January 24, 2005... - JANUARY - 24: California Professional Ethics Seminar, Gear Up. Fess Parker's Double Tree, Santa Barbara, Calif. Contact: www.gearup.com or (800) 231-1860. 25: Middlesex/Somerset Chapter Dinner Meeting - IRS Tax Forum and New Jersey...

West Coast firm joins The Global Alliance.(Armanino McKenna LLP)
January 24, 2005... The Global Alliance, an association of top-ranked CPA firms formed last month, has expanded its ranks with the addition of West Coast firm Armanino McKenna LLP to the group. Armanino McKenna, a $24 million firm based in San Ramon, Calif.,...

Rothstein Kass to sell fund administration unit.
January 24, 2005... Top-ranked accounting and consulting firm Rothstein Kass, based here, which specializes in serving the alternative investments industry, said that it is selling its interests in RK Consulting, the firm's investment fund administration...

Providence firm expands into Newport.(Brief Article)
January 24, 2005... Regional firm Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., based here, is expanding into Newport with the merger of Casten, Victor & Co. into its fold. The merger, which marks KLR's third in six years, adds one office, revenue of nearly $2 million, and 19...

Certification in the presence of uncertainty.
January 24, 2005... One plank in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is Section 302, a provision that chief executive officers as well as chief financial officers make certain certifications regarding financial and other information contained in companies' annual and quarterly...