Accounting Today articles from January 2009

Accounting Today archives from January 2009

TAX AND FINANCIAL PLANNING: In crisis, opportunity: Tax clients need PFP advice.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Roger Russell The economic turmoil of the past year presents a unique opportunity for accountants to broaden their practices to include financial planning. "Now more than ever, people need the advice of professional planners,"...

Batten down the hatches! Simple, effective strategies to help your firm weather economic turmoil.(Crisis Center)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Gary Shamis There is a general misconception that our industry is recession-proof. This mindset holds that since everyone needs to file a tax return or have an audit done, accounting firms should always have revenue coming in. ...

IN BRIEF.(financial professionals surveyed for economic conditions view)(Rand and Associates has launched a new program )
January 5, 2009... Executives: worse to come Mountain View, Calif. - Seventy-five percent of financial executives in North America say that economic conditions in their industry are worse or far worse than they were six months ago, and nearly a third expect...

IRS advisory report spotlights communication, economic downturn.(Internal Revenue Service)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Roger Russell The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council's 2008 Report contains more than 70 recommendations on a wide variety of issues affecting tax administration. The recommendations focus on communication, relief and...

IN BRIEF.(Tax Practice)
January 5, 2009... E-Filing Surges 12 Percent Washington, D.C. - Individual taxpayers e-filed nearly 90 million tax returns this year, an increase of more than 12 percent compared to last year, a record according to the IRS. Of 155 million returns filed,...

TAX STRATEGY: A Top 10 list of 2008 developments for 2009 tax strategies.(Tax Practice)
January 5, 2009... Byline: George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe One technique for giving better focus to tax planning in a new year is to look back at the old one. Our column for this issue of Accounting Today uses this strategy, looking at significant 2008...

Easy does it: FASAB proposes 'reasonable' reporting on G-PP&E.(Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Glenn Cheney The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board has issued a proposed standard that would let federal agencies continue to prepare financial reports with reasonable, rather than precise, estimates of general property,...

IN BRIEF.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
January 5, 2009... AICPA Backs FASB on Mark-to-Market Study The American Institute of CPAs has written to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging it to allow the Financial Accounting Standards Board to continue to set standards for mark-to-market...

THE SPIRIT OF ACCOUNTING: Financial reporting's role in a crisis.(Assurance)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Paul B.W. Miller and Paul R. Bahnson In a Nov. 3, 2008, press release, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board jointly announced they would be holding three round tables in the U.K.,...

Don't veer off course: Stick to your financial plan!(Financial Planning)
January 5, 2009... Byline: J. Graydon Coghlan Having a long-term financial plan gives your clients' logic a leg up over their emotions during times of market volatility. The past year has seen the stock markets swinging hundreds of points a day in either...

IN BRIEF.(Financial Planning)(H.D. Vest Advisory Services Inc's remote check scanning and depositing services)(SS and G Wealth Management's Carina Diamond is among Top 250 Advisors)(Eisner L.L.P's Eisner Fund Service)
January 5, 2009... H.D. Vest Adds Remote Check Scanning Broker/dealer H.D. Vest Financial Services is offering remote check scanning and depositing services to its network of financial planning advisors. The new services would allow advisors to provide...

Higher tab for higher learning; Economic crisis and rising tuitions prompt closer look at college saving.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Richard Stolz The stock market crash, plummeting real estate values and the credit crunch have created general-purpose anxiety for most CPA clients. But for those with children someday headed for college, that looming burden weighs...

Mid-range software provides a more robust solution.(Technology)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Ted Needleman There are a number of ways that your clients can outgrow their entry-level accounting software. One of the more common instances is that a growing client totally embraces the accounting system to a degree where it has...

IN BRIEF.(Technology)
January 5, 2009... MYOB Upgrades Premier MYOB has released the 2009 version of its MYOB Premier Accounting software, with extra payroll, security, search, print and spell check features for small businesses. Customers can now save paycheck details from...

BLOOMER'S BLUEPRINT: In a merger, IT is usually the last to know.(Technology)
January 5, 2009... Byline: L. Gary Boomer Technology plays an increasingly critical role in all firms, yet information technology departments are generally the last to know when a firm is merging with another - or being merged. Why? IT is typically...

Glamor? No. Profit? Yes! How one firm came to dominate the government sector in its region.(Meech & Co. PC.)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Gale Crosley We tend to associate successful CPA firms with interesting clients that offer high-visibility products and innovative services. At least for me, that image has not typically included firms that handle government or...

IN BRIEF.(Certified Public Accountants)(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... CPA2Biz to Resell Google AdWords to Accounting Firms New York - The American Institute of CPAs' business subsidiary CPA2Biz has signed a deal with Google to offer Google AdWords as a way for accounting firms to market and promote their...

If You Worked Here ... Meet the inaugural class of Accounting Today's Best Firms to Work For.(Best Firms To Work For)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Liz Gold What makes an accounting firm a great employer? Is it exceptional benefits? Flex time? Opportunities for advancement? As you might expect, the tactics that make for success vary from firm to firm; however, one value...

The Best Accounting Firms to Work For.(Best Firms To Work For)(List)
January 5, 2009... Small firms (15-24 employees) Turnover Avg. training Rank/Firm Headquarters Employees rate (%) hours/employee Chief executive Web site 1 Mark Bailey & Co. Reno, Nev. 16 6 80 Mark Bailey www.markbaileyco.com 2 Swindoll,...

The Best Firms' Best Practices; Percentage of the Best Firms to Work For with positive responses to the following questions (except for first line - average number of years in service of highest-ranking official).(Best Firms To Work For)
January 5, 2009... Small firms Midsized firms Large firms All firms Average years the highest ranking official/CEO has been in office for the organization: 15.0 16.0 13.7 15.4 Do you offer performance bonus or incentive programs? 80% 97% 100% 97% Do...

New Products.(Practice Resources)
January 5, 2009... SOFTWARE, HARDWARE & SERVICES Stop Studying If you need to put a value on a client's company, you can take courses, study the complicated art/science of business valuation, and eventually meet the stringent qualifications for a...

PEOPLE.(Practice Resources)(Barron, Yanaros and Caruso PC has promoted Anthony Pizzorusso)(Gilman, Ciocia and Co. has appointed Carlo Della Mea)(Moss Adams L.L.P. has appointed Candace Aldrich )
January 5, 2009... Alberta Ron Meyers, a founding partner of Meyers Norris Penny LLP, Calgary, passed away in November at the age of 80. California Meagan Hayes has joined Haskell & White LLP, Irvine, as director of marketing.... Lyne Noella has...

Board approves PCAOB budget; Audit overseer seeks 9 percent raise.(News)(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Ken Rankin Fear that the U.S. economic meltdown will encourage corporations to cut accounting corners has helped spur the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to approve a 9 percent budget increase for itself during 2009, to...

FIRMS.(Practice Resources)(Henry and Horne L.L.P. received Sterling Award)(Greenstein Rogoff and Co. received 2008 Best of Palo Alto Award)(KPMG L.L.P. received a Corporate Citizenship Award)
January 5, 2009... Arizona Henry & Horne LLP, Scottsdale, received the Sterling Award in Big Business from the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce. California Greenstein Rogoff Olsen & Co., Fremont, has received the 2008 Best of Palo Alto Award in the...

Coming Events.(Practice Resources)(Calendar)
January 5, 2009... JANUARY 5-6: Winter Conference, CPA Manufacturing Services Association, Not-for-Profit Services Association and Real Estate & Construction Advisors Association. Tampa, Fla. Contact: www.the-apa.com. 5-7: Winter Conference, National...

SEC chief accountant to step down.(News)(Securities and Exchange Commission's Conrad Hewitt )(Brief article)
January 5, 2009... Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant Conrad Hewitt announced that he will leave the regulator as the Obama administration takes over. Also leaving will be John White, the director of the Division of Corporate Finance. SEC...

FASB speeds into 2009; Standard-setter girds for full agenda.(News)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Glenn Cheney The Financial Accounting Standards Board by its own accounts had a very productive 2008, and it looks like its output will be even higher in 2009. Though much of 2008 was dedicated to issuing discussion papers that...

IN BRIEF.(News)(Accountants Media Group's new service)(Government Accountability Office's report on Troubled Asset Relief Program)(Internal Revenue Service is not prepared for emergencies according to report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)
January 5, 2009... AMG Launches New Channel New York - The Accountants Media Group, publishers of Accounting Today, Practical Accountant and Accounting Technology, has launched a new channel on its Web site, WebCPA.com, that will address issues and topics...

EDITOR'S DESK: The best of the best.(Opinion)(Editorial)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Bill Carlino, Editor-in-Chief During my three-plus decades as a member of the American workforce, I've been employed by some very good companies and some not-so-very-good ones. I won't regale you with stories of my experiences -...

COMMENTARY: A financial Frankenstein; Deconstructing the argument for the return of Glass-Steagall.(Opinion)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Lou Grumet Today, the United States finds itself in the middle of a financial abyss, with Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Washington Mutual all high-profile casualties. How did we get here? The repeal of...

CBIZ to acquire NYC's Mahoney Cohen; Deal may spark rollup's return to M&A strateg.(News)(Century Business Services Inc.)
January 5, 2009... Byline: Michael Cohn Accounting firm consolidator cbiz has agreed to acquire Mahoney Cohen, a New York-based CPA and business advisory firm, in an acquisition that is expected to contribute about $55 million in annual revenue. Terms...

In out of the rain; Even recession can't stop the steady drumbeat of firm mergers.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Richard Stolz The troubled economy and the credit crisis do not appear to be tempering the ambitions of growth-oriented CPA firms seeking to fulfill their aspirations for mergers. "We're busier now than any time in the last two...

Readers disappointed in Obama editorial.(Opinion: Letters)(Letter to the editor)
January 26, 2009... I just wanted to drop you a quick note that I found editor-in-chief Bill Carlino's letter to the president-elect offensive ("Dear Mr. President-elect," Dec. 15, 2008-Jan. 4, 2009, page 6) - in case you were under the impression that you were...

Open a new business? Now? Starting a business in a recession offers opportunities.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Joseph R. Cardamone Often, the monotony of punching a clock as someone else's employee leads to daydreams of starting a business and being your own boss. In rough economic times, those daydreams may never pass beyond imagination....

Change of Auditors.(Accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown has introduced a new consulting service)(senior citizens polled about the impact of the financial crisis on their retirement savings)(J.H. Cohn appoints Jim Newfrock )
January 26, 2009... WS+B Helps with Recession Princeton, N.J.-Accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown has introduced a new consulting service to help businesses deal with the troubled economy. The firm's Project Forward team includes WS+B's top industry...

CPAs mixed on economy.(certified public accountants)
January 26, 2009... Two recent surveys showed accounting firms displaying a wide range of outlooks on the near-term future of the U.S. economy. In the first, 13 percent of the CPA firms polled over the summer for the CPA Firm Statistical Analysis Reference...

New IRS programs 'appeal' to practitioners.(Internal Revenue Service)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Roger Russell The Internal Revenue Service's announcement of two new alternative dispute programs for offer-in-compromise and trust fund recovery penalty cases comes as welcome news to practitioners who regularly practice before...

IN BRIEF.(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... Congress Kills Minimum Distributions for 2009 Washington, D.C - Congress has passed a waiver of the minimum distribution rule for 2009, but not for 2008, for employer-provided qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts...

TAX STRATEGY: Final tax return preparer regs: Some stability at last.(Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008)
January 26, 2009... Byline: George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe On Dec. 16, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service released the long-awaited final tax return preparer regulations. Although they had been expected to be issued in November, they were further delayed...

IN BRIEF.(survey of practice by certified public accountants)(official accounting standards codification)(Survey)
January 26, 2009... CPAs Starting to Accept IFRS New York - Accountants in the U.S. are increasingly starting to prepare for the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards, according to a survey by the American Institute of CPAs. A 55...

THE SPIRIT OF ACCOUNTING: Top eight to-do's for the new chief accountant.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Paul B.W. Miller and Paul R. Bahnson In November, Conrad Hewitt resigned as chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In mid-December President-elect Obama named Mary Schapiro to replace Christopher Cox as the...

Tax in troubled times; Struggling economy looms over 2009 filing season.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Roger Russell The continuing economic slowdown means that tax preparation and tax planning will be more critical than ever, and this will be reflected in the questions that taxpayers will ask of their preparers during tax season....

Ten challenges for a wealth management practice; And the technology strategies that can help.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Neal Ringquist Investors of all ages, and especially Baby Boomers, are increasingly turning to their CPAs to help them grapple with the financial planning challenges they will face leading up to and during retirement. CPAs are...

IN BRIEF.(College for Financial Planning plans to implement renewal requirements for professional designations )(IPro One and American Business have teamed up to offer insurance products )(Virginia Society of Chartered Public Accountants is offering a free financial wall calendar )(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... Renewal to be Required on Some PFP Designations The College for Financial Planning plans to implement renewal requirements for some its professional designations. The designations that are affected are: the Foundations in Financial...

CCH showcases sales tax suite.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Alexandra DeFelice CCH spent nearly a century selling direct only. But two years ago, the vendor turned things around with a 100 percent indirect model for its sales tax application suite - CorpSystem Sales Tax Solutions. The...

IN BRIEF.(Technology)(Sage North America)(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... Smith Exits Sage Nina Smith, who headed Sage North America's largest division for the last year, has left the company as major changes continue to roll through the organization following the hiring of new CEO Sue Swenson in March. At...

BOOMER'S BLUE PRINT: Behavioral changes and IT spending.
January 26, 2009... Byline: L. Gary Boomer While IT professionals are being asked to do more with less in the current economy, lower costs and a higher return on investment are the results of behavioral changes, rather than a reduction in the IT budget. At a...

Building your planning muscle.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Angie Grissom How do you build up your firm's plan to the point that it effectively guides decisions and resource allocation, while still being flexible enough to meet the changing conditions of your firm and marketplace? You...

IN BRIEF.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board report summarizing its inspection findings on deficiencies )(Citrin Cooperman added a "Growth & Protection Team" to provide business consulting services )
January 26, 2009... PCAOB Reviews Four Years of Audit Firm Deficiencies Washington, D.C. - The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released a report summarizing its inspection findings between 2004 and 2007 of eight of the largest domestic accounting...

New Products.
January 26, 2009... SOFTWARE & HARDWARE The Little Picture From our days hunting on the prehistoric savannah, the human brain is famously adapted for picking out relevant details from a jumble of images. Computers, however, would most likely have starved...

PEOPLE.(Barfield Murphy Shank & Smith appoints Ross Mendheim)(Green Hasson & Janks appoints Jill Joffrion )(Michelle Hutchison has joined Bondi & Co)
January 26, 2009... Alabama Ross Mendheim, a shareholder at Barfield Murphy Shank & Smith, has been appointed to the Transportation Committee of the American Society of Civil Engineers of Alabama.... Aaron K. Waller has been promoted to partner at Machen,...

FIRMS.(Boynton office of Gilman Ciocia Inc. has moved to a larger space)(Bookkeeping Express has opened an office in Baltimore)(Rucci Bardaro & Barrett PC merges with Mathias Barnes & Henshaw PC)
January 26, 2009... Florida The Boynton office of Gilman Ciocia Inc. has moved to a larger space at 970 North Congress Ave., while its Palm Beach Gardens operations have moved to offices in Jupiter at the Admirals Professional Center at 3535 Military Trail....

Social networking @ work; Does your firm have a policy on using the latest Internet trend?
January 26, 2009... Byline: Liz Gold You've seen it: During a moment of "down time," an employee is clicking around on a social networking site - and there you are, unsure what you should do about it. Many firms, it seems, aren't sure either. Yet most...

Coming Events.(Practice Resources)(Calendar)
January 26, 2009... January 27: 2009 Leadership Forum, Enterprise Network Worldwide. Las Vegas. Contact: www.enterprisenetworkworldwide.com. 28: Audit & Appeals State and Local Tax Half-Day Conference, Illinois CPA Society. ICPAS, Chicago. Contact:...

CORRECTION.(News)(Correction notice)
January 26, 2009... The item on Rene Lacerte in The Year Ahead special report gave incorrect customer and employee numbers for his current company, Bill.com. The figures given are actually for his old company, PayCycle. Our apologies for the error.

SEC study defends fair value.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief article)
January 26, 2009... The Securities and Exchange Commission has released its congressionally mandated report on mark-to-market accounting, calling for improvements in the standards, but not their suspension. The 211-page report's recommended improvements include...

2009: A year of research and deliberation at GASB.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board )
January 26, 2009... Byline: Glenn Cheney Though the Governmental Accounting Standards Board expects to issue only one new standard in 2009, the year should be productive enough to position the board for significant advances over the subsequent two years. ...

EDITOR'S DESK: Insecurities Exchange Commission?(Opinion)(Editorial)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Bill Carlino, Editor-in-Chief December was not a marquee month for the Treasury Department or Homeland Security. The final month of 2008 witnessed a pair of massive breaches of competence from two units under the auspices of each -...

COMMENTARY: Addressing the minority recruitment challenge.(Viewpoint essay)
January 26, 2009... Byline: Frank Ross Forty-two years ago, I, a man of color, entered a profession that was virtually all white: accounting. I faced and overcame many challenges, rose through the ranks over four decades, and became a managing partner and...