Accounting Today articles from July 2005

Accounting Today archives from July 2005

Compromising offers in compromise: Highway bill provision could effectively kill the IRS's OIC program.
July 11, 2005... The passage of H.R. 3, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Act of 2005, will effectively destroy the Internal Revenue Service's offer-in-compromise program, according to both the American Association of Attorney-CPAs...

PCAOB: 12% of cos. below SOX standard.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reports)
July 11, 2005... Washington -- Better than one in every eight U.S. corporations that have undergone the more rigorous audits mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act during the past year have been flagged for ineffective internal controls over their financial...

Tougher regs help boost software for nonprofits.(accounting software for non profit organizations regulations)
July 11, 2005... Since Sarbanes-Oxley regulations went into effect for large enterprises, holding executives accountable for their company's financial records, the spotlight has been slowly turning towards nonprofits. For example, California, Hawaii, Iowa,...

Call For Nominees.
July 11, 2005... Accounting Today has issued a call for nominations for our highly regarded Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list. The list profiles the wide range of figures who wield influence over the profession, from accounting firm...

Weiser merges in Leslie Sufrin & Co.(Weiser LLP)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... New York -- Weiser LLP has merged in nearby Leslie Sufrin and Co. PC, a boutique accounting, audit, tax and consulting firm that specializes in servicing publishing, media, information and communication businesses. New York-based LS&Co....

IRS board worried over TAC cuts.(Internal Revenue Service)(Taxpayer Assistance Centers)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Washington -- The IRS Oversight Board at its recent meeting raised concerns over the agency's plan to close some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers this fall. As part of cost-cutting measures, the Internal Revenue Service said in May that...

HealthSouth in $100M deal with SEC.
July 11, 2005... Birmingham, Ala. -- HealthSouth Corp. will pay $100 million to settle charges brought against it by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that it cooked its books by more than $2 billion over several years. In a March 2003 civil...

IRS behind the wheel on charitable auto deductions.(Internal Revenue Service)
July 11, 2005... The popularity of donating used cars to charity has increased in recent years, to the point of creating a subculture of companies that do nothing but collect and distribute old cars. Billboards, radio ads, flyers in the mail - they all attempt...

Europe taking timid steps toward tax harmonization.
July 11, 2005... Brussels -- An initiative to breath life into the harmonization of corporate taxation rules across the European Union - which got a nudge from the European finance ministers' meeting in September - is now rumbling its way through the...

O'Kelly steps down; KPMG names new chair, CEO.
July 11, 2005... New York -- The board of KPMG LLP elected Timothy P. Flynn as chairman and chief executive, succeeding Eugene O'Kelly, who will step down to deal with a recent diagnosis of advanced-stage cancer. The firm also named John B. Veihmeyer as...

FASB converges with global standard on acct'g changes.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 11, 2005... Norwalk, Conn. -- The Financial Accounting Standards Board has taken a long look at an international standard on accounting changes, found it better than the American standard, and promptly adopted the gist of the international position. ...

CPAs juggle hire-wire act of working with other pros.
July 11, 2005... Courts look unkindly at CPAs who advise clients beyond their qualifications - for instance, by dispensing legal advice (if they're not attorneys as well). Knowing where to stop and refer clients to other professionals, as well as how to manage...

Practice Management & Development.(Directory)
July 11, 2005... * Accountants' Marketing Secrets - www.mostad.com Mostad & Christensen Inc. sells marketing aids such as client newsletters, brochures, newsletters and newspaper columns. * Accounting Transition Advisors - www.transitionadvisors.com ...

Footnotes.(Harvey Bookstein)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... RBZ Co-Founder Donates $1M to Alma Mater: Harvey Bookstein, co-founder of the Los Angeles-based CPA and business advisory firm RBZ LLP, recently donated $1 million to Cal State University Northridge, for the creation of the Harvey and Harriet...

Andersen meets King Pyrrhus.(Arthur Andersen L.L.P)
July 11, 2005... Once, after a particularly rough football game between my high school and our archrival, I spotted our coach glumly sauntering into the locker room. I thought his manner was out of sorts for a coach who had just handed a major-league...

Letters.(opinions of tax professionals on new rules passed by Internal Revenue Service)
July 11, 2005... Author responds to criticism of IRS article In response to Michael Franskoviak's letter, "The dark side of the IRS" (Accounting Today, June 6-19, 2005, page 6), I agree that the Internal Revenue Service does not hand out tax penalty...

Clarity: The secret ingredient of strategic plans.(Column)
July 11, 2005... I have either worked in or served accounting firms since 1990, and I see a number of consistencies from firm to firm. My greatest observation is that most, if not all, firms find it difficult to implement great ideas. These ideas may be in the...

AICPA adds new director of international relations.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Gary M. Scopes)
July 11, 2005... New York -- The American Institute of CPAs has named Gary M. Scopes as director of international relations. In his new role, Scopes will serve as liaison for the AICPA's international activities and strategic initiatives. He will report to...

Tax Practice.
July 11, 2005... IRS CONTINUES CRACKDOWN ON FRIVOLOUS CASES: The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers that the agency isn't kidding around when it comes to frivolous cases aimed at delaying tax collections. In published cases since the beginning...

How tough is enough? OPR set to enforce stricter rules.(Office of Professional Responsibility)(rules for accountants)
July 11, 2005... The decline in ethics that took place over the 1990s hurt not only the taxpayers who took positions they shouldn't have taken, but it also hurt responsible tax practitioners, who saw their business taken away by the more aggressive practices,...

IRS clarifies new rules on auto donations to charities.(Internal Revenue Service)
July 11, 2005... Some taxpayers apparently believe that the ability to claim a charitable deduction for donation of an automobile ended on Dec. 31, 2004. The advertisements on the radio would make one believe that nothing has changed, and that you can still...

Change Of Auditors.
July 11, 2005... DELOITTE RESIGNS AS ICU AUDITOR: Big Four firm Deloitte has resigned as independent accountant to ICU Medical Inc., a San Clemente, Calif.-based provider of medical connectors and intravenous systems. In a federal filing, the client said...

AICPA and FASB making move forward on new GAAP.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)
July 11, 2005... One of contemporary accounting's most persistent issues has taken a turn toward resolution as the American Institute of CPAs and the Financial Accounting Standards Board agreed to consider creating some kind of generally accepted accounting...

Dumping Rule 203 exceptions: FASB's troubling move.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 11, 2005... Every so often, people and organizations mistakenly become so self-satisfied that they stumble into assuming their own infallibility, often accompanied by smug statements. Inevitably, events turn these boasts to dust. Here are a just few...

PFP Briefs.(Piascik & Associates)(financial concierge program)
July 11, 2005... FIRM UNVEILS FINANCIAL CONCIERGE PROGRAM FOR PRO ATHLETES: Piascik & Associates, a Richmond, Va.-based CPA and financial planning firm, has rolled out a financial concierge program for its professional athlete clients. The program is designed...

Let the investors beware: NASAA issues red flag list.(North American Securities Administrators Association)
July 11, 2005... Do you know the best ways you as an investor can get cheated? The North American Securities Administrators Association recently identified some of the most common ploys used today to cheat investors: * Ponzi schemes. You know this as a...

529 plan assets reach $55.4 Bn.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Washington -- Assets in Section 529 college savings plans rose to an estimated $55.4 billion at the end of the first quarter, according to data released by the nonprofit College Savings Foundation. The quarterly asset total was up 6 percent...

CFOs: Economic optimism hits 12-mo. Low.(Chief financial officers)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... New York -- Chief financial officers' optimism about the economy and their own companies' prospects is the lowest it has been during the past 12 months, according to a survey of Financial Executives International members. According to a...

ADP forges relationship with ICPAS.(Automatic Data Processing small business services)(Illinois Certified Public Accountants Society)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Roseland, N.J. -- Payroll and human resources services provider ADP Small Business Services has forged a relationship with the Illinois CPA Society to serve as the preferred payroll services vendor for the society's more than 22,000 members....

Tech Briefs.(accounting software)
July 11, 2005... INTUIT LAUNCHES TAX RESEARCH SITE: Intuit has launched an online tax research Web site called TaxAlmanac, in which it is enabling practitioners to post questions and answers. Although the beta site has links to government Web pages, most of...

Write-up software adapts to new uses, new practices.(Write-up packages)
July 11, 2005... Marc Einbinder, a CPA and founder of his own accounting practice in Miami, believes that traditional write-up practice - where a client comes in with a shoebox full of receipts - is becoming a "thing of the past." But that does not mean...

Drake names Hubbs CEO, prez.(Drake Software)(Tim Hubbs)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... Franklin, N.C. -- Tax prep software maker Drake Software has named company veteran Tim Hubbs, CPA, as its president and chief executive. He replaces company founder Phil Drake, who will continue to serve as chairman of the board and as a...

Trial balance: Crank out quick statements.(Trial balance software)
July 11, 2005... Just as time and billing software can be considered a subset of practice management, trial balance is often thought of as a subset of write-up. That's because the ultimate product of these two applications, a set of financial statements, is the...

Vendor information.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... * CaseWare Working Papers CaseWare International Inc. 2425B Channing Way, Suite 590 Berkeley, Calif. 94704 (800) 267-1317 www.caseware.com Pricing: Single-user license - $499; up to five users - $1,299. * CCH...

Leadership and training: Success in the trenches.(Ostroff, Fair & Company, P.C.)
July 11, 2005... It's the 15th of February and your firm is just going into the heart of tax season. The managing partner learns that the document management implementation is not going as planned. In fact, people - including partners - have lost their...

Software & Hardware.
July 11, 2005... Inventory help The thing with taking inventory is this: While you spend time counting the things you want to sell, you're not actually selling them. Speed is of the essence, so Intuit has introduced a new physical inventory scanner to go...

Books.(Balanced Scorecard Diagnostics: Maintaining Maximum Performance)(Show Me QuickBooks 2005)(The Loyalty Advantage)(Starting & Building a Nonprofit)(Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits)(A Manual for Investors, a guide to assessing governance policies)(Book Review)
July 11, 2005... 'Show Me! QuickBooks' The phrase "I know what I'm doing" has probably preceded more military debacles, chainsaw accidents and irretrievable computer disasters than any other. While there will be plenty more defeated armies and one-handed...

People.(Jordan Castellon & Co. LLC)(Callaway Partners)(ASSA Abloy Door Group LLP)(Sturn Wagner Lombardo & co)
July 11, 2005... CALIFORNIA Paul T. Kangail has joined Rothstein Kass as tax principal to lead the Walnut Creek and San Francisco tax practices. He brings over 17 years of experience, including service as a tax partner at Deloitte & Touche, and 10 years at...

Firms.(IGAF Worldwide)(JFS Auditores Independentes SS)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... GEORGIA IGAF Worldwide, Atlanta, an international accounting network, announced the addition of JFS Auditores Independentes SS, Recife, Brazil. IOWA Theobald, Donohue & Thompson PC celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this...

Advertiser Index.(Illustration)
July 11, 2005... Advertiser Page 1st Global 15 AccountantsWorld 23 Best Software 7 CaseWare 22 CCH Tax and Accounting 19, 32 ...

Money...Money...Money.(PDP Services)(Doris Rubenstein)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2005... We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." The words come from the mouth of someone who needs no introduction: Sir Winston Churchill. It relates to our cover story, "The Giving Guru," a feature about Doris Rubenstein who...

Practice Growth.(Financial Services Authority in London )
July 11, 2005... New Online Resource The Financial Planning Association has an updated version of FPA MarketPlace, an easy-to-use online resource directory designed to connect financial planning professionals with products and services to enhance their...

Partners.(ValueNomics Research)
July 11, 2005... Joint Ventures on Rise According to a KPMG survey, some 64 percent of U.S. executives claim they will increase the use of strategic alliances over the next 24 months, with 52 percent planning to be involved in joint ventures within two...

Regulatory Watch.
July 11, 2005... FPA Challenges SEC The Financial Planning Association filed a petition in a District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a SEC rule exempting certain broker-dealers from the requirements of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940....

Tech Tools.(RetireNow version 2005)(EstateWorks 2005)(AdvisorAssurance)
July 11, 2005... 10-K Lookup CCH, a provider of tax and accounting software and services, has, via a licensing agreement with 10-K Wizard Technology, an online provider of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, given its Accounting Research Manager...

Asset Builders.(ES Magnitude)
July 11, 2005... Business Performance Management Cartesis has unveiled its ES Magnitude, a leading-edge financial consolidations and management reporting application. It enables managers to accurately and quickly assess and report on the financial state of...

The Giving Guru.(Doris Rubenstein)(PDP Services)
July 11, 2005... Many female clients may be caught up in what I call 'the cheesecake syndrome,'" says Doris Rubenstein, founder and principal consultant in Minneapolis-based PDP Services. "What does cheesecake have to do with financial planning? My mom died...

Accountants Beware!(Column)
July 11, 2005... When someone meets you for the first time, here's the scoop, good or bad: * In one-quarter of one second, a person makes up his or her mind about you. * In the first five seconds, a person's first impression of you flips back and...

The Progression of Wealth: (CPA Wealth Provider's interview with Jay L. Heller, CPA/PFS and Brian Kohute, CPA/PFS, CFA, co-owners and co-creators of "The Progression of Wealth").(Interview)
July 11, 2005... Messrs. Heller and Kohite are considered experts on CPAs delivering wealth management or financial planning services. What is their background and to what do they attribute their success? We both are CPAs and have been our entire...

The Entrepreneur's Personal Financial Plan.(Column)
July 11, 2005... When entrepreneurs consider their personal finances, it is critical they understand that the greatest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will occur in the United States over the next decade. An estimated $10 trillion is expected to...

Understanding Your Clients From the Inside Out.(course for financial planners)
July 11, 2005... Golden Gate University in San Francisco has shattered the financial education mold with a new 15-week course that explores the emotional side of financial planning. The Psychology of Money: Understanding Your Clients From the Inside Out,...

Financial Literacy for Women.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' new online course)
July 11, 2005... The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has launched a financial literacy program targeted toward women. It is named 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy for Women and focuses on educating and empowering women to take control of...

3rd Annual Financial Planning Awards Call for Nominations.
July 11, 2005... Nominations are now open for CPA Wealth Provider's Third Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms Broker/Dealers Financial Planning Software Vendors Winners are those firms or...

Some are glum as SOX turns 3.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
July 25, 2005... If corporate accountants got the chance to blow out the candles on the Sarbanes-Oxley birthday cake, they'd probably wish the birthday boy would go away. Investors, on the other hand, would probably applaud and call for many happy returns....

Epidemic of ID theft spreading: Security strategy tops Tech agenda.
July 25, 2005... June marked the latest in a series of massive breaches of identity security, when a shipment of unencrypted tapes of information on 3.9 million Citigroup customers was lost while en route to a credit-reporting agency. But the loss of the...

H&R cell block? Jailbirds scam IRS.
July 25, 2005... Washington -- While the Internal Revenue Service is working overtime to send tax cheats to prison, officials at the tax service are discovering that a considerable portion of them are already behind bars. During hearings before the House...

Action Idea: Character witnesses.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... No offense, but there are more credible sources of information about your company than your marketing department. Take your clients, for instance - a testimonial from a satisfied customer can be worth a hundred brochures. The trick is to reach...

House approves $10.5B for IRS.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Treasury appropriations bill in early July to provide the Internal Revenue Service with $10.5 billion in fiscal year 2006. The Senate has yet to take up consideration of the bill. ...

Bush nominates Cox as SEC chair.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Christopher Cox)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Washington -- President Bush formally nominated Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., to become the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, succeeding William Donaldson, who stepped down June 30 after nearly two-and-a-half years at...

SEC settles with KPMG Canada.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(KPMG L.L.P. (Toronto, Canada))(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Washington -- The Securities and Exchange Commisson has settled with KPMG Canada and two of its partners for the audit firm's lack of independence related to its audit of Southwestern Water Exploration Co., a now-bankrupt Colorado concern. ...

Ebbers to settle civil litigation.(Bernie Ebbers for accounting fraud)(MCI Inc)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... New York -- Facing a potential prison sentence of 85 years for his conviction in the massive accounting fraud at WorldCom, former chief executive officer Bernie Ebbers agreed to pay $5 million and transfer the majority of his assets to a...

Accountants' malpractice insurance is in state of flux.
July 25, 2005... The CPA professional liability market is in a transitory period. "We're coming off a hard market, where prices were increasing," said Ric Rosario, vice president of Redwood City, Calif.-based carrier Camico. "We're in transition at this...

Deloitte, Grant Thornton can be sued for Parmalat.
July 25, 2005... Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche and international firm Grant Thornton lost their bid to dismiss a class-action suit brought against them by investors of now-bankrupt Italian dairy conglomerate Parmalat. A federal judge in New York recently...

PwC names new head of global assurance practice.(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (New York, New York))(appointment of Rob Ward )(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... New York -- Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has named Rob Ward to head its global assurance practice - the company's largest line of service. Ward had previously served as deputy global assurance leader and will succeed Gerald Ward (no...

IIA paper helps internal auditors express opinions.(Institute of Internal Auditors)
July 25, 2005... Altamonte Springs, Fla. -- Internal auditors have always had a problem expressing an opinion - or rather, expressing an opinion that others take the right way, with a proper understanding of its scope and type and the criteria used to produce...

SEC to hit Scrushy with civil charges.(Richard Scrushy of HEALTHSOUTH Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Washington -- Barely a week after a federal jury found HealthSouth founder Richard Scrushy not guilty of participating in a massive accounting fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission was preparing civil charges against the former chief...

Web Cites: Tax Information.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... * IRS Tax Stats - www.irs.gov/taxstats The revamped Tax Stats page on the Internal Revenue Service Web site includes a wealth of statistical information on individuals, businesses, charities and IRS operations organized by category. The...

Footnotes.(Margolin, Winer and Evens L.L.P.)(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... MW&E HOLDS SECOND ANNUAL BOWL-A-THON: Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP, a New York-area CPA and business advisory firm, recently held its second annual Bowl-A-Thon and raised roughly $3,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Organized by the...

Big Four Redux.(KPMG A/S tax services)
July 25, 2005... Recently, the American Film Institute ranked the 100 top movie quotes of all time and broadcast the results in a prime-time show. The results were fairly predictable, featuring the usual suspects, such as, "I coulda been a contenda" and "Here's...

A noteworthy CPA.(Certified public accountants)(Column)
July 25, 2005... In August 1941, I answered three classified ads in The New York Times for entry-level accountants. The previous decade, mired by the Great Depression of the 1930s, was not favorable to accounting graduates, and the quoted salaries would be...

Crop: AICPA financials need serious examination.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(CPAs Reforming Our Profession )
July 25, 2005... The story "Council OKs 'Little GAAP' strategy" (Accounting Today, June 20-July 10, 2005, page 1) was subtitled "AICPA financials come under fire." It reported that six American Institute of CPAs members, under the banner CPAs Reforming Our...

Business developers will help you earn and grow.
July 25, 2005... When your clients ask for advice that borders on legal counsel, you steer them toward a competent attorney, right? Similarly, when you are in the market for a new house, you look for a realtor, not an investment banker. The same holds true...

Taxing Issues.
July 25, 2005... TAX REFORM PANEL GETS TWO-MONTH REPRIEVE: The President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform will get an additional two months to complete its work. The White House amended the executive order creating the panel to give the group until Sept. 30,...

Like-kind exchanges: A boon for middle-class investors.
July 25, 2005... Middle-class taxpayers who sell their first investment property are shocked when they find that a major portion of their gain on the sale is due on the alternative minimum tax. That's because most of them don't bother consulting with their...

Dodging the ceiling for self-employed health insurance.
July 25, 2005... Chief Counsel Advice 2000524001 recently reminded self-employed individuals of a fine point that some apparently have been missing lately. The earned income (net earnings) limitation for above-the-line medical premium deductions must be applied...

Investors must arbitrate BDO shelter case.
July 25, 2005... New York -- In a victory for accounting firm BDO Seidman, a federal appeals court judge reversed a district court decision and ruled in late June that a group of investors can't sue BDO Seidman over the sale of an illegal tax shelter, and...

Change Of Auditors.(Accredited Home Lenders)(Concord Camera Corp)(Silicon Image Inc)
July 25, 2005... ACCREDITED HOME LENDERS DISMISSES D&T: Accredited Home Lenders said that it has hired national firm Grant Thornton as its independent accountant, replacing Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche, which was dismissed. A federal filing did not give...

The IMA redefining itself: First the world, then U.S.(Institute of Management Accountants)
July 25, 2005... Montvale, N.J. -- Paul Sharman says that he's trying to save the management accountant community. Actually, he sounds like he's trying to save the nation. But it looks like he may have to save China first. As president and chief...

Rule 203 exceptions could prevent future Enrons.
July 25, 2005... In our prior column, we began to explain the importance of having Rule 203 exceptions, both as a matter of quality control and as a portal to progress for managers who realize that generally accepted accounting principles aren't good enough....

Investigations in the post-SOX environment.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
July 25, 2005... In today's post-Sarbanes-Oxley corporate environment, all companies face heightened scrutiny and increased reporting responsibilities for corporate wrongdoing. However, they also now have the benefit of the new confidential reporting mechanisms...

PFP Briefs.(SBLI USA Mutual Life Insurance Company Inc)(surveys on financial planners)(defined-contribution plans)
July 25, 2005... INVESTORS WANT MORE IN DC PLANS: Investors today want more options and advice in their defined-contribution plans, according to a survey of plan sponsors. The number of investment choices in defined-contribution plans now averages 16, down...

Put the 'personal' back in personal financial planning.
July 25, 2005... Question: What do tax season and the family scrapbook both have in common? Answer: They are both keys to growing your firm's financial planning practice. During tax season, many of our members met with most, if not all, of their...

Charitable deductions for clients' vehicle donations.
July 25, 2005... The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 provides that the amount of a deduction for charitable donations after 2004 of qualified vehicles where the claimed value is more than $500 depends on the charity's use of the donated vehicle. ...

SEC fights itself to save mutual fund rule.(Brief Article)
July 25, 2005... Washington -- In a divisive 3-2 vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission amended and re-approved a proposed rule requiring the directors of mutual funds to be independent that had been ruled against by a federal court in a lawsuit a little...