Accounting Today articles from July 2006

Accounting Today archives from July 2006

Tax software vendors begin '07 push.(rules for taxation)
July 10, 2006... With the tax filing season over, tax software vendors hope to get a head start on next season's sales by offering special summer season discounts and tryouts. At the same time, preparers have some time to tinker with different software to find...

At FASB, progress is behind the scenes.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 10, 2006... NORWALK, CONN. -- Don't expect many heavy pronouncements from the Financial Accounting Standards Board during the second half of 2006, but behind the scenes there will be a lot of progress and a good number of lesser documents on technical...

Third time's a charm at Treasury?: Wall Street titan Hank Paulson to be Bush's economic guru.
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- High-profile Wall Street heavyweight Henry "Hank" Paulson is expected to assume a major role in helping shape the nation's economic policy, as the former chairman and chief executive of investment banking concern Goldman Sachs...

Recruiting in cyberspace.(usage of search engines)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... When it comes to hiring, the Internet has gone a long way to equalizing large firms and small firms, giving the latter much greater reach and higher exposure. Here are some strategies for making the most of it: * Create ads in the...

News Brief: KPMG gets OK for $153M settlement.(decipline of KPMG L.L.P. (New York, New York))(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... NEWARK, N.J. -- KPMG LLP received federal court approval for a $153 million settlement with more than 200 wealthy investors who bought questionable tax shelters from the Big Four firm. In issuing his opinion, U.S. Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh...

News Brief: Dixon Hughes acquires Trammell.(Dixon Hughes PLLC acquires with Trammell and Co)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Dixon Hughes PLLC has acquired South Carolina's Trammell & Co. PA, an accounting firm focused on the construction industry. Financial terms of the deal, which became effective June 1, were not disclosed. Trammell's...

News Brief: IRS Loses Loaded Laptop.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A laptop containing the fingerprints of nearly 300 Internal Revenue Service employees and job applicants is missing, according to published reports. In total, the agency said that it believes the computer contained information on...

News Brief: Disciplined CPAS Still Hold Licenses.(Certified public accountants)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- While the Securities and Exchange Commission has taken disciplinary action against more than 50 accountants in 2005 and 2006 for misconduct, few have paid compensation to shareholders and nearly half of them continue to hold valid...

GAO discovers thousands of 'deadbeat' exempt orgs.(United States. Government Accountability Office)
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Congressional investigators have uncovered a new breed of tax chiselers - deadbeat charities that shortchange the government and their own employees by failing to pay millions of dollars in payroll taxes. As tax-exempt...

Equitable, Ahold prove it: Europe has scandals, too!(pension and retirement planning)
July 10, 2006... BRUSSELS -- If the U.S. financial sector is reeling from recent events such as the debacle at Fannie Mae - where the mortgage financing concern recently paid $400 million in penalties to settle charges of faulty accounting - and numerous...

SEC hires new deputy general counsel.(Securities and Exchange Commission new appointments)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that securities lawyer Andrew N. Vollmer will serve as its deputy general counsel. Vollmer, 52, is a partner in the international law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and...

Career resources.(Website list)
July 10, 2006... Accountants Inc. - www.accountantsinc.com An accounting and finance staffing company, with candidate listings, a marketplace guide and more. Ajilon Finance - www.ajilonfinance.com Formerly Accountants On Call, Ajilon is a finance...

Footnotes.(Crowe Volunteer Investment Program )(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... CROWE GROUP LAUNCHES FOUNDATION: Super-regional CPA and business advisory firm Crowe Group has launched the Crowe Foundation, a concern that will provide grants to nonprofit organizations while also creating opportunities for Crowe personnel to...

Intuit launches reseller program for QB Enterprise.(QuickBooks Enterprise Solution)
July 10, 2006... MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. -- Responding to increased user demands for a structured reseller program for its QuickBooks Enterprise Solution, and to ease the transition from other accounting software packages, Intuit Inc. is launching the...

Advisors struggling to find best compensation method.(certified public accountants)
July 10, 2006... CPA advisors continue to debate what pricing and compensation strategies best fit their culture. Advisory firms seek to find the specific method that charges clients fairly and allows them to pay simply, and in which the firm receives adequate...

My dinner with Enron.(retirement planning)
July 10, 2006... Nearly six years ago, I was cautioned against taking this job because, I was told, "Nothing exciting ever happens in the accounting profession," and that I would be bored to tears. Dissecting that misguided prognostication with a series of...

Commentary: Don't rely on the kindness of strangers for long-term care.(baby boom generation)
July 10, 2006... If you're like most Baby Boomers, you're used to being in control. When situations turn sour, you assess the situation and take action. Laid off from your job? You take the bull by the horns and find another one - or maybe even start your own...

Letters: An inappropriate cartoon.(Letter to the editor)
July 10, 2006... The cartoon in the June 5-18, 2006, edition of Accounting Today is the subject for this letter. I can't put in words how inappropriate this cartoon is for this publication or any publication. Life is very valuable. Stan Atkinson ...

Where are all the women rainmakers in accounting?
July 10, 2006... With all the talk about attracting and retaining talent in our profession, there may be a solution that's as close as your office. In fact, it's inside your office. Helping women CPAs realize their rainmaking potential motivates them to "be all...

Taxing Issue: IRS Simplifies E-Filing For Corporations, Shareholders.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... The Internal Revenue Service announced regulatory revisions that the agency hopes will remove impediments to e-filing for corporations and shareholders. "This is a win-win situation for businesses, shareholders and the IRS," said...

Taxing Issue: Treasury Announces Ways To Simplify Tax Payments.( U.S. Department of the Treasury )(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced two initiatives aimed at simplifying the way small businesses, individual taxpayers and tax preparers file and pay their federal taxes. The initiatives include: * Enhanced batch provider...

Taxing Issue: Man Indicted For Tax Evasion, 'Vapor Combustion' Scheme.(Octane International Ltd)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... The founder of Colorado-based Octane International Ltd., whose primary business was raising money for the development of an alternative fuel additive called "vapor phase combustion," is facing indictment by a federal grand jury. William Orr,...

Planning ahead: E-filing and the 2007 filing season.
July 10, 2006... While practitioners are still scrambling to make sense out of the recent tax reconciliation legislation, significant changes in tax legislation are already in effect for 2006 - changes that may have a huge impact on the tax pro's 2007 tax...

Final Code Section 199 Regs Are Not The Final Guidance.
July 10, 2006... The fact that the new regulations under Code Section 199, released on May 24, 2006, are the final regulations should not be interpreted as an indication that the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service will not be looking at Code Sec. 199 for...

Change Of Auditors.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... E&Y RESIGNS SM&A: SM&A, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based provider of proposal management and procurement consulting to clients vying for government and commercial contracts, said that Big Four firm Ernst & Young has resigned as its accountant. A...

Change Of Auditors: Allied Motion Hires Ehrhardt, Keefe, Steiner & Hottman.(Wynn Resorts Inc.)(Allied Motion Technologies)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Allied Motion Technologies, a manufacturer of control systems and instrumentation for the marine, rail, power generation, and oil and gas industries, named Ehrhardt, Keefe, Steiner & Hottman PC its new independent accountant. Ehrhardt...

FASB seeks comments on insurance contracts acct'g.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 10, 2006... NORWALK, CONN. -- As part of its broader initiative to improve financial reporting for insurance accounting, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is seeking constituent comment and perspective on the potential bifurcation of insurance and...

How FASB can make GAAP for pensions more bearable.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 10, 2006... This column presents most of our comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board concerning its exposure draft on accounting for pensions and other post-retirement benefit plans. The draft was published on March 31 of this year, with...

SOX whistleblower rights limited.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... WASHINGTON -- In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court said that public employees do not have blanket rights to file lawsuits as part of whistleblower protections under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Since SOX became law in 2002, about 750 people have...

Study: Web sites poor at getting leads.(usage of websites)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- While professional services firms claim that their Web sites are a key part of their marketing efforts, as a whole their sites do a mediocre job of generating leads and describing their expertise, according to a study from marketing...

Nicolaisen on reporting: 'We need to get this right'.
July 10, 2006... NEW YORK -- The former chief accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that the accounting profession must stand strong in advocating for more transparent financial disclosure and serve as a model for the rest of the world. ...

PFP Briefs.(Personal finance planning)(ollege for Financial Planning's 2006 Survey of Financial Planning Trends)(National Association of Personal Financial Advisors )
July 10, 2006... STUDY SAYS FEE-ONLY ADVISORS BOOSTING CLIENT REVENUE Fee-only financial advisors are increasing client numbers, revenue and profits at impressive rates, according to a new benchmarking study issued by the National Association of Personal...

A 'Prudent Man' is hard to find: Manage fiduciary risk.
July 10, 2006... Did you know that your clients could be held liable for their employees' missed investment opportunities? Through a number of recent class-action lawsuits over the mismanagement of pension plans, corporate fiduciary responsibility has been...

Option for a 'period certain' for pension distributions.
July 10, 2006... If a company's plan permits, pension annuity payments may be provided for a certain period of time - as long as it is not longer than the period under the Uniform Lifetime Table for the participant's age as of his birthday in the same year in...

Tech Briefs: More Companies Sign On For SEC's XBRL Project.(Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA)(US Securities and Exchange Commission)(Extensible Business Reporting Language initiative )(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Several months after offering new incentives for companies to furnish their financial information in computer-readable interactive data format, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that another trio of firms has joined the...

Tech Briefs.(Sage Software)(GoFileRoom)(financial services software)
July 10, 2006... SAGE UNVEILS WAREHOUSE AUTOMATION MODULE Business software developer Sage Software unveiled a new Warehouse Automation module for its Sage MAS 500 enterprise resource planning software. Intended for distribution companies that use...

Vital records protection: Guidelines for your firm.
July 10, 2006... Would your company survive a devastating disaster or business interruption? This is a question that has been at the forefront of most business' concerns for a few years now, and one that needs to be continually asked in the future. The...

LexisNexis releases InterAction 5.5.(Customer relationship management software)
July 10, 2006... OAK BROOK, ILL. -- Customer relationship management provider LexisNexis Interface Software has released InterAction 5.5 - an upgrade of its flagship CRM product for professional services organizations such as accounting and law firms. ...

Software Review: Low-cost accounting: Small cost, big features.
July 10, 2006... It's funny how quickly we adapt to new technology. Just a bit over two decades ago, Ken Olsen, the president of then-giant minicomputer vendor Digital Equipment Company, wondered, "Why would anyone want a computer on their desk?" Today,...

Vendor information.(accounting software)(Buyers guide)
July 10, 2006... QuickBooks Premier 2006 Intuit Inc. P.O. Box 7850, MS 2535 Mountain View, Calif. 94039-7850 (800) 4-INTUIT www.quickbooks.com Price: Single user - $399; five users - $1,399. Microsoft Small Business Accounting...

Why so many technology projects fail.
July 10, 2006... You have just completed your annual firm partner meeting, and the decision was made to move forward with the selection and implementation of a content management system. You want to ensure success. What are the critical factors? Why do some...

Software.(financial services software)(Buyers guide)
July 10, 2006... Everest online It's not quite the historic integration of chocolate and peanut butter, but the recent launch of Everest On-Demand does combine powerful business management capabilities with the ease of use and cost savings of the...

Books.(Buyers guide)
July 10, 2006... Cultures of fraud While we wouldn't go so far as to say that we have a culture of fraud here at New Products, we wouldn't recommend that you take a check from us. That's why our immediate superiors would benefit from Executive Roadmap to...

Proposed disclosure.(General Electric principal pension plans for 2005)(Table)
July 10, 2006... General Electric principal pension plans for 2005, proposed disclosure Comprehensive income Prior Deferred Annual Asset Liability service G/L cost ...

People.(financial services appointments)
July 10, 2006... CALIFORNIA Robert Greene has joined the audit and business advisory services team of Haskell & White LLP, Irvine, as information technology audit practice leader. He is a Certified Information Systems Auditor, and previously worked for...

Coming Events.
July 10, 2006... - JULY - 10: CCH Spring Seminar - Leveraging Technology to Drive Your Strategic Advantage, CCH. Hilton Anaheim Hotel, Anaheim, Calif., or Cobb Galleria Center, Atlanta. Contact: (800) PFX-9998 or http://cchgroup.com/springseminars. ...

Firms.(Washington Society of Association Executives)(accounting services)(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... CALIFORNIA Burr, Pilger & Mayer LLP has merged in Brach, Neal, Daney & Spence LLP, San Jose. BND&S was founded 30 years ago, and has a total staff of 25 and $5 million in annual revenue. ILLINOIS Crowe Chizek and Co. LLC, Chicago,...

There's no time for a honeymoon Olson faces a full plate at the PCAOB.(Mark Olson takes over as chairman at crucial stage)(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(Biography)
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- When Mark Olson starts his new job as chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in July, his commute into work won't be all that much different from his most recent gig - a few blocks away at the Federal Reserve...

Insurers still wary, even as claims slow.(dip in malpratice claims against Certified Public Accountant firms )
July 24, 2006... The number of malpractice claims filed against CPA firms dropped noticeably in 2004 and 2005, which may reduce 2006 premiums, say industry observers. However, risk managers from the profession's two largest malpractice insurers are watchful for...

AICPA, FASB explore private co. standards.(private companies)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 24, 2006... NEW YORK -- Following nearly three decades of discussions and complaints about accounting standards written for public companies but applied to private issuers as well, the American Institute of CPAs and the Financial Accounting Standards Board...

Life hacks.(LifeHack.org and 43Folders.org teach you how to improve your life)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... Life, like computer programs, seems to be getting harder and more confusing all the time. Fortunately, just as with software, geeks are working to make it easier. The results are "life hacks" - tips and tricks to make you more efficient. You...

News Brief: Judge: KPMG should cover legal fees.(case dealing with sale of questionable tax shelters)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... NEW YORK -- A judge has ruled that it was unconstitutional pressure from the government that led KPMG to place a cap on how much of the legal tab it would pick up for 16 former employees facing federal charges over the sale of questionable tax...

News Brief: State tax revenues rebound.(State Revenue Report No. 64)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... ALBANY, N.Y. -- State tax revenues for all 50 states totaled $146.6 billion in the first quarter of 2006, up 6.8 percent from the same period in 2005, according to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. However, after adjusting for...

News Brief: California tables accounting changes.(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... SACRAMENTO -- A California State Senate committee canceled a hearing on a bill to allow out-of-state accountants to provide tax services in the state without first notifying the state's Board of Accountancy. At press time, the committee was due...

Correction.(Correction notice)
July 24, 2006... "Interpreting FAS 109 - accounting for income taxes" (June 19-July 9, 2006, page 14) implied that "Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions" had been issued as a standard, and that it is effective for taxpayers whose fiscal years end after Dec....

Lawmakers, IRS seethe as corporate tax gap widens.(Internal Revenue Service)(corporates exploit complexities of Tax Code)
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- While most taxpayers and their accountants complain about the increasingly complex Tax Code, some of the nation's biggest corporations welcome complexity as an opportunity to "game the system." At least that's the latest...

Herz, Tweedie face Senate on pensions and benefits.
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Among the many disasters lurking behind the scenes of the U.S. economy is that of pensions and other post-retirement benefits. It has been estimated that in 2005 there were $472 billion of unrecorded obligations for pension and...

Financial Help.(websites provide guidance)(Website list)(Website overview)
July 24, 2006... * 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy for Women - www.360financialliteracy.org/women This site includes FAQs, articles and tools on money management and financial planning targeted specifically at women and organized by life stages, as well...

Footnotes.(All Star Miracle Home ropes in new accounting partner)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... HARPER & PEARSON TEAMS WITH ALL STAR MIRACLE HOME: Houston-based CPA and business advisory firm Harper & Pearson PC was named the exclusive accounting partner for the All Star Miracle Home charity. The pact also includes oversight of a...

Former OPR chief aimed to make it visible, effective.(views of head of Internal Revenue Service Office of Professional Responsibility )(Interview)
July 24, 2006... Cono R. Namorato was appointed to head the Internal Revenue Service Office of Professional Responsibility in December 2003. The OPR investigates allegations of misconduct or negligence against tax practitioners, and enforces the standards...

Exchange-traded funds are flooding the market fast.(S&P 500)
July 24, 2006... Brand-new exchange-traded funds are coming onto the market faster than most advisors can keep up with them. Issuers such as PowerShares and Barclay's Global Investors file for groups of new offerings in the double digits, and the total...

Virtual routine.(Virtual offices - a reality today)(Personal account)
July 24, 2006... In 1989, I gave a speech to a business class at Florida International University in Miami. During a question-and-answer session afterwards, one student, wise beyond her years, asked me if I thought that someday the traditional office would give...

Commentary: Corporate greed - limitless?
July 24, 2006... I like to read Bill Carlino's editorials - not because he's my boss, but because I like his style. He usually starts with an innocuous phrase, i.e. "When I was 12, I had a two-wheeler and delivered newspapers..." or "I was sitting at a bar in...

Practice Management: 'Stayin' alive!' - Is that all your firm is doing?
July 24, 2006... If you are starting to sing the great 1970s song by the Bee Gees, then this article may be just what you need. The landscape that accountants and other professionals now traverse is filled with detours, dead ends and even landmines. And if...

Taxing Issues.(Commission set up for tax reform)
July 24, 2006... * BILLS INTRODUCED TO FORM NEW TAX REFORM COMMISSION: In the wake of a failed effort to push through a permanent repeal of the estate tax, two Republican congressman have introduced companion bills to form a new "Securing America's Future...

IRS hybrid tax credit draws mixed response from public.(Internal Revenue Service)
July 24, 2006... In late May, the Internal Revenue Service produced interim guidance in the form of Notice 2006-9, describing the new credit for qualified hybrid vehicles. Spawned by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the credit replaces the $2,000 clean-fuel...

Avoiding the hot potato: Cash in like-kind exchanges.
July 24, 2006... Using cash in a like-kind exchange is similar to passing around the proverbial "hot potato" - you don't want to be the one holding the potato, i.e., the cash, at the end of the transaction. If you do so in a like-kind exchange, you are probably...

IRS releases SOI Wizard, tax gap report.(Statistics Of Income )(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- For the next few months, the Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income Division will be testing a prototype SOI Table Wizard. The tool will allow users to create their own custom tables from SOI tabulated data in the...

Change Of Auditors.
July 24, 2006... * LNB BANCORP JETTISONS KPMG: LNB Bancorp. Inc., a holding company for Lorain National Bank, dismissed Big Four firm KPMG as its auditor and hired Plante Moran to replace it. No reason was given for the change. * EXCO DISMISSES PWC:...

FASAB gets down to basics for federal gov't accounting.(Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board)
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Having gotten down to the building blocks of the federal books, the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board has issued a concepts statement exposure draft on the definitions and recognition of the elements of accrual-basis...

Rule 203 could have saved us all from Enron.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
July 24, 2006... On May 25, the jury returned verdicts against Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, nearly wrapping up the Enron saga. We're confident that many join us in satisfaction that justice has been served. Our feelings are mitigated, however, as we...

Getting down to terms: Principle points of FASAB's exposure document.(Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board )(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... * Asset: A resource that embodies economic benefits or services that the federal government can control. * Liability: A present obligation of the government to provide assets or services to another entity at a determinable date, when a...

Qualifying cars: Vehicles that have been certified by the IRS as eligible for the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit and the applicable credits.(Table)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid CVT $2,100 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (SULEV) MT $1,700 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid (SULEV) CVT $1,700 2005 Honda Insight CVT $1,450 ...

PFP Briefs.(CCA Small Business Group LLC)(National Association of Personal Financial Advisors recognizes Tom Bradley)(Wealth Advisor Institute)(Personal Financial Planner )
July 24, 2006... * CCA OFFERS NEW DEFINED-BENEFIT PLAN: CCA Small Business Group LLC, a provider of retirement plans for sole proprietors and small businesses, has unveiled its new OurMax plan, a Web-enabled, high-deferral retirement plan for small business...

Small biz retirement plans coming under IRS scrutiny.
July 24, 2006... Nobody wants to be the bearer of bad news, but small business owners should be aware that the Internal Revenue Service is stepping up its examinations of companies' retirement plans this year, hoping to catch those that are cheating their...

Rolling over to a qualified plan from a traditional IRA.
July 24, 2006... An individual who is planning to retire will often roll over the assets in her qualified plan into a traditional IRA, e.g., so that she will have more control over how the funds are invested. If the plan permits (and only if the plan...

Fannie Mae executives face Senate.(Federal National Mortgage Association)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Testifying with blunt honesty before the Senate Banking Committee, Fannie Mae's top executives said that it will be years before the mortgage giant can recover from an accounting scandal. Fannie Mae's president and chief...

FPA launches Career Center.(Financial Planning Association)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... DENVER -- The Financial Planning Association has unveiled the FPA Career Center, a tool designed to help those in the market for a new job and those looking to hire new employees. The site has more than 170 financial planning job openings...

How not to be a millionaire.(Survey)(Brief article)
July 24, 2006... NEW YORK -- Although many Americans hope to retire as millionaires, many are on a track that falls considerably short, according to a USAA survey conducted by Harris Interactive. According to the results, 51 percent of employed U.S. adults...

Tech Briefs.(Microsoft Corp. launches business management tool)(Virchow Krause sells Virchow Krause Technology Solutions arm)(Cyma Systems elevates Sheila Merryman)
July 24, 2006... * MICROSOFT LAUNCHES DYNAMICS AX 4.0: Microsoft Corp. has unveiled its North American launch of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, an automated and streamlined business management tool. Unveiled at the recent TechEd 2006 conference in Boston, Dynamics...

SEC crackdown on options in tech sector hits Intuit.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
July 24, 2006... MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. -- QuickBooks parent and tax and small business software provider Intuit Inc. has become the latest in a series of companies to have the Securities and Exchange Commission question their stock-option grants. The...

Building an IT help desk that can actually help!
July 24, 2006... AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Running a successful and efficient help desk can be a matter of thinking outside the box and taking advantage of initiatives elsewhere in your firm, said Greg Davis, information technology director and principal at Salina,...

Client Portals: Document management turns an eye to clients.
July 24, 2006... For Newport News, Va.-based CPA firm Carmines, Robbins and Co., installing a document management system took care of four problems at once: a significant reduction in the amount of room needed for client files; a secure loss-prevention system...

Strengthen your IT governance, focus and evaluation.
July 24, 2006... Who is responsible for IT in your firm? Do you have a written technology plan and budget? Is technology viewed as a strategic asset, or as overhead? Are you adequately staffed in the IT department, and in the firm as a whole? Do you have the...