Accounting Today articles from June 2007

Accounting Today archives from June 2007

Business Valuations: Putting a value on valuation.
June 4, 2007... A business valuation standard that has been incubating for the past five years within the American Institute of CPAs is ready to hatch early next year, and when it does, it could force those who perform business valuations to pay attention to...

Tax Season Lessons: Extensions, e-file surge mark 2007 filing season.
June 4, 2007... Regardless of which of the multiple return dates applied to taxpayers, e-filed returns during the 2007 filing season began pouring in early in the process and kept coming at a steady pace. Statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service...

GAO: IRS must stiffen policies to blunt offshore tax evasion.
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Feeble audit procedures are allowing tax cheats to evade billions of dollars in U.S. tax liabilities each year by hiding funds in offshore accounts, government investigators told Congress. "Offshore tax evasion has...

In Brief: New Jersey CPAs to Undergo Orientation.(Certified public accountants)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... TRENTON, N.J. -- A recent law now requires New Jersey CPAs to attend an orientation program within six months of qualifying as a CPA. The state board of accountancy will get to work determining what exactly that program curriculum will...

In Brief: Sage Announces Major Restructuring.(Sage Software Inc.)
June 4, 2007... IRVINE, CALIF. -- Sage Software is unveiling a fresh infrastructure that aims to shift its business units more closely to its customers' needs, creating two new business divisions, as well as a new chief technology officer position. *...

In Brief: PCAOB Issues 2006 E&Y Report.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(Ernst & Young L.L.P.)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued its 2006 inspection report for Big Four firm Ernst & Young, citing problems in eight of the audit engagements it reviewed. The audit overseer inspectors said that E&Y...

Property tax appeals rising.
June 4, 2007... Nearly three decades ago, California enacted Proposition 13, a highly debated piece of legislation that limited property taxes to 1 percent of the full value of the property, and reduced them statewide by an average of 57 percent. Today, a...

Convergence-related proposals dominate rest of 2007 for FASB.(Financial Accounting Standards Board )
June 4, 2007... NORWALK, CONN. -- Moving forward with plans to converge U.S. generally accepted accounting principles with international financial reporting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board expects to crank out a host of related proposals in...

Editor's desk: Principled rulings.(accounting standards)
June 4, 2007... In junior high school, I had a certain fascination for figure/ground images - those illustrations that, depending on how they were perceived, were either two profiles facing each other or the outline of a lampshade. When I asked the school...

Commentary: CPAs I have known - Pt. 2.(certified public accountants)
June 4, 2007... During six decades as an observer, I have met and known a myriad of accountants - in public practice, as corporate executives, in government positions, as teachers, and in our national and state accounting organizations. To me, some are...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
June 4, 2007... PARDON MY SKEPTICISM The Nehru jackets are still hanging in a lot of closets, alongside the trends for improving the audit profession. Your editorial in the March 19-April 1 2007, issue ("The height of fashion," page 6) suggests the...

Nexus update: The only constant is change: The nexus survey findings are especially important given the decision by FASB not to defer the effective date of FIN 48.
June 4, 2007... Nexus - the amount of contact between a taxpayer and the state that subjects the taxpayer to taxation - continues to vary widely from state to state. In addition, the nexus for sales and use tax differs from the nexus for income tax. The...

In Brief: Former IRS District Director Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud.(Jesse Ayala Cota)(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Former Internal Revenue Service district director Jesse Ayala Cota pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States through his involvement in a tax fraud scheme promoted by the Topeka, Kansas-based organization...

In Brief: IRS: Fed Workers Owe $3 Billion.(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After learning that more than 450,000 federal workers and retirees owe a whopping $3 billion in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Finance Committee is urging the president to step up efforts to collect...

Help on tax strategy patents from the high court.
June 4, 2007... Tax practitioners looking to Congress, the Treasury or the Patent Office for a solution to the perceived problem of tax strategy patents may instead have found some assistance from an expected source - the Supreme Court. A unanimous...

When SOX meets ERM.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)(enterprise risk management)(Four Approaches to Enterprise Risk Management ... and Opportunities in Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance )
June 4, 2007... ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA. -- When Deborah F. Kretchmar, audit director of Horace Mann Cos., flipped through the introduction of Four Approaches to Enterprise Risk Management... and Opportunities in Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance, she knew she had to...

Change of auditors.
June 4, 2007... TECUMSEH PRODUCTS JETTISONS PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Tecumseh Products Co., a manufacturer of electronic motors and compressors, has dismissed its auditor, Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, and named Grant Thornton as its new independent...

Bad accounting by Hertz may not be accidental.(Hertz Global Holdings Inc.)
June 4, 2007... Our last column dug into some of the reporting practices used by Hertz Global, specifically its somewhat misleading depreciation of its rental fleet. We noted that Hertz reported the fleet in the 2006 10-K as a long-term asset, showing...

Software review: Retirement planning rapidly emerging as a software specialty.
June 4, 2007... The fact that there has been no Baby Boomer "bust" has been due in large part to the skill of retirement planners, accountants and their clients. The bust was supposed to occur as Boomers began reaching retirement age without having saved...

In Brief: CFP Board Moving to D.C.(Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards said that after more than 20 years in Denver, the organization plans to relocate its headquarters to Washington, D.C. CFP Board chair Karen Schaeffer said, "The financial planning profession...

In Brief: Survey: Marrieds Divided on Retirement Plans.(Survey)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... Although couples generally agree on which retirement products they own, they often differ on their plans and expectations for retirement, according to research conducted by Fidelity Investments. Fidelity polled couples born between 1937 and...

Sarbanes supports tweaking SOX, but not exemption.(Paul Sarbanes)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act)
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Former Senator Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., who, as the head of the Senate Banking Committee, co-authored the sweeping Sarbanes-Oxley Act, said that he supports developing additional guidance for smaller filers but, not surprisingly, he...

Grassley debunks private contractor bias: Grassley said that there is roughly $90 billion in unpaid taxes that is languishing, instead of being collected.(Chuck Grassley)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has sent a letter to his chamber colleagues in an attempt to blunt what he termed "inaccurate claims" about the private collectors employed by the...

Software review: Trial balance software: quick financials and more.
June 4, 2007... Years ago, write-up software was fairly rare, and the market was dominated by trial balance applications. Over the years, as software applications have become more sophisticated, the distribution has switched, with write-up becoming...

In Brief: Intuit and ECHO Nix deal.(Electronic Clearing House Inc.)
June 4, 2007... Intuit Inc. and Electronic Clearing House Inc. have agreed to scrap a deal that would have seen Intuit pay $142 million for the debit and credit card processor. Intuit had announced the acquisition plan in mid-December, after the boards of...

In Brief: International Group Picks Servais for XBRL Initiative.(International Accounting Standards Board)(Olivier Servais)(Extensible Business Reporting Language initiative)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... The oversight body for the International Accounting Standards Board said that Olivier Servais will serve as team leader for the organization's Extensible Business Reporting Language initiative. The IAS Committee Foundation said that Servais...

Development or growth?: The challenge for firms is the same as it is in public companies: how do you balance short-term and long-term goals?
June 4, 2007... Development or growth - what is the difference? Has your firm been growing at a rapid pace? Many firms just completed their best years by financial measurements, but they're still challenged with finding quality staff and increasing their...

Segment the market and pick your slices!: Savvy firms have become acutely aware that the quality of their future client base depends upon the choices they're making today.
June 4, 2007... "Segmenting" is nothing new in the accounting profession. It's another term for dividing a marketplace into well-defined groups of likely buyers. It's the foundational step in developing a firm's industry niches and service lines. Although...

New Products.
June 4, 2007... Software, Hardware & Services AUTOMATING AUTOMATION While some may have thought that installing QuickBooks would automate their bookkeeping process, it turns out that there's room to automate the QuickBooks process, with the Real Time...

People.(briefs)
June 4, 2007... ALABAMA Angela Coker has joined Donaldson, Holman & West PC, Birmingham, as an audit manager in the employee benefit plan audit practice. CALIFORNIA Peter Iannone has been named a shareholder in the Oxnard office of Mayer Hoffman...

Firms.(briefs)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... ALABAMA Donaldson, Holman & West PC, Birmingham, has joined CPAmerica International. FLORIDA Manuel Ferro Jr. CPA has merged with Dohan Brown Salum + Co. CPA, Miami, to form Dohan Brown Salum + Ferro CPA. Ferro will lead the new...

Coming Events.(accounting services)(Calendar)
June 4, 2007... JUNE 3-6: Fundamentals of Insurance Planning Program, The American College. Bryn Mawr, Pa. Contact: (610) 526-1209 or www.theamericancollege.edu. 3-8: CICA In-Depth GST Course, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Collingwood,...

Audit Organizations.(Girard Miller and Jan I. Sylvis appointed Financial Accounting Foundation)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... FAF APPOINTS PAIR TO GASB NORWALK, CONN. - The Financial Accounting Foundation, overseer to both the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, appointed Girard Miller and Jan I. Sylvis to...

Firms: KPMG announces winner of auditing competition.(Ashley Albers, Jen Clifton, John Thornton and Robert Duncan of University of Virginia get cash prices)(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... NEW YORK -- Big Four firm KPMG LLP announced that a team of four students from the University of Virginia had won the inaugural six-week national audit case competition sponsored by KPMG International's Global Services Centre and the KPMG...

The 5 Ps of marketing your firm.
June 4, 2007... Today, most firms realize the importance of marketing and are more than willing to invest in various activities to drive growth. In accounting, this anxious desire to jump in and "do something" often leads to opportunistic growth, in directions...

Marketing Essentials.(Brief article)
June 4, 2007... When developing your firm's marketing plan: * Define your firm's positioning. * Identify your "front-burner" products and services. * Define your ideal target client for each front-burner product or service. * Establish and...

Executing A Business Valuation.
June 4, 2007... Each business valuation process is different, but there's a format that has to be followed when entering into a new engagement - and it's not always based solely on pure calculation. "The calculations are maybe 10 percent of what needs to...

Advertiser Index.(Editorial)
June 4, 2007... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 AccountantsWorld 47 ADP Small Business Services 15 BNA Tax Management 13 CaseWare 4 CCH Tax Group 48 Drake Software 7 Intuit Lacerte 11 NACVA 17 Rainmaker...

Finding Focus - Brenda Brinkley.(Epiphany)
June 4, 2007... Trying to be a Jack of all industries accomplished pretty much jack for Brenda Brinkley when she started her business selling NetSuite's applications in 2002. Advertising online and networking at conferences was getting her nowhere because...

Capitalizing on Compliance - Linda Bryan.(Tamlin Software Developers)
June 4, 2007... Terrorism put a hold on much of the manufacturing industry's production following September 11. At the time, Tamlin Software Developers only had about three customers for which it customizes accounting software, and Linda Bryan needed to...

Keeping Promises - Manny Buigas.(Axis Integrated Solutions)(Company overview)
June 4, 2007... The first time was the charm for Manny Buigas. So was the second time as Buigas, who broke away from Sage Software reseller NextLevel, found his new company, Axis Integrated Solutions, named to the Sage Chairman's Club in the second year of...

Testing New Territory - James Cliame.(Net Result)(Biography)
June 4, 2007... When Intuit launched a newreselling program for QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions last May, James Cliame was one of the first to jump into the uncharted waters. Cliame, a ProAdvisor since 1999, wanted to provide a product for customers who...

Returning Phone Calls - Robert Distler.
June 4, 2007... At some point, Robert Distler realized the true nature of WAC Consulting's business. "Early on, we realized we were a service organization, not a software sales organization," says Distler. And that led quickly to the realization that customer...

Nurturing the Undecided - Grant Frasier.(Company overview)
June 4, 2007... Many resellers might say "Thanks," and smile as they moved from a prospect that had no immediate intention to buy and quickly move on to those more ready to part with their cash. Not so with Grant Frasier. Frasier's company, Navigator...

Training Employees - Linda O'Neal: We decided we couldn't be everything to everybody.
June 4, 2007... If you train them, they will stay. That's a philosophy Linda O'Neal, manager at Finley & Cook, believes has helped the Shawnee, Okla.-based firm retain loyal employees and continue to expand. "We give everybody the opportunity and we do it...

Financial Reporting: FASB, IASB mull new statement model.(Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Accounting Standards Board)
June 18, 2007... NORWALK, CONN. -- From Boston to Beijing, the accounting profession may soon have a new type of financial statement - one without net profit at the bottom line, with finance information separated from operations, tax information off to the side...

Council: Staff pipeline remains the top issue.(American Institute of CPAs)
June 18, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Although Capitol Hill insiders such as Karl Rove, Paul Begala, Terry McAuliffe and George Will garnered marquee billing at the American Institute of CPAs Spring Meeting of Council, profession-centric issues, such as staff...

Restructuring is byword at Sage confab.(Company overview)
June 18, 2007... ORLANDO, FLA. -- Sage Software had plenty to celebrate this year - and they threw a party to prove it. At Insights 2007, its fifth annual partner conference, which hosted more than 3,000 attendees at the Gaylord Palms Resort here, the...

Looking to fill the gap.(accounting services taxes regulations)
June 18, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The tax gap - the difference between the amount that taxpayers pay voluntarily and on time and what they should pay - continues to generate congressional hearings and legislative proposals. The most recent data from 46,000...

Levitt to lead Treasury accounting study.(Arthur Levitt)(Brief article)
June 18, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Treasury Department has created a committee to study problems in the accounting profession - and in something of an unexpected move, former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Arthur Levitt was selected to lead the...

CRM booms, but not at CPA firms.(customer relationship management, certified professional accounting services)
June 18, 2007... Companies that have integrated customer relationship management applications define the tool as a mix of strategy and technology. "Certainly, those that have a well-thought-through CRM strategy and executive buy-in have the best chance of...

In Brief.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's Auditing Standard No. 5)(Smart Business Advisory and Consulting LLC got finance from Great Hill Partners L.L.C.)
June 18, 2007... NEW 404 GUIDANCE, PCAOB AUDIT STANDARD WASHINGTON, D.C. - In late May the Securities and Exchange Commission unanimously approved guidance aimed at helping public companies balance their internal control over financial reporting while...

Editor's desk: Details, details, details.
June 18, 2007... During my four-year period of underachievement known as college, an economics teacher, Mr. Walgrebe, once handed out an assignment requiring us to map out a business model and concept that you could present to a bank in hopes of getting a loan....

Commentary: 10 ways to avoid a lawsuit.
June 18, 2007... There has been a proliferation of constituencies targeting the accounting profession. In civil actions, accounting firms face increasingly large claims by a variety of plaintiffs, including shareholders, bondholders, lenders and other...

What small biz knows it doesn't know.(Survey)
June 18, 2007... The vast majority - 88 percent - of small employers used a tax professional to prepare their most recent federal tax return. For those employers who employ 20 or more people, the percentage using a tax professional increased to 95 percent,...

In Brief.(Government Accountability Office examines budget)(Internal Revenue Service noticed illegal refund)(Max Baucus property taxes)
June 18, 2007... GAO EXAMINES IRS '08 BUDGET WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Government Accountability Office wants to see better descriptions and more cost and expected-performance information on the Internal Revenue Service's new initiatives in the agency's...

IRS position on partial prepayment deductions requires workarounds.(Internal Revenue Service)
June 18, 2007... The rules for the deductibility of prepaid expenses are riddled with exceptions to the basic premise that neither cash nor accrual-basis taxpayers ought to deduct any prepayment except to the extent that the purchase - whether it is in the form...

Is more guidance on valuation needed?
June 18, 2007... NORWALK, CONN. -- Valuation for financial reporting has long befuddled accounting professionals. Differences among industrial sectors often lead to inconsistencies, and recent new requirements for fair-value reporting have made the process even...

Change of auditors.(briefs)
June 18, 2007... E&Y DECLINES RE-ELECTION AT TELETECH Big Four firm Ernst & Young declined to stand for re-election as 2007 auditor to TeleTech Holdings Inc. No reason was given for E&Y's decision, but TeleTech, an Englewood, Colo.-based concern that...

Finding a new wrinkle in smoothing: Rather than making statements more useful, smoothing renders them useless.
June 18, 2007... Recently, Accounting Today printed both an article by Joel Jameson (March 19-April 1, 2007, page 14) and a letter from Alfred King (April 16-May 6, 2007, page 8) that rebutted our long-espoused view that financial reporting should be based on...

Battle of the retirement plans: Tax-deferred vs. life insurance.
June 18, 2007... When it comes to retirement planning, there are a number of different choices. Two of the most commonly used are tax-deferred retirement plans - such as IRAs or 401(k)s - and cash-value life insurance. A tax-deferred plan offers a tax...

In Brief.
June 18, 2007... TREASURY ISSUES ROTH 401(K) RULES The Treasury Department has issued rules aimed at dismissing some of the uncertainties around Roth 401(k) plans. The guidance outlines the details of how plans should operate, as well as simplifying their...

Vendor Profile: M5: Rising in the VoIP domain.(M5 Networks Inc., voice over ip)
June 18, 2007... M5 Networks Inc. wants to get rid of your phone system. The New York-based Voice over Internet Protocol company claims that in five to 10 years, there won't be many midsized businesses that own a traditional, on-premise phone system. ...

Making The Switch To VoIP.(Cornick, Garber and Sandler replaces its old phone systems)(Brief article)
June 18, 2007... When CPA firm Cornick, Garber & Sandler LLP relocated its New York office in 2005, the firm decided to replace its old on-premise phone system with a new telecommunications plan. The firm discovered M5 through a client referral, and spent...

In Brief.(Open Systems Inc introduces new accounting software)(Brief article)
June 18, 2007... OSI UNVEILS TRAVERSE 10.5 Open Systems has released a new version of its Traverse accounting software. Traverse 10.5 includes over 120 enhancements, including a new aged trial balance report with drill-down features; the ability to...

Dealing with underperforming partners.
June 18, 2007... How a firm deals with an underperforming partner defines the strength of its management. Well-managed firms deal with it in a professional manner, rather than ignoring the problem. In today's environment, some firms accept low performance...

Key best practices for succession planning.
June 18, 2007... Succession planning today is more complex for professional services firms than it was 15 years ago. Practices have become more complicated, the traditional business model that served firms so well in the 20th Century no longer works today, and...

In Brief.(students survey on accounting services)(Brief article)
June 18, 2007... ANOTHER REASON IT'S HARD TO FIND STAFF... PHILADELPHIA - Among 47 industries, MBA candidates ranked accounting as the lowest-paying field in a recent survey. According to the poll of 5,000 current MBA students, they expected that the...

New Products.
June 18, 2007... Software & Services THE AUDITOR'S FRIEND Companies point to their auditors to prove their processes are sound, but who do auditors point to? One option might be CCH's new ProSystem fx Knowledge Tools, which provides a streamlined audit...

People.(briefs)
June 18, 2007... CALIFORNIA Carl Saba and Margaret Booth have been promoted to senior managers in the Consulting Department of Burr, Pilger & Mayer, San Francisco, while Brian Finnegan has been promoted to senior tax manager. CONNECTICUT The...

Firms.(briefs)(Brief article)
June 18, 2007... FLORIDA Gilman Ciocia Inc. has opened a new office in Bonita Springs, Fla., which will be overseen by Melanie Dehon. ILLINOIS RSM McGladrey, Chicago, has renamed its Advance Practice Solutions business line, which provides audit &...

Coming Events.(Calendar)
June 18, 2007... JUNE 18: Building Your Fraud Examination Practice, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. The Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Contact: www.acfe.com. 18: AICPA Business Solutions Workshop, AICPA and the Missouri Society of CPAs....

Advertiser Index.(Table)
June 18, 2007... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 ADP Small Business Services 7 CCH Tax Group 32 Ceridian 13 LexisNexis InterAction 11 ...

Editor's Note: We Will Be Living In The Future.(Editorial)
June 18, 2007... Each year at this time, I have the task of putting together this special report dealing with what our visionaries in the accounting profession say for the accounting firm some five years or so down the road. And each year, I call on different...

Leveraging Resource Partners.
June 18, 2007... Accounting firms today are increasingly responding to their clients' demand for wider application of their skills. Through their knowledge, both of technical issues and of their clients' personal situations, accountants can make a positive...

These Times They Are a Changin'.
June 18, 2007... Bob Dylan famously sang this line in 1964 and indeed the times were a changin'. We find this to be the case once again, more specifically within the accounting profession. NCI has been working with accountants over the past 20 years and...

The Future Looks Bright and Paperless!
June 18, 2007... Can you imagine a workplace nearly free of bulky, paper-filled filing cabinets and poorly organized, unsecured electronic documents? What if you could find any client documents in seconds and had the freedom to electronically access these...

Redefining the Face of Entrepreneurs.
June 18, 2007... A new and unique study by Intuit says that in 10 years entrepreneurs will no longer come predominately from the middle of the age spectrum but will instead appear from the edges. In fact, people nearing retirement and their children just...

Payroll-Past, Present, or Future?
June 18, 2007... No one can see into the future. However, it doesn't take a crystal ball to know that tomorrow's accounting firm will strive for the same goals as today's: deliver the highest quality of service to clients while minimizing work and maximizing...

Future Trends And Accelerated Change.
June 18, 2007... What the future holds for the CPA profession is about as predictable as what has transpired during the last 10 years. The only thing we know for sure, the only variable in the life of the "Firm of the Future" that is guaranteed, is change. This...

Technology Opens Up Opportunities.
June 18, 2007... In our economic system, accountants largely play the role of referee, a vital function that is integral to our markets and business activities. This basic role will not and should not change in the future. For example, we have learned over the...

21st Century Firms-Partnering with Technology for Success.
June 18, 2007... Not too long ago, one of our customers shared the story of how he expanded his practice a few years back. His plan was aggressive, including adding new services, building his client base, and bringing on a new partner. The first step of his...

Electronic & Remote Access.
June 18, 2007... Yogi Berra once said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future," and he got it right. Either the prognosticator looks like a genius or a fool, depending on the outcome of the prediction. So without fear or trepidation, I...

Opportunity Over Next Five Years.
June 18, 2007... Over the next five years, a number of trends in demographics and technology will drive the future of the tax and accounting business. Because of these trends, the successful tax and accounting practices will morph into comprehensive wealth...