Accounting Today articles from May 2007

Accounting Today archives from May 2007

Forensic Accounting: CPA Gumshoes: Accounting Veterans and new grads alike join forensics crusade.(certified public accountants)
May 7, 2007... Go ahead, say it: Forensic accounting is sexy. At least, that's how those in the field describe this fast-growing niche that incorporates investigation and auditing expertise to provide analysis in a judicial setting. "I see more general...

IRS's OIC changes prompt skepticism.(Offer in Compromise)(Internal Revenue Service)
May 7, 2007... Practitioners considering making an offer in compromise to the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of a client are faced with significant changes to the program. While negotiating an OIC has not been an option for most taxpayers, the changes in...

SEC and Levitt ruffle FASB, GASB over appointments, structure.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)(Arthur Levitt)
May 7, 2007... NORWALK, CONN. -- Criticism is nothing new to either the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. They get it from investors who want more information. They get it from corporations that say they...

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 7, 2007... In the New Products section of the March 19-April 1, 2007, issue (page 28), the Web address for TBRC Cost Recovery's phone tax refund calculator was incomplete. The full URL is www.phonetaxrefundcalculator.com. (c) 2007 Accounting Today...

SEC endorses SOX changes.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
May 7, 2007... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission endorsed the recommendations of the agency's professional staff to eliminate "waste and duplication" in companies' compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. The change is particularly aimed at...

Wealth Management: Broker/dealers seek out CPA partners: 'I think the old answer was, "we've got to do this ourselves."'.(certified public accountants)
May 7, 2007... Would you give investment or insurance advice to a client without knowing their tax situation? That's a question that Bill Stevens, vice president of marketing for Dallas-based broker/dealer 1st Global, frequently asks CPAs. "And they're...

In Brief.
May 7, 2007... JACKSON HEWITT FRANCHISES SUED WASHINGTON - Alleging pervasive fraud, the government has filed civil injunction suits against five corporations that operate Jackson Hewitt tax prep franchises, as well as 24 individuals who manage or work...

Editor's desk: Let's move on!
May 7, 2007... Those who have suffered through this column for the past six-and-a-half years are probably by now well aware of my disdain for frivolous lawsuits. I won't use this issue's space to rehash my feelings on the necessity for tort reform or the...

Letter: Briloff updates his dissection of Google.(Letter to the editor)
May 7, 2007... I refer to my "Google's SOS to the SEC: The modern corporation and private property in the Third Millennium" (Jan. 29-Feb. 11, 2007, page 6). Google's recent filing of its annual report Form 10-K for 2006 permits me to update the chart that...

Accounting Abroad: Report from Europe EU tax reform may arrive sooner than later.
May 7, 2007... Brussels -- Efforts to rid the European Union of the massive confusion caused by having its enterprises dealing with 27 different corporate tax systems could now come into effect as early as 2010. This could bring relief to companies...

Recommendations on AMT fix pouring in.(alternative minimum tax)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants)
May 7, 2007... In recent hearings before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, both the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs called for the repeal of the oft-debated alternative minimum tax. And on...

In Brief.
May 7, 2007... REPORT: BETTER JOB NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR 'INNOCENT SPOUSES' The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that although the process for separating joint tax accounts in innocent spouse cases has been improved, additional action...

Insurance co. demutualization: Case may be cause for refund claims.(Editorial)
May 7, 2007... Insurance company demutualizations became popular in the late 1990s. Facilitated by revised state laws, mutual insurance companies were attracted to conversion to stock companies for the same reasons that companies have long sought to be...

Peering into the fog: SOX's emerging consequences.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)(Financial Executives International survey)
May 7, 2007... To argue the success of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, one can point to the strength and integrity of the capital markets and financial systems. If optimistically inclined, one could claim that the rules and procedures are quietly averting...

Change of auditors.(Amerigon Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (New York, New York))(Lattice Semiconductor Corp. selected KPMG Consulting Inc.)(Theragenics Corp. replaced Grant Thornton L.L.P. with Dixon Hughes )
May 7, 2007... PWC DECLINES RE-ELECTION AS AMERIGON AUDITOR Amerigon Inc., a Northville, Mich.-based provider of auto seat cooling and heating systems, said that Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers declined to stand for re-election as the company's...

Chandy Smith: FASB does more than tip a hat to users.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
May 7, 2007... We hate to say how long we have been watching accounting standard-setting, but trust us, it has been a long time. Over those eons, we have been frustrated at the lack of attention granted to the interests of financial statement users and the...

CPAs and insurance professionals - a profitable alliance By Denise M. Desautels.(certified public accountants)
May 7, 2007... If life insurance professionals picture the accounting profession as it was a decade or two ago, they may be forfeiting an opportunity to build a mutually beneficial alliance. The world of the CPA, as well as that of the accounting firm,...

In Brief.
May 7, 2007... MORNINGSTAR COMPLETES PURCHASE OF S&P FUND DATA UNIT Financial information service and products provider Morningstar Inc. said that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Standard & Poor's fund data business for $55...

Survey: Financial planner earnings up $50K in '06: Nearly 90 percent of clients expect to be able to maintain their current standard of living in retirement.(surveys)(Survey)(Brief article)
May 7, 2007... GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. -- Financial planners reported mean gross earnings of $283,079 in 2006, an increase of more than $50,000 from a year ago, according to a recently released survey. Conducted by the College for Financial Planning, The...

Software Review: Nonprofit Software In 2007: A work in progress.(Product/service evaluation)
May 7, 2007... Though you wouldn't know it from the software, there are serious changes underway in the market for nonprofit accounting solutions. The software itself has shown only small, incremental improvements in the past year, largely because 2006...

In Brief.(briefs)
May 7, 2007... SAGE TAPS SIMMONS AS VP OF ABRA HRMS UNIT Sage Software has appointed Jessica Simmons to the post of vice president and general manager of its Sage Abra HRMS business. In her new role, she will report to Karl Grass, senior vice...

Budgeting Software.(Budget Maestro from Centage Corp.)
May 7, 2007... Not-for-profit organizations face a number of challenges not found in the typical business environment, particularly with respect to cash flow management and budgeting. Such organizations are usually unable to control when pledged money...

Management: A key to retention.
May 7, 2007... Management is a term that means many different things to accounting professionals. It may imply the people who manage the firm, the people who manage client relationships, or the people who manage others. In his latest book, It's Okay...

Newsletter? Good idea. E-newsletter? Great idea!(marketing tips for accounting firms)
May 7, 2007... If your marketing efforts include a newsletter, you know the value of providing clients, prospects and referral sources with information that they need to be successful. A focused newsletter is a tool that many CPA firms use to market their...

New Products.
May 7, 2007... SOFTWARE & SERVICES UPGRADED AVATAX Avalara has released the latest version of its AvaTax online sales and use tax compliance software. The upgrade incorporates a number of new features, including improvements to the AvaTax Dashboard...

People.
May 7, 2007... CALIFORNIA Mark Rodebaugh has joined Reznick Group as co-managing principal of its Sacramento office. Beth Mullen will remain co-managing principal and Jeanne Peterson will serve as the principal-in-charge of the firm's national affordable...

Firms.(Website overview)
May 7, 2007... ALBERTA DCS Chartered Accountants, Calgary, a five-partner firm with one office and 25 total staff, has joined Alliott Group North America. AUSTRALIA The WHK Group, with 20 member firms and 2,500 staff in Australia and New...

Coming Events.
May 7, 2007... MAY 7-11: National Business Valuation School, American Institute of CPAs. AICPA Boardroom, New York City. Contact: www.cpa2biz.com or (888) 777-7077. 10: 2007 Employee Benefits Conference: Employee Benefits After the Pension...

Advertiser Index.
May 7, 2007... Advertiser Page 1st Global 17 Acct1st Solutions 13 AccuFund 39 ADP Small Business Services 27 California Society of EAs 36 CCH ATX 23 CCH Tax Group 48 CCH TaxWise 33 Cougar Mountain Software...

Online Tax Research: Content is king!: Platforms change, but the info is still what matters.
May 21, 2007... Internet tax research, once a novelty, is now the standard, with a number of publishers offering publications that are only available online. "We still subscribe to some paper products, but using the Web-based versions is much more...

Partnering = profits: More and more firms are forging alliances to bolster their bottom line and service niches.
May 21, 2007... Since 1982, Miami-based CPA and business advisory firm Watson Rice has worked with a neighboring accounting firm to fill its personnel needs in auditing engagements. That may not be so unusual, but what makes the relationship unique is the way...

Bankers and small biz owners speak out at SOX hearings.(Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship)(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Suggesting that accounting firms may have become addicted to the fat audit fees associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts, a spokesman for the nation's bankers warned that plans to streamline internal control...

PCAOB: Auditors could have been 'more efficient'.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Although progress has been made with regard to auditor reviews of internal controls, audit firms haven't used the most efficient techniques, according to a report from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The...

Everson to exit IRS to helm Red Cross.
May 21, 2007... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Mark Everson, who forged a reputation for bolstering enforcement policies during his four-year tenure as commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, will need to import that tough posture as the new president and chief...

In Brief.
May 21, 2007... SEC MAY LET FILERS CHOOSE STANDARDS WASHINGTON, D.C. - On the heels of its financial reporting roundtable last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission said that it may allow U.S. filers to choose which standards they want to use to...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
May 21, 2007... A crucial phrase, it seems, was inadvertently deleted from a sentence in our Feb. 26-March 18, 2007, cover story on diversity ("The profession changes - but is it enough?") that generated a great deal of controversy. The sentence should...

Editor's desk: I'm so in the wrong business.
May 21, 2007... Growing up, I occasionally heard my father use the term "windshield reality." Defined, it's when a situation like a divorce or a family death impacts you with such trauma that you feel as if you've been emotionally thrown through a windshield....

Commentary: Investor confidence is easy to shake, hard to restore.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)(Viewpoint essay)
May 21, 2007... The current debate about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may prove to be an object lesson in how short memories in Washington can be. I hope that isn't the case, and that the tone and content of the discourse is focused where it needs to be - on...

CPAs I have known - Pt. 1.(Thomas G. Higgins, Emanuel Saxe)(certified public accountants)(Column)
May 21, 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...

The IRS watches closely as S corporations snowball.(Internal Revenue Service)
May 21, 2007... The popularity of S corporations has skyrocketed, with the number of businesses opting for them rising from 725,000 in 1985 to more than 3 million, according to the most recent statistics. And that growth is well-deserved, according to...

In Brief.
May 21, 2007... GAO TO IRS: FORGET SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT The Government Accountability Office said that the Internal Revenue Service doesn't appear to be in a position to develop its own software for tax preparation anytime soon. Because increased...

Code Sec. 409A final regs: Deadline compliance as strategy No. 1.
May 21, 2007... The recent release of the long-awaited final regs on nonqualified deferred compensation under Code Sec. 409A did not bring a much-hoped-for extension of the effective date for full implementation of the rules. The final regs - all 209 pages of...

Trouble brewing as Texas attacks GASB 45 on retirement bennies.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
May 21, 2007... AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Texans have always been an independent bunch, but many Lone Star CPAs think that their state legislature is going too far when it tries to write off Statement 45 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board as irrelevant. ...

Change Of Auditors.
May 21, 2007... GRANT THORNTON DROPS PAIR OF SUBPRIME CLIENTS Grant Thornton has quit as auditor to subprime lenders Fremont General Corp. and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co.. In federal filings, the audit firm indicated that it needed to expand...

Hertz tries too hard to buff up its statements.(Hertz Global Holdings Inc.)
May 21, 2007... A key characteristic of a thriving discipline is its willingness to put aside old tenets that no longer produce useful results. Likewise, a key characteristic of a dying discipline is its clinging to old tenets that obviously aren't working....

Check the nest before the Boomers fly into retirement.
May 21, 2007... Baby Boomers - those Americans who were born between 1946 and 1964 - total about 79 million people. This segment of the population may soon find that they will be spending more annually in their retirement years than they did while...

In Brief.
May 21, 2007... COURT NIXES SEC RULE GOVERNING FINANCIAL PLANNING A federal appeals court ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission overstepped its authority in updating rules governing brokers who offer financial advice. In a 2-1 decision,...

Effective CPA firm Web sites: Success can be a click away.(certified public accountants)
May 21, 2007... Stephen White, director of sales and marketing for CPA and business advisory firm Aronson & Co. in Rockville, Md., has a rule for his department when it comes to their Web site strategy: If a visitor can not find the information they are...

Strategy: Execution and alignment: The firm must provide value to the practice unit, just as the practice unit provides value to the firm.
May 21, 2007... Managing firm strategy is synonymous with change management. Does your firm have a strategic plan? Do you share the plan with everyone in the firm, as well as with clients and vendors? If not, why not? These questions may not seem that...

Sage introduces new MAS versions.(Sage Software Inc. (Irvine, California))(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Sage Software has rolled out new versions of Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200, the company's enterprise resource planning software geared toward small and midsized companies. New functions of Sage MAS 90 and 200 include the introduction of...

In Brief.
May 21, 2007... NETWORK BUYS CONNECTICUT VAR NEW YORK - NetWork, a regional New York Accpac and MAS 90/200 and 500 reseller, has acquired Apptech Inc., a Cheshire, Conn.-based consulting firm specializing in Sage Pro ERP (formerly SBT/Accpac Pro Series)...

The acquisition proposition: 9 things to know: I have often said that it is not the acquisition itself that's hard, it's the integration.
May 21, 2007... Now that tax season is over, you may be thinking of growing your practice through an acquisition. While it certainly remains a buyer's market, smart buyers make sure that they have worked through the following points. 1. Understand why...

New Products.(accounting software)
May 21, 2007... Software, Hardware & services BUDGET, FREE Businesses can never be budget-free, but they can get budget software for free, now that Adaptive Planning has put its new Adaptive Planning Express Edition online. The entry-level, on-demand...

People.
May 21, 2007... ALABAMA William A. Tate, of Tidwell DeWitt LLC, Birmingham, was appointed to the AICPA Virtual Grassroots Panel for 2007. CALIFORNIA Jacqueline Akerblom, an assurance partner with Grant Thornton LLP, San Jose, received a Women of...

Coming Events.
May 21, 2007... MAY 21: Not-For-Profit Half-Day Conference, Illinois CPA Society. Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, Chicago. Contact: www.icpas.org/icpas/conferences. 21-22: Business Valuation Conference, New York State Society of CPAs. New...

Firms.
May 21, 2007... AUSTRALIA MacleanBauer Pty Ltd, Brisbane, has joined Enterprise Network Worldwide. COLORADO Hein & Associates LLP, Denver, has launched a specialized unit to provide business advisory services to clients. Bill Evert will lead the...

Advertiser Index.
May 21, 2007... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 Acct1st Solutions 25 AccountantsWorld 39 ADP Small Business Services 23 Aon Insurance Services 8 CCH Tax Group 40 Drake Software 11 Epson 13 LexisNexis Tax Center...

Editor's Note: It's The Little Things That Count.
May 21, 2007... "To devise an information processing system capable of getting along on its own, it must handle its own problems of programming, bookkeeping, communication, and coordination with its users. It must appear to its users as a single, integrated...

Make Sure Your 'Best of Breed' is Not a Dog: Software products must fit together to increase productivity and efficiency.
May 21, 2007... For accounting firms that provide their clients with both financial oversight and IT consulting, it is the successful integration of these two services which yield the biggest margins and customer satisfaction. The same can be said for the...

Partnering with Customers for Success.(ProSystem fx Engagement from C.C.H. Australia Ltd.)
May 21, 2007... Successfully serving the needs of CPAs requires an in-depth understanding of the challenges professionals face today and how demands are changing over time, from critical staffing shortages to ever-increasing regulatory requirements. For CCH,...

Technology Continues to Fuel the Profession.(tax consultants)
May 21, 2007... The needs of today's tax professional increasingly demand an online research platform that is sophisticated, customizable and easily integrated into their own workflow and data. The 109th Congress made more than 1,700 amendments to the Internal...

Beyond Integrated Solutions.(integrated accounting software)
May 21, 2007... Integrated solutions served a useful function in the pre-Internet age. While integrated solutions eliminate the need for duplication of some data entry, still most electronically generated data needs to be entered manually-the reason being that...

Small Business-To Serve and Protect.(Column)
May 21, 2007... As an accountant, you know that your small business clients have two types of assets. The tangible assets-such as cash or property-are easy to track and quantify. But oftentimes the intangible assets-such as customer relationships-are even...

Choose the Right Partner.(accounting services services outsourcing their human resources functions)
May 21, 2007... Less than 15 years ago, outsourcing was a relatively unknown concept in the business community. Today, outsourcing is a common practice that enables companies to concentrate on core competencies and revenue-enhancing activities. A recent survey...

Mastering the Growth Equation with CRM: As the company grew exponentially though, such informal knowledge sharing became insufficient and potentially damaging.(customer relationship management )
May 21, 2007... There are many important metrics that CPA firms try to measure and master in order to be successful. One is client satisfaction or loyalty. Equally important and related to client satisfaction is firm growth. This is especially true in today's...

Online Payroll = Efficiency + Profitability.(accountants using payroll processing software)
May 21, 2007... In spite of the increase in on-demand solutions over the last five years, accountants are still mostly using a variety of software-based applications to serve clients. Payroll is the perfect example. By using an online payroll solution,...

Within and Across the Work You Do: Intuit helps with tight integration between products.
May 21, 2007... Integration is at the heart of Intuit's quest to increase productivity-and even profitability-of its accountant users. For accountants seeking integration, only Intuit produces the leading software products for accounting, payroll and tax...

Business Management Software Packages.(by Microsoft Corp.)(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Your clients. They're your greatest assets, says Microsoft. As their most trusted business advisor it is your responsibility to empower them with tools and technology that fit, and there's no limit to where they can take their businesses....

Integration: Reality or Marketing Myth?(software industries marketing their accounting software)
May 21, 2007... Integrated software or integrated marketing message? In software terms, integration means allowing information to flow from one application to another. In 2007, you will be bombarded with the concept of "integration" by software vendors that...

Flexible Finance Systems: Greater visibility also means better governance.(Brief article)
May 21, 2007... Globalization has led to the opening of new markets, customers and leaner outsourcing opportunities, according to CODA Financials. Having finance systems unable to handle multiple languages, currencies, companies or different reporting regimes...

Debuting Recent Efforts.(Cougar Mountain Software Inc.'s PDF-eXPLODE e-Doc Generator and our SinglePoint accounting softwares)
May 21, 2007... Cougar Mountain Software is always integrating new tools to help CPAs fulfill their client's needs efficiently and effectively. Two of our products, the PDF-eXPLODE e-Doc Generator and our SinglePoint dedicated server application, are just two...

Solutions for a Speedy Close.(accounting standards)(Column)
May 21, 2007... "Fast close," a corporation's ability to complete its accounting cycles and close its books quickly, is a priority for today's finance and accounting executives. Compliance regulations including the International Financial Reporting Standards...

Fast and Affordable.(FRx Software Corp.'s Microsoft Forecaster 7.0 and Microsoft Forecaster 6.7)
May 21, 2007... Microsoft Forecaster 7.0 is the latest version of FRx Software Corporation's budgeting and planning application offering accounts a fast and affordable way to gain control over their client's budgeting and planning. Microsoft Forecaster...

Is This the Year You Move to a Virtual Office?(Column)
May 21, 2007... Changes in technology and the profession are coming at a rapid pace. This year, firms will face many financial and workflow issues as they take on the challenge of migrating to Vista and Microsoft Office 2007, as well as confront continued...

Going Portable.(accountants and their selection of best accounting software available)
May 21, 2007... Robust, flexible, easy to use. These three words should be in the forefront of every accounting professional's mind when researching software products. The ideal software takes a universal design approach to allow the transfer of data from one...

To Better Serve Your Clients.(Column)
May 21, 2007... To provide the best service to their clients, accounting professionals need smart, integrated solutions, says Paychex. Thousands of accounting professionals nationwide count on Paychex to provide these solutions as a cost-effective extension of...

Editor's Note: Marketing 101.
May 21, 2007... One of the more disheartening constants in the realm of corporate strategy is that in times of financial downturns, the marketing department is usually the first one cleaved by the layoff ax. No matter what precipitates a company's plunge -...

Is it worth it to be 'Best'?: What to do with that 'Best Place to Work' award.(Burr, Pilger & Mayer LLP)
May 21, 2007... Among other awards that San Francisco-based BPM LLP has received over its 20 years of existence, the firm was named one of the Bay Area's "Best Places to Work" by a local business journal in 2006. Asked what such awards mean to BPM,...

Quit wasting time growing!: Business is good - but that doesn't mean you can waste your marketing efforts.(Column)
May 21, 2007... The boom times are here. Business is rolling in for most firms. Yet at the same time, I see enormous amounts of time and money wasted on initiatives that don't contribute to revenue growth - marketing dollars spent on the wrong...

The worst Web site in the world: Visitors to a Web site are turned on or off by it in one-twentieth of a second.
May 21, 2007... Does your CPA firm recognize that the real purpose and value of a Web site is to serve as your most important marketing tool? Does your site sell by providing prospects with information that meets their needs and answers their questions? Or...