Accounting Today articles from November 2006

Accounting Today archives from November 2006

Bill protects CPAs from privacy rules.(certified public accountants, Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006)
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- CPAs in Congress came to the rescue of their profession with the passage of a bill that eliminated the need to send privacy notices to clients. "The Financial Services Relief Act of 2006 is a common-sense bill that will give...

Industry calling for simpler biz taxes.(business tax)
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Representatives from industry, government and the accounting profession called on Congress to reform the nation's business tax structure, warning that the current web of corporate tax incentives and penalties is pressuring...

Staff drought: Scrambling for bodies as tax season looms.
November 6, 2006... The continuing business boom has generated a demand for accountants in every sphere that will make seasonal staffing during tax time more difficult than ever, say industry observers. "If you're looking for tax people, they're not easy to...

Action Idea: Rewarding staff: Step 2.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Having set comprehensible criteria for your rewards, you can move on to the rewards themselves. Again, staff can smell insincerity, and their idea of a worthwhile reward may be very different from yours. While cash is almost always welcome,...

News Briefs.
November 6, 2006... CPA2BIZ POSTS 2ND YEAR OF PROFITS JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Fueled by growth in its new business lines, CPA2Biz Inc., the online marketing portal for the American Institute of CPAs, posted its second consecutive year of profitability, posting...

FASB issues a tough new statement on pensions: 'Financial statements will be complete.'(Standard 158, Employers' Accounting for Defined-Benefit Pension and Other Post-Retirement Plans)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
November 6, 2006... NORWALK, CONN. -- With the nation in an uproar over widespread pension fund problems, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has set a standard that will soon require companies to fully recognize on the balance sheet either an asset for a...

Cadbury ruling may nudge EU toward tax harmony: Accounting Abroad: Report from Europe.(Cadbury Schweppes PLC)
November 6, 2006... BRUSSELS -- Harmonization of corporate taxation rates in the European Union took a small step forward with a ruling by the European Court of Justice in favor of Cadbury Schweppes, where the ECJ found against the British government's policy of...

Web Cites: Business Resources.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... * Business.gov - www.business.gov/ "The Official Business Link to the U.S. Government," the site offers a single access point to all government services and information to help small businesses operate under federal rules and regulations....

Footnotes.(Phyllis N. Driver presented Tennessee Society of CPAs' 2006 Public Service Award)(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... DRIVER WINS TSCPA PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD: Phyllis N. Driver, a CPA in Knoxville, Tenn., was recently presented with the Tennessee Society of CPAs' 2006 Public Service Award. The award, which recognizes an individual for their active...

New legislation brings fresh long-term care opportunities: The triple threat is expected to lead to an overload on the health care system and a tidal wave of unanticipated costs.(Pension Protection Act of 2006)
November 6, 2006... Earlier this year, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Included in that legislation are some features that encourage preparation and spending for long-term care. In particular, the act allows the transfer of excess pension...

All politics is local.(political activities of accountants)
November 6, 2006... In another lifetime, when I covered the restaurant industry, I watched as its membership organization - the National Restaurant Association - gradually clawed its way to the upper echelons of the most powerful political groups in the country....

Commentary: Managing the risks of commercial relationships.
November 6, 2006... Many organizations are forming relationships with third parties to perform key business functions for a variety of reasons, including to help reduce costs, increase revenues or share business risks. But commercial relationships can be risky...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
November 6, 2006... GAO way off base! In regard to your front page article titled "Whatever happened to tax reform?" (Sept. 4-17, 2006): I thought the Internal Revenue Service sank to a new low when they published a fee schedule telling the taxpayer what a...

Practice Management: Don't let older partners' intellectual capital escape!: Just because someone does not want to continue on a product- or project-oriented basis, that does not mean that they cannot be a benefit to the firm.
November 6, 2006... While succession planning has taken the stage as one of the main issues facing CPA firms today, there is a correlated issue that firms cannot ignore - how they keep the intellectual capital that older partners have developed over the years. ...

Congress fails to pass bill for extenders.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Congress left town without passing a number of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2005, including the option to deduct state sales taxes in place of state income tax, a deduction for college tuition and fees, the deduction for...

Taxing Issues.(Internal Revenue Service)
November 6, 2006... TOP HALF OF TAXPAYERS PAY HIGHEST TAX SHARE IN DECADES: The share of income taxes paid by the top half of taxpayers reached its highest level in decades, according to a report from the Joint Economic Committee. According to figures...

An update of examination and collection compliance: Due to recent changes, all-cash OICs now require a 20 percent deposit.(Offer in Compromise program)
November 6, 2006... New online payment options, changes to the Offer in Compromise program, and the impact of the National Research Program are, among others, key issues for the tax practitioner community. Online payments The newest option for reaching an...

Charitable giving changes in PPA focus on tighter rules.(Pension Protection Act of 2006)
November 6, 2006... The provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, enacted on Aug. 17, 2006, include a package of changes related to tax-exempt entities and charitable contributions. Many of the provisions were designed to tighten perceived abuses involving...

Change Of Auditors.
November 6, 2006... DELOITTE RESIGNS AS NAHC AUDITOR: National Atlantic Holdings Corp., a Freehold, N.J.-based property and casualty insurer, said that Big Four firm Deloitte resigned as its auditor after the company issued requests for proposals to a number of...

GASB has full plate until the middle of next year.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
November 6, 2006... NORWALK, CONN. -- With no shortage of improvements needed in its field, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has taken on an array of complex projects that should result in a series of important documents over the next six months. ...

False summits on the conceptual framework path: This project is pivotal to the future of public financial reporting.
November 6, 2006... To flatlanders, climbing a mountain may seem like a straightforward task. After all, from down below and at a distance, the summit can be seen clearly, even obviously. But experienced mountaineers know they face a different perspective when...

PFP Briefs.
November 6, 2006... NASD FINES METLIFE UNITS $5M: The National Association of Securities Dealers imposed a $5 million fine against three MetLife Inc. units - MetLife Securities Inc. of New York, New England Securities Inc. of Boston, and Walnut Street Securities...

Prepare for the handoff: Planning for succession.
November 6, 2006... Planning to pass a business to the next generation, or to non-family members, involves a combination of complex issues requiring legal, tax, financial and management planning. Too often, a business owner devotes her entire career to...

Charitable contributions of fractional interests.
November 6, 2006... For contributions, bequests, and gifts made after Aug. 17, 2006, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 limits deductions for charitable contributions of fractional interests in tangible personal property. It also provides rules for valuing the...

Tech Briefs.
November 6, 2006... SAGE COMPLETES EMDEON BUY: The Sage Group plc, the U.K.-based parent to Sage Software, said that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Emdeon Practice Services, a vendor of software and services to physicians' practices. Terms of...

SEC sets XBRL strategy; XBRL US goes independent.
November 6, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a trio of contracts totaling $54 million to transform the financial statements in its Edgar database into interactive information. Included in that strategy was some $5.5...

Intuit rolls out QB 2007, with Google functionality.
November 6, 2006... MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. -- Accounting and financial software provider Intuit Inc. has officially released QuickBooks 2007. The company has worked hard to build buzz around the latest incarnation of its flagship product - first by unveiling...

Software Review: Write-up software: Still solid after all these years.(Product/service evaluation)
November 6, 2006... If you ask typical small or midsized accounting practices what their cornerstone applications are, chances are that they will tell you tax prep and write-up. Even with all of the businesses moving their accounting and bookkeeping in-house,...

Technology - is it limiting your firm's growth?(accounting)
November 6, 2006... Is your firm's technology limiting its growth? Do you continue to invest in the same technology year after year, or is your firm integrating back-office operations at the same time that it's investing in new integrated core production...

Software & supplies.(Buyers guide)
November 6, 2006... QuickBooks 2007 Intuit has released the 2007 editions of its QuickBooks line, with both a host of new accounting features, and a number of intriguing new services made possible by an alliance with search engine giant Google. Among the...

Books.(Book review)
November 6, 2006... Risk management What with all the scandals and their aftermaths, the last six years have been pretty exciting for auditing, and it does not look as though things are ready to settle anytime soon. The most recent development to shake up the...

Compliance risk 'hot buttons'.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... The following is a list of questions that CPAs may find useful to frame discussions with organizations regarding potential contract compliance risks: * What self-reporting relationships does the organization have, and what is the total...

People.(new appointments)
November 6, 2006... ARIZONA Edward McDonough has joined Alvarez & Marsal Dispute Analysis & Forensic Services LLC, Phoenix, as a managing director. CALIFORNIA Jutta C. Gebauer has joined the Audit and Business Advisory Services Group of Haskell &...

Firms.(Condon Group Ltd new Web site www.thecondongroup.com.)(Protiviti Inc. opened offices )(RSM McGladrey awards Working Mother's 100 Best Companies.)
November 6, 2006... ILLINOIS The Condon Group Ltd., Tinley Park, has launched a new firm Web site at www.thecondongroup.com.... Grant Thornton LLP, Chicago, has been named one of Working Mother's 100 Best Companies. INDIA Protiviti Inc. has opened...

Firms.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... ANNUS ANNIVERSARIUS A number of firms are celebrating anniversaries this year, and marking the milestones in different ways. * Long Beach, Calif.-based Windes & McClaughry is commemorating its 80th anniversary by compiling a history...

Coming Events.(Calendar)
November 6, 2006... NOVEMBER 6: AICPA Export Assist Seminar on IC DISC for Export Tax Benefits, American Institute of CPAs. Washington, D.C. Contact: www.cpa2biz.com/conferences. 6: Building Your Practice, National Conference of CPA Practitioners, New...

Advertiser Index.(Table)
November 6, 2006... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 ADP Small Business Services 11 AccountantsWorld 39 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business 40 Drake Software ...

Editor's Note: Reaching Beyond.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... "The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher," said Thomas Huxley. This is what seems to be happening today. According to a number of sources,...

Your Competitive Landscape is Changing: Strengthen Client Relationships by providing clients better value for your time.
November 6, 2006... Even as we speak, the forces of globalization are reshaping and radically changing your competitive landscape. No firm, big or small, will escape the impact of this change. The successful firms of tomorrow will be those that recognize this...

Helping Firms Gain Strategic Advantage.(accountants)
November 6, 2006... Accounting firms looking to grow their practices are in a difficult position. The good news is that there's a growing volume of work. The bad news is there are not enough accountants to meet the demand. A study by the National Association...

Driving From Compliance to Consulting.(outsourcing)
November 6, 2006... Several years ago, outsourcers identified the CPA industry as an appropriate target for their services and began to develop the knowledge and infrastructure to service this market. Concurrently, CPA firms were challenged by a significant...

Outsourcing: Threat or Opportunity?
November 6, 2006... Within our industry, the term "outsourcing" is a polarizing term. To some accountants, it's very intriguing. To others, it's repulsive. Despite the skepticism and angst over outsourcing, this trend has just begun and will accelerate over...

Choosing the Right Outsourcing Partner.
November 6, 2006... Over the past several years, nationwide staffing shortages have led accounting firms of all sizes to utilize outsourcing as a strategic tool for improving client service, reducing busy season overtime, and increasing profits. Still, many firms...

A Declining Trend.(outsourcing)
November 6, 2006... While the overall trend to outsource client work may be on the rise, the payroll practice is moving in the opposite direction. Accountants, who have been referring payroll clients away for decades are starting to re-think their decision, and...

Visit Your Potential Offshore Provider.
November 6, 2006... When outsourcing a business process such as payroll, human resources, procurement, or any other function, it is impossible to get a true picture about an offshore outsourcing service provider based on responses to your RFP or from their sales...

Providing Outsourcing Solutions: According to ADP, the small business is actually big business to them. They can help manage everything from benefits to payroll to workers' compensation.
November 6, 2006... Last year, ADP reported that 84 percent of those surveyed believed that outsourcing of human resources activities would continue to increase. In fact, some 41 percent of worldwide organizations surveyed planned to outsource employee benefits...

Software for tax planning evolving.
November 27, 2006... From its origins as a response to client inquiries on how transactions would affect their tax returns, tax planning has morphed into a year-round enterprise for practitioners, as well as a solid builder of client loyalty. Yet it's still a...

Fall Council goes 'hog' wild: ... over savings mascot, that is; mobility, peer review top agenda.
November 27, 2006... LAS VEGAS -- In a city where fantasy and excess often usurp reality, it should have surprised few attendees at the American Institute of CPAs Fall Meeting of Council that critical profession-centric issues such as interstate mobility and peer...

SEC seeks to ease 404 burden.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
November 27, 2006... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Securities and Exchange Commission is closing in on an early Christmas present for corporate critics of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - a new plan that would reduce the compliance problems associated with the legislation's...

Action Idea: Rewarding staff: Step 3.(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... Once a staff member has met your reward criteria, and you've picked the reward that's most appropriate to them, you still need to present it. Striking a note of sincere appreciation is crucial - fake that, and you're halfway there. The...

News Briefs.(Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rates)(Securities and Exchange Commission closed its investigations into Intuit Inc.)(Reinsel Kuntz Lesher LLP acquired Miller & Miller CPAs)
November 27, 2006... IRS ANNOUNCES MILEAGE RATES FOR '07 WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2007 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving...

Streamlined sales tax plan slowly gaining momentum: Companies that are still on the fence now have an added incentive to consider signing on.
November 27, 2006... It's not uncommon to read stories about companies that stretch the rules to avoid paying taxes. But currently there's a tax that many companies are already paying, though at present they have no legal obligation to do so. The Streamlined...

GAO issues report on IRS debt collection.(Government Accountability Office, Internal Revenue Service )(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... WASHINGTON -- A federal report says that the Internal Revenue Service needs to put a better system in place to evaluate the results of the private debt collection program that it implemented this fall. The Government Accountability Office...

Web Cites: Get ready for tax season!
November 27, 2006... * Adobe Systems Inc. - www.adobe.com Before you hit the IRS site or the state tax authorities for forms and publications, you'll want to stop here to get Adobe's Acrobat Reader, since those forms and publications are often formatted as...

PCAOB issues guidelines on stock compensation audits.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)
November 27, 2006... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an effort to improve consistency in the application of standards relating to audits of the fair value of options granted to employees, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board staff has issued a set of guidelines....

Accounting pay to rise in '07.
November 27, 2006... MENLO PARK, CALIF. -- Business expansion and ongoing compliance requirements will continue driving demand for accounting and finance professionals, intensifying recruitment challenges next year, according to the 2007 Salary Guide from Robert...

Footnotes.(Because People Matter day celebrated)(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... FIRM CLOSES DOORS TO VOLUNTEER FOR BAY AREA CHARITIES: Burr, Pilger & Mayer, a large CPA and business advisory firm in the San Francisco Bay Area, closed its five offices for a day so that staff could volunteer at several charitable and...

If you can't beat 'em ...(accountants)
November 27, 2006... In the 1997 film Grosse Pointe Blank, John Cusack portrays a baby-faced hit man who travels back to his hometown in Michigan to attend his 10-year high school reunion. While there, he's approached by a fellow assassin played by Dan Aykroyd, who...

Commentary: Anecdotes from accountants at home and abroad.
November 27, 2006... In 1853, Queen Victoria signed a royal charter creating the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. In 1880, the queen signed a royal charter creating an Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. On Dec. 1, 1896,...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
November 27, 2006... CPA PAC contributions too skewed Your Oct. 16-Nov. 5, 2006, issue had a front-page article about the contributions that CPA political action committees are making to various political candidates ("CPA PACs stuff candidate coffers"). As the...

Practice Management: Even managing partners need goals.
November 27, 2006... If we achieve what we measure, then is it true that we become what we think about most of the time? Philip E. Humbert, Ph.D., wrote, "The human brain is a goal-seeking, problem-solving machine, and the things we think about, focus on and worry...

Taxing Issues.(private annuities)
November 27, 2006... TREASURY, IRS UPDATE ANNUITIES RULES: The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations addressing the tax treatment of an exchange of property for an annuity contract. The proposed regulations would apply...

Reforming business taxes: Lots of questions, no answers.
November 27, 2006... Business tax reform needs a bipartisan, national consensus, but is absolutely necessary for the country to remain competitive in a global economy, according to Senate Finance Committee chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. "I think the consensus...

Is the bell tolling for the tax benefits of private annuities?
November 27, 2006... The use of private annuities to shelter gain on appreciated property has come to an abrupt halt, if the Internal Revenue Service has its way. Whether the IRS can withstand pressure to withdraw or substantially amend new proposed regs...

Change Of Auditors.
November 27, 2006... SENIOR CAPITAL DISMISSES KPMG: Senior Capital Living Corp., a Dallas-based operator of senior residential communities, jettisoned its auditor, Big Four firm KPMG, and named Ernst & Young as its new independent accountant. KPMG's audit...

Ethics on their shoulders: Boards bear the burden.
November 27, 2006... High-profile corporate scandals in recent years have seriously eroded public confidence in published financial results. Reliance on the accuracy of financial statements is essential if investors are to own equity or debt instruments of...

The option dating game: It's bad ethics all around.
November 27, 2006... The controversy over options backdating just won't go away, and with good reason. According to the latest count, more than 120 companies are under investigation for doing it. In September, the heretofore-worshipped Steve Jobs was in the...

FASB takes another look at securities rule.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... NORWALK, CONN. -- The Financial Accounting Standards Board has voted to propose changes to a derivatives rule issued earlier this year affecting the financial statements of asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities investors. The...

PFP Briefs.(Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund offering new gift fund)(Morningstar Inc. to provide data on mutual funds)(American College appointed Keith E. Hickerson )
November 27, 2006... FIDELITY LOWERS MINIMUM GIFT FUND CONTRIBUTION: In an effort to make the benefits of donor-advised funds more accessible, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund announced that it would lower its initial contribution and grant recommendation...

IRS spells out new rules for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.(Internal Revenue Service )
November 27, 2006... Last year, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, and with that legislation came some changes in the way bankruptcy debtors are taxed. New Internal Revenue Service guidelines have been issued to...

American College rolls out accelerated CFP study plan.(Certified Financial Planner certification )(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... BRYN MAWR, PA. -- The American College, a financial services educator based here, has launched an expedited learning program designed to prepare financial advisors for the Certified Financial Planner certification examination in roughly seven...

WorldCom investors set to receive initial payout.(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that thousands of individual investors who made financial claims in the wake of the $11 billion WorldCom accounting fraud will soon receive up to $150 million from a commission fund...

Tech Briefs.
November 27, 2006... INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GROUP ACQUIRES XCELERATE: Los Angeles-based Information Technology Group Inc. has acquired Xcelerate LLC, a reseller of Sage Accpac ERP and Sage CRM software based in Chicago. Financial terms of the deal were not...

E-Mail Crisis: Florida firm's quick action thwarts e-mail attackers: Thousands of messages per hour were addressed to Bloomer Geri's internal mailboxes.
November 27, 2006... PENSACOLA, FLA. -- Bloomer, Geri & Co., a CPA and business advisory firm headquartered here, found a way to fight potentially crippling e-mail bombs last tax season. Information technology manager Joy Lasseter said that the first clue of...

Motivating your team by putting 'the six' into action.
November 27, 2006... In my last article (Accounting Today, Sept. 4-17, 2006, page 22), we explored the importance of understanding what motivates your people. I encouraged you to use the six professional motivators to ask them to prioritize what motivates them -...

In pursuit of the 'less-paper' office: Understanding and implementing document management and workflow.
November 27, 2006... The concept of the paperless office was first introduced as a futuristic vision at Business Week in 1975, and 30 years later, its realization remains elusive. Although the evolution to a paperless office has been slower than predicted,...

Building trust - the key to a culture of growth.
November 27, 2006... Many CPAs believe that they are their clients' most trusted business advisors, but what about being trusted within the firm? Sadly, that trust often doesn't extend among partners and staff. In today's competitive environment for talent,...

Software.(Product/service evaluation)
November 27, 2006... Assume Control As more businesses use performance management tools, the tools themselves become more powerful, needle-diving into the constantly expanding haystack of corporate data to help refine and improve decision-making. It's a...

Books.(Buyers guide)
November 27, 2006... 'Accounting Control' No one needs to be told that having strong internal controls is enormously important these days - they just need to be told how get them. Accounting expert and prolific author Steven M. Bragg's Accounting Control Best...

COSO focuses on monitoring corp. controls.(Committee of Sponsoring Organizations )(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA. -- The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission issued a request for proposals to develop guidance to help organizations monitor the quality of their internal control systems. The end product...

People.(appointments)
November 27, 2006... ARKANSAS Roxanne E. Benincosa has joined Bell and Co., Little Rock, as a senior audit manager. She previously served in management roles in the Audit Departments at Thomas and Thomas LLP and Beall Barclay and Col PLC. She also worked as...

Firms.(financial services)
November 27, 2006... CALIFORNIA Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co. has moved its Palo Alto office to a new location in the same business complex, at 2479 E. Bayshore Road, Suite 700. The firm has also joined The International Accounting Group as the exclusive...

Coming Events.(Calendar)
November 27, 2006... NOVEMBER 27: CalFed Federal Tax Issues, Gear Up. Santa Rosa, Calif. Contact: (800) 231-1860 or www.gearup.com. 27-28: NATP's Famous 1040 and 1040 Extra, National Association of Tax Professionals. Montgomery, Ala.; Bridgeport, Conn.;...

Advertiser Index.
November 27, 2006... Advertiser Page 1st Global 19 ADP Small Business Services 11 ATX/Kleinrock 13 BNA Tax Management 23 CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business...