Accounting Today articles from October 2005

Accounting Today archives from October 2005

Sales tax project underway at last.(Streamlined Sales Tax Project )
October 10, 2005... The Streamlined Sales Tax Project, in labor since 2000, officially gave birth on Oct. 1, 2005, when the threshold of 10 states representing at least 20 percent of the population was crossed. "There are now 13 full-member states and five...

'A tremendous outpouring': Accountants offer Katrina victims support - and jobs.
October 10, 2005... Accounting firms and various state boards from around the country are reaching out to both the victims of Hurricane Katrina and displaced accountants who need a new home and a place to work. The storm, which ravaged scores of Gulf Coast...

Gender gap still exists at the top: But women make up majority of those entering profession.
October 10, 2005... Women still lag behind men when it comes to making partner at public firms, or earning an accounting doctorate, but looking behind those numbers, there's no question that the industry continues to move towards gender parity. "I don't think...

How'd they get our logo?(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Desktop publishing software is a wonderful thing - we couldn't publish this newspaper without it - but it also makes it easy for fraudsters to cheaply and easily falsify all manner of documents, from invoices and bank checks to stock...

Congress passes Katrina tax cuts.
October 10, 2005... Washington -- Both the House and Senate passed nearly $5 billion in tax cut bills aimed at helping victims of Hurricane Katrina and the people who provide them shelter. The bills have slight differences that will need to be ironed out...

GAO outlines tax reform debate.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Washington -- The Government Accountability Office has released a comprehensive overview of the tax reform debate. "Understanding the Tax Reform Debate: Background, Criteria and Questions" begins with a history and general explanation of the...

Tax errors lead Sun to restatements.
October 10, 2005... Santa Clara, Calif. -- Computer manufacturer Sun Microsystems Inc. will restate its 2003 and 2004 financial results after identifying errors related to the accounting for various tax-related issues. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange...

Former KPMG chair/CEO Eugene O'Kelly dies at 53.(Obituary)
October 10, 2005... New York -- Eugene D. O'Kelly, 53, former chairman and chief executive of KPMG, died Sept. 10 at his New York City home at the age of 53. O'Kelly remained a senior partner at KPMG after disclosing a diagnosis of advanced-stage cancer in...

Auditing looks stronger as EU adopts int'l standards.
October 10, 2005... Brussels -- Following the inevitable rounds of infighting, European Union countries are taking the final steps to enact legislation to bring their auditing standards into line with best international practices as set out by the International...

Former Tyco execs sentenced to up to 25 years.
October 10, 2005... In a trial that will be remembered for its tales of bloated extravagance, Tyco International Ltd.'s former chief executive and finance chief received sentences of up to 25 years in prison. The men will be eligible for parole after serving eight...

Expert: Estate tax repeal would hit charities hardest.
October 10, 2005... Washington -- Repealing the federal estate tax could end up choking off billions of dollars in contributions to charities whose resources have been stretched thin by the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, a top tax policy researcher warned...

Client opportunities grow as small biz embraces tech.(accounting software )
October 10, 2005... While "shoebox" clients - those who keep their financial data in the form of receipts in a shoebox - still exist, their numbers are declining as technology becomes more advanced and affordable, and CPAs are seizing that niche opportunity. ...

Fraud and forensics.(www.aicpa.org/bvfls )(www.cfenet.com)(www.ecii.edu/index.html )(www.fasna.org )(http://quatloos.com)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... * AICPA's Business Valuation and Forensic & Litigation Services Community - www.aicpa.org/bvfls This site has resources, tools and information for CPAs related to business valuation and forensic and litigation services. ABV credential...

Footnotes.(Florida International University and Kaufman, Rossin & Co. to provide donations for business college)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... FIU ALUMNI GIVE $100K TO BUSINESS COLLEGE: Florida International alumni from the CPA and business advisory firm of Kaufman, Rossin & Co. have banded together to spearhead a $100,000 donation to their alma mater's college of business...

Wagering on the profession.(accounting professionals)
October 10, 2005... As a gullible teenager, I was once given a "sure thing" on a horse by a local goniff who billed himself as a honorable "sports wagerer," but who, as I later found out via a police blotter, was in reality a twice-convicted bookmaker. In any...

The 'wickedness' of the wicked and the 'mischief' of the virtuous.(accounting fraud )(Maurice "Hank" Greenberg)
October 10, 2005... Maurice "Hank" Greenberg is "wicked," at least as seen by the Attorney General of the State of New York. That is so because Greenberg is accused of being responsible for an extensive array of accounting distortions providing false and...

Lawmakers' deadly priorities.
October 10, 2005... While taxpaying Americans were dying on U.S. soil from the recent devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Republican congressional leadership were working on their top legislative priority as Congress was about to reconvene. Was their top...

Taxing Issues.(John Chopack is retiring and Shaun T. Kelly, Frederick S. "Rick" Smith appointed for KPMG A/S.)(Government Accountability Office blamed educational tax credits)(Creative Solutions Inc. and PPC Integrate developed tax preparation software)
October 10, 2005... KPMG ANNOUNCES NEW TAX SERVICES HEADS: Moving on from its recent legal troubles, KPMG named vice chairs for its tax services and tax services operations. Shaun T. Kelly, 46, and Frederick S. "Rick" Smith, 49, will take over the respective...

Groups tell reform panel: Forget return-free filing!
October 10, 2005... Calling the proposal for a "return-free" filing system "flawed" and "dangerous to taxpayers," 14 groups have written the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform to urge that it be taken off the table in any final report. While the...

Taxing issues arising from Katrina and other disasters.
October 10, 2005... As the U.S. mobilizes on a number of fronts to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, the Internal Revenue Service has mobilized as well. The IRS has already released several information releases in response to Hurricane Katrina. ...

Regulators express 'doubts' on Cisco stock plan.
October 10, 2005... Washington -- New guidance from Securities and Exchange Commission regulators sets limits on ways to determine the cost of stock options, though the new SEC chairman said that the report was "tentative." Chief accountant Donald Nicolaisen,...

Change Of Auditors.(Abaxis Inc. appoints Burr, Pilger & Mayer LLP as its auditor)(Reader's Digest Association Inc. appoints KPMG A/S as its auditor)(Oragenics Inc. appoints Kirkland, Russ, Murphy & Tapp as its auditor)(Alliance One International appoints Deloitte & Touche as its auditor)(Answerthink Inc. appoints PricewaterhouseCoopers as its auditor)
October 10, 2005... ABAXIS DISMISSES D&T: Blood-analysis systems manufacturer Abaxis Inc. dismissed Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche as its outside auditor, and retained Burr, Pilger & Mayer LLP as its successor. A federal filing did not state a reason for the...

Environmental accounting: Get your 'green' eyeshades.
October 10, 2005... Environmentalism has arrived, and it's here to stay. And apparently the time to account for it has also come. The question is how. Many corporations have seen real, market-driven reasons to report on their environmental impact and...

Generally accepted golf scoring - a reprise.(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles)(Column)
October 10, 2005... It's another busy season for us with the beginning of the academic year. As a result, we're buying some time by bringing back an all-time favorite tongue-in-cheek column that sheds light on how ludicrous many important features of GAAP are. ...

PFP Briefs.(Securities and Exchange Commission Hurricane Katrina relief services)(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants won Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications)(according to new accounting rules stock options should be treated expensive)
October 10, 2005... SEC HELPING INVESTORS, COMPANIES AFFECTED BY KATRINA: The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the growing list of companies and agencies mobilizing to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The SEC divisions and...

The CFA Institute unveils governors for 2005-2006.(appointment of John Stannard and Vincent Duhamel)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Charlottesville, Va. -- The CFA Institute, the global concern that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst examination and credential, has elected its new board of governors. John Stannard, of Russell Investment Group, was elected...

Converting a traditional IRA annuity to a Roth IRA.
October 10, 2005... An individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income for a year is not more than $100,000 may convert an amount held in a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The amount converted is subject to tax to the same extent that it would be if the...

The American College opens Hall of Fame.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Bryn Mawr, Pa. -- Financial services educator The American College is accepting nominations for induction into its newly created Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is designed to recognize graduates of the college's designation or degree programs...

Tech Briefs.(EmeraldKey Technologies Inc.,)(new software)
October 10, 2005... SAGE OFFERS SOFTWARE FOR UNITED WAY CAMPAIGNS: Sage Software released the latest version of Sage Fundraising 100 - Rainbow Edition, offering United Way organizations a suite of fundraising management and development tools. Formerly called...

Effective Web sites proving a valuable marketing tool.
October 10, 2005... Marketing director Maggy MacPherson, of regional CPA firm Beard Miller Co. LLP, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recognized what few firms like to admit - her firm's Web site needs a lot of work. "The site is not very user-friendly right...

Microsoft launches its SBA.
October 10, 2005... Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft Business Solutions released its anticipated Small Business Accounting and Office Small Business Management Edition - two MS Office small business accounting software applications - nearly a year after the release of...

Web Designers.(Brief Article)(Directory)
October 10, 2005... * AdvisorSites 1025 Old Country Road, Suite 223 Westbury, N.Y. 11590 (888) 274-5755 * AG Information Systems 306 Primrose Lane Mountville, Pa. 17554 (717) 285-7105 * Artege.com 11901 SW 91 Avenue ...

Fixed asset apps make handling depreciation easy.
October 10, 2005... It's not that Uncle Sam does not want your clients to deduct those big-ticket items that are critical to running almost any business. The less cynical among us would nod and agree with the Internal Revenue Service's position that the cost of...

Vendor information.(Brief Article)(Directory)
October 10, 2005... * Fixed Assets Relief AccountantsWorld 140 Fell Court Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788 (888) 999-1366 www.accountantsworld.com Price: $595. * Bassets Fixed Asset System Decision Support Software P.O. Box 665 ...

Globalization: Is your firm motivated, or paralyzed?
October 10, 2005... Much has been written on outsourcing and its impact on the accounting profession. While everyone has their opinion and beliefs, it's time for all accounting firms to seriously evaluate strategic options that will help transform their service...

BearingPoint announces SEC probe.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... McLean, Va. -- BearingPoint Inc., a spinoff of Big Four firm KPMG's former consulting business, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal investigation of the company. Along with providing an update to the...

Software & Supplies.(Buyers Guide)
October 10, 2005... Accpac ePOS 5.3 Sage Software has released a new version of its Accpac ePOS point-of-sale software for small and midsized retailers. The new version, 5.3, has a number of features for customer retention, including the ability to handle...

Books.(650 Essential Nonprofit Law Questions Answered)(Earnings Management)(The New Fiduciary Standard )(Book Review)
October 10, 2005... 'Earnings Management' "Earnings management" has become a dirty word (or two), conjuring images of cooked books and cookie jars. But not all earnings management is unethical or even illegal, according to accounting professor Thomas E....

Coming Events.(Calendar)
October 10, 2005... - OCTOBER - 10: Accounting and Auditing Update, PPC-Bell Learning. Holiday Inn Select, Memphis, Tenn. Contact: www.bellcpe.com or (800) 548-1551. 10-11: NATP's Famous 1040 & 1040 Extra Workshops, NATP. South Bend, Ind.; Duluth, Minn.;...

People.(Haskell & White LLP)(Santora CPA Group)
October 10, 2005... CALIFORNIA Steven A. Haskell, partner and co-founder of Haskell & White LLP, Irvine, has passed away at the age of 52, after a battle with cancer. Haskell co-founded the firm in 1988, and was managing partner up until 2004, when he became...

Firms.(Sturn Wagner Lombardo & Co.)(Beene Garter LLP)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... MARYLAND Sturn Wagner Lombardo & Co., Annapolis, is celebrating its 15th anniversary of being in business. MASSACHUSETTS Green Beacon Solutions, Watertown, has added enterprise resource planning and accounting systems services to...

Freddie Mac settles with fed regulator.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Washington -- The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said that it has settled a 2003 action brought against troubled home mortgage lender Freddie Mac. As part of the agreement to put an accounting scandal behind it, Freddie will...

Advertiser Index.
October 10, 2005... Advertiser Page 1st Global 17 AccountantsWorld 47 ADP 37, 39, 41 BNA 35 CCH Tax and Acctg ...

FASB: Katrina not 'extraordinary;' AICPA offers some guidance.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
October 10, 2005... Norwalk, Conn. -- Houses and offices under water. Looting in the streets. Factories on fire. What's an accountant to do? According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Emerging Issues Task Force, treat the situation as ordinary....

It's a Family Affair.
October 10, 2005... A family is a unit composed not only of children but also of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold...Ogden Nash, U.S. humorist & poet Our cover story this issue revolves around three generations of financial planners...all...

Asset Builders.(Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund)(TD Waterhouse USA)(CCH Incorporated)
October 10, 2005... Fidelity Charitable Tops $5 Billion Mark The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the nation's number 1 grant maker among donor-advised fund programs, has surpassed $5 billion in grants recommended by its donors to more than 88,000 IRS-approved...

Practice Growth.(employer pension plans are better funded)(wealth management)(better recruiting proves better financial performance)
October 10, 2005... Wealthy Also Have Many Problems A new study from PNC Advisors, the wealth management arm of the PNC Financial Services Group, points out that managing wealth has become a family matter with parallels to managing a business. In an extensive...

Partners.(Weiser LLP)
October 10, 2005... FPA Partnering with TUGX The Financial Planning Association and the Ultimate Gift Experience has an agreement in place to create a working relationship that would enable the two organizations to explore the development of new services and...

Tech Tools.
October 10, 2005... Developing Forecasts With New Horizon Technologies' PlanGuru, users can develop forecasts, projections and budgets for up to five years. It automatically creates an integrated balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow without having...

Regulatory Watch.(Small Firms Association)
October 10, 2005... XBRL Extends to Investment Companies The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that it has expanded its voluntary program to make it easier to for investors and others to use disclosure documents filed with the Commission. This...

Family Ties.(O'Malley and O'Malley)(Interview)
October 10, 2005... Six decades ago, William J. O'Malley, Jr. hung out his shingle as a public accountant. He was a sole proprietor. Since then, his son, Charles, a CPA, has succeeded him as managing partner and it became O'Malley & O'Malley. If they wanted to, it...

O'Malley's Own Succession Planning.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Mariette, in addition to being a CPA, also has a J.D. (Tax), and is a teaching Certified Financial Planner. She now handles most of the firm's tax and planning issues, while brother David, a CPA, is running the accounting and business side of...

Doing it Right.(O'Malley & O'Malley)
October 10, 2005... Charles K. O'Malley, managing partner of O'Malley & O'Malley in Cinnaminson, N.J., points to a number of case studies to represent what his firm does. * A Family Farm The father and mother owned the land, and the father, mother, son,...

Helping Surviving Spouses.
October 10, 2005... Does a client ever face more difficult decisions while less able to think clearly than when a spouse has just died? A multitude of unremitting financial issues awaits survivors, including locating policies and important papers, re-titling...

Paper, Paper, Paper.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Below, in their order of importance, is a list of documents that should be located and analyzed. * Wills or trusts * Health insurance policies * Most recent income tax return * Name (and address if available) of...

Five Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make.
October 10, 2005... Part of the great American dream of many people is to own their own business. What must people do to become a successful entrepreneur? The answer is quite a challenge for people to start and run successful businesses doing everything you can...

Broadening Your Services.
October 10, 2005... Many CPAs today are looking to broaden the services they offer to clients. According to the Tiburon Strategic Advisors Report, "A Synopsis of the CPA Industry & Highlights of their Models for Entering the Investment Business," almost 40 percent...

Making the Most of Your 401(k).
October 10, 2005... Everything in life involves risk, and investing for retirement is certainly no exception. Knowing how much risk you're comfortable with can go a long way to preventing sleepless nights and uncertainty during volatile markets. Debt Free ...

3rd Annual Financial Planning Awards: Call for Nominations.
October 10, 2005... Nominations are now open for CPA Wealth Provider's Third Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms Broker/Dealers Financial Planning Software Vendors Winners are those firms or...

Spheres of Influence.(Editorial)
October 10, 2005... Few professions, if any, have undergone the sort of massive changes that accounting has over the past four years. From the corporate scandals to the collapse of one of the nation's stalwart CPA firms, to the implementation of tougher...

Back to full health, or still recovering?(CFA Centre for Financial Market Integrity)(Interview)
October 10, 2005... Can the centuries-old question of whether one perceives the glass as half-empty or half-full be applied to accurately gauge the progress of the accounting profession in rebuilding its tattered image post-Enron, WorldCom and Andersen? Like...

2005 Top 100 People.
October 10, 2005... Ernest A. Almonte Auditor General, Rhode Island One of the most active government auditing members of the profession, Almonte is president-elect of the National State Auditors Association and a member of many committees, as well as the...

Spreading it around.(top 100 people )(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... Each year, we ask candidates for our Top 100 People list to name who they think are the most influential people. This year, our candidates suggested a record 70 different people. The most-named were those you would expect. William McDonough...

Supply & Demand.(periodical)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2005... WELCOME TO THE FALL EDITION of the Marketplace, which, in addition to debuting a new look, will examine a troika of fast-growing client services segments - succession planning, litigation support and computer forensics. For the CPA,...

Letting go of business: Plan for your success by helping clients plans for their succession.
October 10, 2005... Succession planning for clients who have family-owned or closely held businesses is a world unto itself. Many entrepreneurs remain unwilling to plan for succession. The reasons they give are varied, but often include a reluctance to give up...

May it please the court ...: As the fraud problem grows, accountants who can detect and explain it become more valuable.
October 10, 2005... How many lawyers does it take to provide detailed evidence regarding a financial crime? None - if they've got the right accountant. Litigation support provides a niche area of expertise for accounting professionals who are comfortable...

Bring 'em back intact!: Companies will pay to retrieve data they didn't even know existed.
October 10, 2005... The problem is a familiar one, but the solution is new. Laurie Holtz, of the Miami-based firm Rachlin Cohen & Holtz, related a recent case of the Florida Insurance Department taking on a viatical scam. "The state secured information, but...

McDonough to exit PCAOB: Ex-Fed prez was public persona of board - and of audit integrity.(William J. McDonough leaves Public Company Accounting Oversight Board )
October 24, 2005... Washington -- William J. McDonough, who in two years as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board helped guide the audit overseer from shaky beginnings to a powerful regulatory entity with eight offices and over 400 employees, will...

Efficiency, simplicity mark new tax suites.(usage of web in accounting services)
October 24, 2005... Basic 1040 tax prep software is becoming a fungible commodity, with little separating the features of the various packages offered by software manufactures, according to some observers. That's why so many of next year's tax prep packages...

Basic information rules.(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Accountants have to gather an awful lot of information about their clients. There are plenty of specific rules and regulations about document and information retention, but here are some good basic guidelines: * If you don't need it, don't...

PwC to pay in insurer's collapse.(PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P. (New York, New York))(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Newark, N.J. -- PricewaterhouseCoopers was ordered to pay $182.9 million in connection with audits it performed for Ambassador Insurance Co., more than 20 years after the company collapsed into bankruptcy. A third of the penalties are due to...

KPMG hit by PCAOB, investors.(Public Company Accounting Oversight Board)(KPMG Investment Advisors Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... New York -- After agreeing to pay some $195 million in a settlement to roughly 280 investors in its tax shelters, Big Four firm KPMG is under fire again, this time from a critical inspection report from the Public Company Accounting Oversight...

McGladrey completes AmEx deal.(American Express Tax and Business Services )(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... Bloomington, Minn. -- RSM McGladrey announced that its $220 million acquisition of American Express Tax and Business Services is a done deal, after receiving approval from the Department of Justice. The transaction means that McGladrey, a...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 24, 2005... In "Data mining tools drilling into small business market" (Sept. 5-25, 2005, page 5), the name of the assistant controller of The Mercadien Group was misspelled; her name is Joyce Kalstein. (c) 2005 Accounting Today and SourceMedia, Inc....

CPAs see mixed returns on their technology investment.(certified public accountants)
October 24, 2005... Whether you're a certified techie, or your IT knowledge extends little beyond the PC on-off switch, implementing new technology remains one of the more vital decisions facing CPA firms. But depending on whom you ask, CPAs are either...

IFRS business combination rules on hot seat in Europe.(International Financial Reporting Standard)
October 24, 2005... Brussels -- A backlash is beginning to be felt throughout the auditing profession in Europe over proposed changes to accountancy rules covering combinations and mergers. Several non-governmental organizations, such as the European...

GAO: IRC compliance costs top $100 billion.(Government Accountability Office)
October 24, 2005... Washington -- Complying with the federal tax code costs American taxpayers at least $100 billion annually, and lost economic efficiency associated with the tax system may top half a trillion dollars, auditors for the Government Accountability...

New GASB proposal helps clarify future state revenues.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
October 24, 2005... Norwalk, Conn. -- The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has proposed a new standard that would clarify accounting for sales and pledges of receivables and future revenues, including those arising from tobacco settlement agreements. ...

Expensing hasn't changed basics of handling options.(use of stock options)
October 24, 2005... The workload for financial advisors in Seattle and Austin lessened somewhat over the last few years, as big employers such as Microsoft and Dell curtailed their use of stock options. Across the nation, an increasing number of companies have...

Technology resources.(www.techweb.com/encyclopedia)(www.ctsguides.com)(www.findaccountingsoftware.com)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... * CMP's Tech Encyclopedia - www.techweb.com/encyclopedia Don't know your bits from your bytes? Just type in any computer term into this search engine, and an easily understandable definition pops up. More than 20,000 terms and concepts (and...

Footnotes.(disaster relief)(Brief Article)
October 24, 2005... MORE FIRMS JOIN KATRINA EFFORT: As the Gulf Coast region begins the rebuilding process following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, more CPA firms have joined the effort to help victims and businesses affected by the disaster. ...

Experienced only need apply.(William McDonough)
October 24, 2005... On an unusually hot April day in 2003, I happened to be loading my car's trunk after nearly maxing out my credit card after completing a "honey do this" spree at Bed Bath & Beyond, when I heard on the radio that the fledgling Public Company...

Quality review and its future vs. peer review and its failure.
October 24, 2005... Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary has some fascinating verbiage for "peer," i.e., "to look narrowly or cautiously; to look searchingly at something difficult to discern; to come slightly into view; emerge partly." I also liked "a member...

Middle-aged, creative and proud of it!(Letter to the Editor)
October 24, 2005... Whoa there, Ron Baker: Old dogs don't create? (Accounting Today, Sept. 26-Oct. 9, 2005, page 33.) I know the point was supposed to be about invigorating accounting firms before they dry up and blow away, but Ron, are you also a racist and bigot...