CPA Letter articles from July 2002

CPA Letter archives from July 2002

SEC and Senate Banking Committee put forth proposals for new regulation of public company auditors. (just in ...).
July 1, 2002... "This model sends a loud and clear message that the era of self-regulation of the accounting profession is over," said Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt in describing the commission's far-reaching plan to regulate auditors...

AICPA Annual Members' Meeting to be held Oct. 22.
July 1, 2002... The AICPA's Annual Members' Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. Members also are invited to observe Council's deliberations, which will take place Oct. 20-22. CPE will be provided, as...

Awards conferred for Women's Financial Health Week campaign and an AICPA human resources program.
July 1, 2002... The AICPA's Women's Financial Health Week initiative that took place in Jan. won a Big Apple 2002 award from the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, the national association for the public relations profession. The...

Call for Professor/Practitioner cases.
July 1, 2002... The AICPA is now accepting proposals for cases under the 2003 Professor/Practitioner Case Development Program. This program is designed to promote collaboration of accounting educators and practitioners (not exclusive to public accounting) in...

How to request copyright permission from the AICPA.
July 1, 2002... Members and others who wish to reproduce content from any AICPA publication (or Web site) must first obtain copyright permission from the Institute. The most expeditious way to do so is through our Web site (www.aicpa.org). Click on the...

Public meeting notices.
July 1, 2002... For detailed agendas, dial 201/938-3787 from a fax machine and key in document no. 1206 two weeks prior to these meetings. Accounting & Review Services Committee: Sept. 23-24, New York Accounting Standards Executive Committee: July...

SEC issues proposals to increase reliability, transparency and timeliness of financial reporting.
July 1, 2002... In the wake of Enron Corp.'s collapse, the Securities and Exchange Commission has released several proposals to help ensure the accuracy of and restore trust in public company financial statements. One of the proposals relates to auditors of...

Acceleration of quarterly and annual filings.
July 1, 2002... In mid-Apr., the SEC proposed to shorten the filing deadlines for certain companies from 45 to 30 calendar days after period end for quarterly reports and from 90 to 60 calendar days after fiscal year end for annual reports. In commenting on...

MD&A disclosure of application of critical accounting policies.
July 1, 2002... This proposal, released in mid-May, would encompass disclosure in two areas: accounting estimates a company makes in applying its accounting policies and the initial adoption by a company of an accounting policy that has a material impact on...

Quarterly and annual report certification.
July 1, 2002... In mid-June the SEC released a proposal to require a company's principal executive and principal financial officer to certify the information in the company's quarterly and annual reports. Furthermore, the SEC proposes to require a company to...

Additional Form 8-K disclosure requirements, acceleration of filing date.
July 1, 2002... Also in mid-June, the SEC proposed to add 11 new items that would require a company to file Form 8-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition, the SEC proposed to move two disclosure items currently required to be included in...

Andersen resigns from SECPS effective Aug. 31.
July 1, 2002... The verdict of guilt last month in the Arthur Andersen, LLP obstruction of justice trial was rapidly followed by the firm's decision to discontinue its audit practice on or about Aug. 31. The Executive Committee of the AICPA's SEC Practice...

Send us your e-mail address, receive "AICPA News Update".
July 1, 2002... If you have not submitted your e-mail address to us or have changed it recently, send your e-mail address to memsat@aicpa.org. Indicate "e-mail address update" in the subject header field to help us process the submissions more efficiently....

AICPA ... where to turn.
July 1, 2002... AICPA... Where to Turn All address and job change information should be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to the Member Satisfaction Center in New Jersey. (The CPA Letter and Journal of Accountancy will automatically be updated. Indicate any...

CPA2Biz joins forces with Nationwide Financial. (technology).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... CPA2Biz, Inc. (www.cpa2biz.com) and Nationwide Financial have announced a strategic relationship that further expands the offerings available to CPAs. As part of the agreement, Capital Professional Advisors, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of...

CPAs see financial reporting, information security among top technology issues. (technology).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The specters of the Enron collapse and the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks are wielding a profound influence on current technology issues, as evidenced by the AICPA's 2002 Top Technologies list. This marks the twelfth consecutive year that the...

Contract signed for computer-based CPA exam, new web site launched.(computerized testing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The AICPA, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and Prometric have signed a joint agreement to deliver a computerized Uniform CPA Examination. A final paper-based version of the CPA examination will be delivered in Nov. 2003....

Professional Ethics division issues exposure draft.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee has issued an exposure draft containing five proposals for review and comment. The proposals include revisions to the following independence standards: Interpretation 101-1--Interpretation of...

Disciplinary actions.(accountant investigations/terminations)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... As a result of investigations of alleged violations of the Codes of Professional Conduct of the AICPA and/or state CPA societies, the following ethics cases have been resolved by settlement agreement under the Joint Ethics Enforcement Program:...

Happenings at spring Council meeting. (chair's corner).(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2002... Here are some of the more significant actions and events that took place at the governing Council's meeting May 19-21: * Council was told of the success of Year 1 of the AICPA's $25 million, 5-year CPA student recruitment campaign....

AICPA Foundation fundraising campaign picks up steam.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The AICPA Foundation reports that the fundraising campaign it initiated following the Dec. 2001 initial public offering of Prudential Financial, Inc. is gaining momentum. As a result of that IPO, members and firms participating in the AICPA...

AICPA issues comment letter on proposed 2002 Revision to Government Auditing Standards. (regulatory matters).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... In Jan. 2002, the General Accounting Office issued an exposure draft titled Government Auditing Standards: 2002 Revision (The CPA Letter, Jan.). The ED proposed revisions to all chapters of Government Auditing Standards (also known as the...

SEC Historical Society preserves, shares SEC's history.(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Securities and Exchange Commission is one of the most successful independent regulatory agencies in our nation's history and one of the most influential agencies with respect to the accounting profession. In 1999 the SEC Historical Society...

Proposed SOP on derivatives, hedging released by AcSEC. (accounting & auditing news).(statement of position, Accounting Standards Executive Committee)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... An exposure draft of a proposed statement of position, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities by Not-for-Profit Health Care Organizations, and Clarification of the Performance Indicator, has been issued by the Accounting...

Interpretation to SSARS No. 1 issued. (accounting & auditing news).(Applicability of SSARS No. 1 When Performing Controllership or Other Management Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Accounting and Review Services Committee issued an interpretation titled Applicability of SSARS No. 1 When Performing Controllership or Other Management Services. The interpretation would require an accountant in the practice of public...

Not-for-Profits' reporting costs of soliciting contributed services clarified. (accounting & auditing news).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Questions have arisen about not-for-profit organizations' reporting the costs of soliciting contributed services that do not meet the recognition criteria for contributions in FASB Statement No. 116, Accounting for Contributions Received and...

FASB adds revenue recognition project to its agenda. (accounting & auditing news).(Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, in an effort to provide better and more comprehensive guidance as to when companies should record revenues, it has added a project on revenue recognition to its agenda. As part of this...

AICPA releases Qs&As on financial reporting, accounting issues regarding software revenue. (accounting & auditing news).(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The AICPA staff, assisted by industry experts, released a fifth set of technical questions and answers on financial accounting and reporting issues related to Statement of Position 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition. The Qs&As will be housed in...

Now available.(accounting literature)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... New 2002 editions--AICPA Audit and Accounting Guides with conforming changes as of May 1. All guides will be available by July 31. Price: $42.40 member; $53 non-member. Casinos (012712CPA07) * Health Care Organizations (012612CPA07) *...

GASB expands on financial reporting guidance for fundraising foundations and similar organizations. (accounting & auditing news).(Governmental Accounting Standards Board )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement No. 39, Determining Whether Certain Organizations Are Component Units, which clarifies existing accounting guidance and provides greater consistency in accounting for...

Partnership and LLC taxation from A to Z. (CPE news).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Partnership and LLC Taxation from A to Z (No. 730760CPA07). An in-depth look at partnership and LLC taxation. Learn efficient methods for tax return preparation, look out for the difficult pitfalls that can lead to problems and help your client...

Difficult people: keeping your cool under fire! (CPE news).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Difficult People: Keeping Your Cool Under Fire! (No.731150CPA07). Complete this course and learn how to change the behavior of difficult people. Recognize the potential for building better client relations and increasing staff productivity....

Annual update for accountants and auditors. (CPE news).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... Annual Update for Accountants and Auditors (No. 730017CPA07). Designed to keep you abreast of fast-paced changes. Included are all the recently issued pronouncements, exposure drafts and consensus reports in the accounting, auditing,...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2002... The CD-ROM for the book announced in our May issue, Understanding Business Valuation, 2nd Edition (No. 056600), contains 3 sample reports but does not contain the checklists and forms mentioned.

AICPA urges changes to Senate Finance Committee tax shelter bill. (tax info).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2002... The AICPA has urged lawmakers to make changes to a bill intended to curb tax shelter abuse. The bill, S. 2498, introduced May 10, and passed by the Senate Finance Committee in mid-June, has moved on a fast track since it was scored as a revenue...