Accounting Today back issues from February 2001:
Value pricing: The billable hour death knell?
Feb 12, 2001; ... Noted author, lecturer and practicing CPA Ron Baker has touched a sensitive nerve in the accounting profession with his crusade against the billable hour. In seminars around the world he preaches the message that accountants as a profession must break free from the tyranny of ...
Modern marriage: CPAs, divorce planning.
Feb 12, 2001; ... Divorce is a booming business. As an example, an Internet search for "divorce" brings up pages of sites like SmartDivorce.com and Divorceplanner.com. CPAs are also finding their way into this lucrative field as the issues surrounding divorcing couples become more complex. In ...
Online battle erupts for CPA mind share.
Feb 12, 2001; ... PHOENIX -- Internet portals have emerged as a new battleground in the war for CPA mind share. Slightly more than a year after the American Institute of CPAs announced its CPA2biz.com portal plans, two more portals, both targeted directly at the CPA market, surfaced within a ...
ACTION IDEA.(for auditors dealing with problem clients)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... Signs of a problem client Despite your best efforts, client relationships can sour. Here is a checklist of behavior that signifies a potential problem client: * Client refusal to answer questions fully or cooperate with requests for records; * Client ...
IASC names new international board.(International Accounting Standards Committee)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... NEW YORK -- The International Accounting Standards Committee, a 19-member oversight body that represents six continents and 14 countries, has named a new, International Accounting Standards Board and set a three-year target date within which to establish a uniform set of global accounting ...
KPMG appoints three tax industry leaders.(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... NEW YORK -- KPMG has announced the appointment of three tax industry leaders in its financial services practice to serve in the banking, insurance and real estate sectors. Robert T. McCahill will serve as the tax industry leader for the Banking segment, while Kim Sellers and ...
Wolters Kluwer acquires Tsoft.(Wolters Kluwer North America, Tsoft Financial Software)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... CHICAGO -- Wolters Kluwer North America has brought a Georgia financial services software under its wing. Tsoft Financial Software, of Marietta, Ga., a provider of software and compliance support for financial services companies, will be folded into subsidiary CCH, Wolters Kluwer's ...
FASB watching Washington and the world in 2001.(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Feb 12, 2001; ... NORWALK, CONN. -- Following a tough 2000, in 2001, the Financial Accounting Standards Board plans to forge ahead on several projects, regroup on another project and keep a weather-eye on Washington, D.C. (and the rest of the world) as it adds new projects to its agenda. The ...
Soft sell: CPAs learning the ABCs of marketing.
Feb 12, 2001; ... During tax season, most CPAs don't have enough time to go to the market, much less market their services. Even if accountants find that they have the time to sell their firm's services to potential clients, they often think like accountants, not marketers. As a result, an ...
Web Star Award winners.(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... * Gainskeeper.com--www.gainskeeper.com Are any of your tax clients frequent stock traders? If so, you may want to turn them on to this site, which helps investors track securities holdings and their tax implications. It will also help tax preparers with Schedule D when tax time ...
* FOOTNOTES *.(Gray, Gray & Gray donate $3,000 from seminar fees to Brain Tumor Society)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... TAX SEMINARS BENEFIT THE BRAIN TUMOR SOCIETY: The accounting firm Gray, Gray & Gray raised over $3,000 for The Brain Tumor Society at the firm's thirteenth annual year-end tax seminars. Held seperately in Boston and Westwood, Mass., the two seminars attracted over 100 business ...
Relationship guidelines unchanged under new rules.(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001; ... WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission's final new rules regulating auditor independence will not trigger any change in the agency's long-standing guidance for determining the appropriateness of business relationships between accountants and their audit clients, SEC chief ...
KPMG vows to appeal SEC sanction in BayMark case.
Feb 12, 2001; ... WASHINGTON -- Big Five firm KPMG LLP has vowed to appeal a blistering Securities and Exchange Commission ruling that accuses the firm of negligence in maintaining the independence of its audit activities. In issuing a cease and desist order against the firm, the SEC charged ...
The future of Int'l standards.(Column)
Feb 12, 2001; ... Last month, I had the privilege of hosting a dozen or so Japanese accountants from Osaka and Tokyo who wanted an update on the top issues that affect the accounting profession in America. The contingent subsequently converged on the offices of Accounting Today to hear ...
Compilation and review discussions still swirling.
Feb 12, 2001; ... Accounting firms today are seeking new ways to expand their auditing functions in order to develop new revenues, such as attesting to information distributed on the Internet. But how many accountants recall the brouhaha of more than two decades ago when the American Institute of ...
New recruiting solutions to an old problem.
Feb 12, 2001; ... With the number of accounting graduates still on the decline, and a decrease in the number of students sitting for the CPA exam, accounting firms nationwide are being forced to put on their creative thinking caps in order to recruit the brightest and the best available candidates. ...
TAXING ISSUES.(Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to review split dollar life insurance arrangements)
Feb 12, 2001; ... * IRS TIGHTENS RULES FOR SPLIT DOLLAR ARRANGEMENTS: The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department have announced that they are undertaking a comprehensive review of split dollar life insurance arrangements, and have issued interim guidance pending the outcome of that process. The ...
Jackson Hewitt expansion adds locations, new services.
Feb 12, 2001; ... PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- In the eight months since it began an aggressive acquisition/conversion program as part of its expansion plan, tax preparation specialist Jackson Hewitt has added approximately 500 new locations to its system. The total now stands at over 3,200 locations, owned by about ...
Minimum distribution rules allow new payout for retirees.(IRS retirement regulations review)
Feb 12, 2001; ... The Internal Revenue Service has just released proposed regulations that substantially liberalize and simplify the often complex tasks that are associated with determining to whom, how much, and for how long retirement account benefits should be distributed once account owners reach their ...
CHANGE 0F AUDITORS.
Feb 12, 2001 ... * WEAK INTERNAL CONTROLS SPUR E&Y-ASCHE DIVORCE: Ernst & Young's tenure as independent accountant for Asche Transportation Services Inc. ended after the auditors informed their client that they could no longer rely on the representations of the company's management. That ...
GASB issues six elementary guides to public finance.(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Feb 12, 2001; ... NORWALK, CONN. -- Government financial statements tend to exceed the grasp of the average citizen. They can even confuse accounting professionals who don't realize that governments report financial conditions quite differently from corporations. In fact, without the ...
The LIFO conformity rule: Do we really need it?(accounting industry)
Feb 12, 2001; ... In our continuing series of columns about the shortcomings of generally accepted accounting principles, this first of a pair of articles concerned with inventories addresses a significant but strangely stealthy issue that has been off everyone's radar screen for decades. Perhaps everyone ...
Intacct adds apps4biz.com as partner.(Intacct Corp.)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001 ... Accounting software application service provider Intacct Corp. and apps4biz.com, a global provider of Internet-based business applications for small manufacturing and service organizations, have announced a strategic partnership. Under the agreement, apps4biz.com will offer Intacct's ...
PFP BRIEFS.
Feb 12, 2001 ... * NEW SEC MUTUAL FUND RULE SEEKS TAX DISCLOSURE: The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted rules requiring mutual funds to inform investors about the tax bite on their portfolios and their after-tax returns. The rules, first proposed by the SEC last March, axe designed ...
Sea changes in fund channels means rising market tides.(mutual fund marketing)
Feb 12, 2001; ... No one can doubt that mutual fund marketers are pleased with their work in the last decade. Assets at mutual fund companies have grown from $1 trillion in 1990 to over $7 trillion in 2000. While 44 percent of the increase in assets was due to market appreciation, the other 56 percent ...
IRS' revised proposals determine distribution rules.(proposal review and evaluation)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001; ... A year ago, I wrote a series of articles describing the very complicated rules for determining required minimum distributions from individual retirement accounts. Now, the Internal Revenue Service has published revised proposed regulations on how to determine required minimum ...
TECH BRIEFS.
Feb 12, 2001 ... * PEOPLESOFT TAKES NEW STAB AT MIDDLE MARKET: The high-end enterprise software vendor, which has been attempting to establish a middle-market presence for more than two years, has launched PeopleSoft 8 Applications Enterprise, which is targeted at "enterprises ranging from start-ups to ...
Reseller tandem: Carpe diem!(Bennett/Porter & Associates)
Feb 12, 2001; ... PORED, ORE. -- A common dislike for meeting other people's sales quotas prompted Deni Porter and Susan Bennett to create Bennett/Porter & Associates, a Portland, Ore.-based reseller of Sage accounting software and one of that vendor's forerunners in electronic commerce services. ...
From tax to tech to the Internet.(K. Linda Rose & Co.)(Brief Article)
Feb 12, 2001; ... SAN DIEGO -- Linda Rose uses the chaos of the recent California energy crisis and subsequent rolling blackouts to talk security. Rose, founder and president of San Diego-based, K. Linda Rose & Co. and RoseASP, must assure customers that an application service provider hosting ...
Tech specialist hits big time online.(Ryan George)
Feb 12, 2001; ... TUCSON, ARIZ. -- In 1998, management of the Heinfeld & Meech CPA firm here directed their internal operations technology specialist Ryan George to launch a consulting practice that would specialize in network and accounting software-consulting services. Rapid demand for software ...
Software: A vital part of the business planning toolkit.
Feb 12, 2001; ... While many CPA firms debating whether to new high-value consulting services or increase their traditional service offerings, business planning stands out as a service that does not fall in either camp. While business-planning services are consultative, they will probably not ...
10 tips for getting the most from technology for your company.
Feb 12, 2001; ... When it comes to understanding the technology that is used by their companies, CPA firm partners do not need to know how to build a watch, but they do need to know how to tell time. Simply knowing the rules will not turn partners into tech gurus, but it will enable them to ...
SOFTWARE.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 12, 2001 ... FundWare V7.14 2nd ed. Reader Service No. 24 The latest edition of this accounting software for nonprofit organizations and government agencies is for the first time Windows 2000 certified. It is available in two versions, FundWare and FundWare Enterprise. The latter ...
HARDWARE.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 12, 2001 ... HL-1650 desktop monochrome laser printer Reader Service No. 39 This printer offers as standard, built-in automatic duplex printing and a three-color blacklight LCD display. It prints up to 16 pages per minute and comes with parallel and USB interfaces for ...
ET CETERA.(books, products)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 12, 2001 ... eLeadership Reader Service No. 42 Author Susan Annunzio offers business leaders strategies that are designed to reshape their companies into organizations that are able to quickly adapt to the constantly changing business landscape. Annunzio cites companies where she ...
PEOPLE.
Feb 12, 2001 ... * ALABAMA Barfield Murphy Shank & Smith, Birmingham, has added the following people to its staff: Amy Stanford, Clay Jones, Derrel Curry, Donnie Donald and Allen Woodruff. Three new interns who will be helping out this tax season are David Cavanaugh, Sara Beth Mason and Jeff ...
CORRECTION.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
Feb 12, 2001 ... In the people section of the Jan. 29-Feb. 11, 2001 issue, Andrew Dutler of Denman & Company LLP, West Des Moines, Iowa, was incorrectly listed as having been ...
Cpa2biz to emerge from AICPA shadow.
Feb 26, 2001; ... NEW YORK -- Brett Prager, chief executive of cpa2biz and operator of the Internet portal that was conceived by the American Institute of CPAs for practitioners and their clients, said that despite its strong links to the AICPA, the. Web site will, in fact, operate far differently than the ...
E-file outlook: progress toward 80-percent goal.
Feb 26, 2001; ... WASHINTON -- If Filing electronically saves time, money and is more accurate, why aren't more people using it? According to Terence H. Lutes, the director of the Internal Revenue Service's Electronic Tax Administration, don't blame professional preparers for the nation's ...
Overcome public speaking fear.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... What do people fear most? Not death or taxes but public speaking. Addressing a group of people -- your peers or your child's first grade class, can have debilitating physical effects. So, what can you do? 1. Arrive early--familiarize yourself with the surroundings. ...
AICPA drops Cognitor name; vows to keep credential project alive.
Feb 26, 2001; ... NEW YORK -- Despite the American Institute of CPAs shelving "Cognitor" as the name for its proposed global business designation, the association has pledged to maintain the controversial project. And after adopting a new moniker, may put it up for a vote of its membership at the May ...
BRIEFS.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... AICPA, ABA, TEI urge tax simplification WASHINGTON -- The three premier tax organizations in the nation -- the American Institute of CPAs, the American Bar Association Tax Section, and the Tax Executives Institute -- have stressed the need for simplifying the tax code in a joint ...
CPA firm lures Fortune 1000 clients with `resourcing' biz.
Feb 26, 2001; ... WILMINGTON, DEL. -- The Siegfried Group, an $8 million-a-year, 80-person practice, has taken the business of providing financial management personnel to corporate clients into a realm not entered by many other CPA firms its size -- the Fortune 1000. Along the way, it has created ...
Interim SEC chair seeks to close pay gap for gov't accountants.
Feb 26, 2001; ... WASHINGTON -- Securities and Exchange Commissioner Laura Unger warmed up to the accounting profession during her first full day as acting chairwoman of the agency, calling on Congress to move forward on legislation that would sharply increase the salary levels of SEC staff accountants and ...
WEB CITES.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... Web Star Award winners * Strafford Publications -- www.straffordpub.com Strafford publishes the respected newsletter, Public Accounting Report, excerpts of which can be found here. Although the publication focuses primarily on larger, accounting firms, the site offers ...
FOOTNOTES.(bank fraud)(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... INMATE PUTS THE CAR IN INCARCERATED: An inmate at a federal prison in Ohio did some one-stop shopping from his jail cell, with the help of $140,000 in loans and lease agreements. The items he purchased while in prison consisted of a new Lexus, a new GMC van and a leased 1998 ...
GASB shifts into gear in race for a productive 2001.
Feb 26, 2001; ... NORWALK, CONN. -- Asked to encapsulate the gist of the year 2000, Tom Allen, chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, said, "We are very pleased with the progress that governments are making in implementing Statement 34." The weight of that sentence, like an ...
FASB names two new board members, seeks one more.
Feb 26, 2001; ... NORWALK, CONN. -- The Financial Accounting Foundation has named Katherine Schipper and John K. Wulff to positions on the Financial Accounting Standards Board as current members Gerhard G. Mueller and Gaylen Larson declined to accept second terms. Following the appointments of ...
Farewell Cognitor.(American Institute for Certified Public Accountant)
Feb 26, 2001; ... With the exception of the controversy that was generated by the SEC's proposed audit-independence rules, perhaps no issue polarized the accounting community as much as the American Institute for Certified Public Accountant's XYZ global designation initiative, which evolved into the ...
Illegal acts and Section 10A.(Section 10A of the Exchange Act)
Feb 26, 2001; ... Whether the product of professional skepticism or the result of overhearing an offhand remark, when an independent auditor learns that an audit client has engaged in illegal activities, the auditor must comply with the investigation and reporting requirements under Section 10A of the ...
Why did FASB change its mind on Goodwill?
Feb 26, 2001; ... Do accounting regulators ever change their minds because of pressure from management, Congress or top federal officials? Those with long memories may remember that Congress overruled accountants about the treatment of the investment tax credit and the valuing of natural ...
KAF Financial Group sends new hires back to school.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001; ... If new hires at the Braintree, Mass.-based CPA firm KAF Financial Group think that their years of schooling are finally behind them, they're mistaken. The partners at KAF have come up with a way to better recruit, educate and retain new employees. Welcome to KAF ...
TAXING ISSUES.
Feb 26, 2001; ... * IRREVOCABLE TRUST WORKS AGAINST GAIN EXCLUSION ON RESIDENCE SALE: The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that a fairly common estate planning technique may result in partial forfeiture of the Code Sec. 121 exclusion of gain on the sale of a principal residence. The strategy involves the ...
New developments regarding innocent spouse relief.(law)
Feb 26, 2001; ... About nine months ago, is column updated developments in innocent spouse relief following the changes in the law brought about by the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. Now, with several new cases and a new set of proposed regulations, the area ...
CHANGE OF AUDITORS.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... * PwC, INTEGRATED PACKAGING SEVER RELATIONSHIP: PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned as independent accountants to Integrated Packaging Assembly Corp., of San Jose, Calif., after alerting the client to a number of specific reportable conditions relating to the design and operation of ...
Form 8-K filings.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 26, 2001 ... American Wagering Inc. (Las Vegas), from Arthur Andersen to Piercy, Bowler, Taylor & Kern. Anything Internet Corp. (Englewood, Colo.), to Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC. Armitec Inc. (St. Simons Island, Ga.), from William R. Breeze CPA to Moore Stephens Tiller. ...
New practices framework to help internal auditors.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001; ... ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA. -- The Institute of Internal Auditors has developed a new practices framework that links the profession's mandatory ethical and practice standards, its recommended "practice advisory" guidelines, and lower priority "development practice aids." In so ...
Inventory and cost of goods sold: Getting them both right.(Brief Article)(Column)
Feb 26, 2001; ... This column is the next in our series on opportunities that can be seized by managers who embrace quality financial reporting. As a refresher, QFR reveals that minimum compliance with GAAP increases the markets' uncertainty and reduces stock prices, while going beyond that ...
PFP BRIEFS.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
Feb 26, 2001 ... * 1st GLOBAL ADDS CONSOLIDATION TOOL FOR CPA ADVISORS: Financial services firm 1st Global has rolled out a Web-based tool that will give its network of CPA advisors instant access to their clients' entire portfolios. The WebPortfolio, which is initially being offered to top ...
Fund Scan.(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
Feb 26, 2001 ... GLOBAL EQUITY FUNDS A close-up mutual fund performance, ranked by 1-year returns <Pre> Fund Scan GLOBAL EQUITY FUNDS A close-up of mutual fund performance, ranked by 1-year returns LoadReturns Fund ...
Index funds just may be right mix for portfolio.(Brief Article)(Column)
Feb 26, 2001; ... Over the last five years, the financial press has been filled with stories of investors making money by picking certain stocks. But paralleling the market's new highs has been an explosion in the passive investments -- index funds. Attracted by low fees and the chance to at ...
Distributions from traditional IRA after owner's death.(legislation considered)
Feb 26, 2001; ... The new proposed regulations (proposed to be effective in 2002 but which can be relied on by taxpayers in 2001) on required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs simplify the rules for non-annuity type distributions after the death of an IRA owner. In some situations ...
As services expand so do CPA liability claims.(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... The development of new accounting services is increasing the practitioner's exposure to litigation. This Special Report looks at the various trends in new insurance programs and insurer-provided services including details as to what liability claims are usually generated against ...
TECH BRIEFS.(Frontline Consultants , new accounting firm starts services)(Brief Article)
Feb 26, 2001 ... * KEPCZYK, DAVIS PART OF NEW CONSULTING CONSORTIUM: Two of the accounting industry's best-known consultants on the technology that is used within CPA practices -- Roman Kepczyk and Tom C. Davis -- have joined forces in a consulting consortium, The Frontline Consultants ...
Florida firm rewrites book on client referrals.(Daszkal Bolton Manela Devlin & Co., Boca Raton, Florida)
Feb 26, 2001; ... BOCA RATON, FLA. -- Daszkal Bolton Manela Devlin & Co., a seven-partner firm based here, is trying to re-invent how CPA firms refer clients to third-party service specialists. The seven-partner firm prides itself on training its accountants to act as clients' "quarterbacks" in ...