The Practical Accountant back issues from October 2002:
California, the first of many? (editor's note).
Oct 01, 2002; ... The ink has just dried in Washington, and already California has enacted legislation that will significantly impact accountants practicing in that state. This is the first state legislation to follow the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002." Due in part to successful lobbying efforts, it doesn't ...
California tightens accounting regulatory rules. (news front).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... California has become the first state to tighten the regulatory framework, going even beyond measures signed earlier this year by President Bush. California Governor Gray Davis has signed three bills designed to complement federal legislation, the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002:" ...
Andersen's audit practice shuts down. (news front).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Andersen was slated to shut down its audit practice unless a federal judge reversed the firm's guilty verdict stemming from its June obstruction of justice conviction. It has said it will relinquish its firm permits in all states where it was licensed. Elsewhere in the Enron ...
AICPA sets up legislation hotline. (news front).(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... A phone hotline, enhanced Web site content, and dedicated seminars are among measures the AICPA has taken to keep members informed in the wake of new accounting legislation. "To help you understand the ramifications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the AICPA is developing ...
Correction.(Correction Notice)
Oct 01, 2002 ... A sentence in the September news front item "More Restated Financials" should have read, "The company stated that it has ...
Letter to the editor.
Oct 01, 2002; ... Your August 2002 cover story, "Rise Above Your Rivals," seems to confirm what I have observed over the years: CPA firms generally do not focus on distinguishing one of their most important services: the annual audit! Instead, they search for other ways to distinguish themselves, apparently ...
M&A, joint venture update. (news front).(Illustration)
Oct 01, 2002 ... <Pre> Lumsden & McCormick, Buffalo, N.Y. Merged With: Stegmeier Smith & Lukowski, Alden, N.Y. Size: New firm totals 45 partners Niches: Audit, accounting, and tax services, as well as management, valuation, and computer technology. Notes: New firm to be known as Lumsden & McCormick ....
Firm educating audit committees. (news front).(Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata.)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The regulatory fallout of WorldCom and Enron-Andersen have opened the door to a new niche for the Chicago firm Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata. In the new program, designed "to educate and guide audit committees," a GSS&C's team trains audit committees using seminars to ...
Most high execs certify accuracy of reports. (news front).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The SEC claims statements from the largest U.S.-based companies has revealed that "the overwhelming majority of CEOs and CFOs filed statements certifying the material accuracy and completeness of their companies' prior disclosure reports." The SEC concluded that CEOs and CFOs of ...
Engagement do's and don'ts. (news front).
Oct 01, 2002 ... The latest edition of the CPA's Guide to Effective Engagement Letters," by authors Camico staffers Ron Klein, Ric Rosario, and Suzanne M. Holl and published by Aspen Publishers, offers several tips via case studies to reduce risk in a variety of areas. Litigation support, ...
New niche misconceptions. (news front).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Ty Daurity, of Dixom Odom & Co. in North Carolina, speaking at the annual conference of the Association for Accounting Marketing, gave the following list of the top 10 misconceptions of building a niche market. 10. We should have been in the niche years ago. 9 ....
CPA2Biz, E&Y ally. (news front).(Ernst & Young)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... CPA2Biz and Ernst & Young have entered into a strategic alliance under which E&Y will utilize the CPA2Biz platform to offer the firm's Online Tax Advisor to CPAs. Online Tax Advisor provides written tax advice through an electronically connected ...
Aon sued after clearing SEC. (news front).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Aon Corp., parent company of the administrator of the AICPA's professional liability insurance program, has been sued in a class-action suit by shareholders days after resolving "all the comments" brought up by the SEC over possible accounting irregularities. Shareholders filed ...
Repair of "commons" area bolsters house basis. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... A taxpayer, Joe, owned a residence that was situated on a bluff of land overlooking a river. After he had purchased the residence, he learned that the bluff was eroding and placing the house at risk. An engineering firm recommended the construction of a new bulkhead and reconstruction of ...
9/11 house gain exclusion relief. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Homeowners affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks may qualify for the reduced maximum exclusion of gain on the sale or exchange of a principal residence (provided in Section 121(c)) for those who have not owned and used their principal residence for two of the five years preceding the sale ...
Split-dollar valuation crackdown. (tax briefing).
Oct 01, 2002 ... This has been a whirlwind year for split-dollar life insurance arrangements (SDAs). The Service issued Notice 2002-8 (see March issue, page 28). It later came out with proposed regs (see last month's issue, page 12). Now Notice 2002-59 explains the standards for valuing current life ...
Election. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Notice 2002-58 discusses the election (including late elections) to treat certain assets as ...
Workers' health credit. (tax briefing).("Trade Act of 2002")(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... President Bush has signed the "Trade Act of 2002" (P.L. 107-210) into law. It includes a refundable credit of 65 percent of the amount paid by workers, who lose their jobs due ...
Alternative tax prep IDs. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Final regs (T.D. 9014) allow income tax preparers to elect an alternative to Social Security numbers ...
Accounting method changes. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Rev. Proc. 2002-54 addresses questions about the application of the new one-year Section 481(a) adjustment period to pending or recently ...
Entity classification. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Final regs (T.D. 9012) under Section 7701 address the federal tax classification of a business ...
Loss recapture events. (tax briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Proposed regs (REG-106879-00), under Section 1503(d), provide that certain events will not trigger recapture of a dual ...
COLI sham. (tax briefing).(Corporate-owned life insurance plan)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Corporate-owned life insurance plan held sham so interest on policy loans was not deductible. Plan was to fund premiums for first three years ...
Toyota Prius gets fuel deduction. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The first hybrid gas-electric automobile has been certified by the IRS as being eligible for the clean-burning fuel deduction, according to IR-2002-93. Purchasers of a new Toyota Prius for model years 2001, 2002, and 2003, will be able to claim a deduction of $2,000 for the year the ...
Free e-filing in 2003. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The Treasury Department says that as many as 78 million Americans will be able to file their taxes online at no cost next year under a proposed new agreement with a consortium of private sector companies. Currently, those taxpayers pay an average of $12.50 for e-filing as well as the cost ...
Chance of audit. (irs briefing).(Illustration)
Oct 01, 2002 ... <Pre> CHANCE OF AUDIT (in 2001) Low HighIncome Income Audit Rate (%) 0.78 0.31 Average Tax Recommended$2,577 $4,567 Average Audit Hours 1.5 ...
Health club membership medical deduction. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... In Information Letter 2002-0077, the IRS says that since it now recognizes obesity as a disease, health club membership fees, which have been incurred primarily for the purpose of preventing or alleviating obesity, may be deductible as a medical expense under Section 213. ...
Restricted info on web. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 200233002 concludes that a summons instead of entering into contract and waiver ...
Graduate students tuition reduction. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... According to IRS Field Service Advice Memorandum 200231016, tuition reductions provided by a university for graduate education may not be excluded ...
Tax power & U.S. possessions. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Under order number 150-39, Treasury has formalized the IRS's authority to act as the competent authority or taxation authority under tax coordination agreements and ...
Tax haven net widens. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The IRS has sought more records for credit cards issued by banks in 30 tax haven countries in a widening investigation of ...
Offset program brings millions. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... State return tax offsets from federal revenue for the first seven months of 2002 reached $109 million collected through 225,000 offsets under the Treasury Department's Offset ...
Used car donation program okayed. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The IRS has approved deductions for used cars donated under a charitable donation program run by a for-profit company. In two related private rulings, the IRS has described how a charity can set up a used-car donation program through a for-profit company and qualify donations for ...
Computer-generated assessment form approval. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... In a U.S. Tax Court decision, it was decided that the IRS's use of computer-generated revenue accounting control systems, instead of the manually prepared Form 23C, in making an assessment on a taxpayer's taxable year, did not constitute an irregularity in the service's assessment ...
Privacy act and IRS employees. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The IRS has proposed a rule (presently unnumbered) that would exempt a new system of records, the Employee Complaint and Allegation Referral, regarding current and former IRS employees and IRS contractors, from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. Specific requirements under ...
K-1 matching program. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The first phase of the matching program of Schedule K-1 forms from partnerships, S corporations, and trusts to individual returns has been completed, says the IRS, ...
Warning of scheme to steal. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The IRS, in IR-2002-55, warns that a fraudulent scheme currently circulating uses fictitious bank correspondence and IRS forms in an attempt to trick taxpayers into disclosing their personal and banking ...
Federal estate tax returns. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... UpAccording to the Spring 2002 Statistics of Income Bulletin, an estimated 103,982 Federal ...
New tax addresses. (irs briefing).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... In IR-2002-92, the IRS has reassigned workloads at its processing centers and now ...
Trust is eligible S corp shareholder. (Financial Planning).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The issue posed to IRS was: Is a trust that is holding S corporation stock while Section 6166 installment payments are being made an eligible S corp. shareholder? At the time of Donald's death, he was the grantor and trustee of a trust that owned all of the stock of an S ...
Audits' impact trading of tax exempts. (Investment Planning).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The results of a study published by the Bond Market Association indicates that with regard to variable rate tax exempt bonds, the issuers were adversely impacted when an IRS audit was disclosed whether or not a tax liability or penalty was imposed as a result of the audit. Both ...
Capped options. (Focus on ...).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Growth Potential: Limited when issued Liquidity: Secondary market Volatility: Greater than regular options as exercise restricted A capped option allows the holder to exercise that option only during a specified period before its expiration unless the ...
Corporate crisis counseling. (financial planning).(American Express Financial Advisors Inc)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... American Express Financial Advisors Inc is offering InMotion Express, a financial education program, to employers and ...
Collaboration with clients. (financial planning).(GE Independent Accountants Network )(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Representatives of GE Independent Accountants Network have access to DeskTop Assistant, allowing them lo create financial plans, manage client portfolios, and research for cross-selling opportunities ....
Retitling assets. (financial planning).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Brentmark Software has released Brentmark Asset Transfers Systems. It is intended to simplify the tasks related to transferring and retailing assets, ...
Online help. (financial planning).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The MassMutual Financial Group is making available to its financial services professionals eMoney Advisor's Wealth Management Solution, an Internet-based account ...
Intuit into IT management. (tech bulletin).(Blue Ocean Software)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Mountain View, Calif.-based Intuit has agreed to acquire Tampa, Fla.-based Blue Ocean Software for $170 million in a move to broaden itself beyond accounting software. Blue Ocean develops software to help businesses manage IT resources. Its products range in price from $495 to ...
Net the path of tax research. (tech bulletin).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Tax professionals are dumping print and CD-ROMs in favor of the Internet for research, according to a survey by Electronic Accountant. According to the survey, conducted on ElectronicAccountant.com and which garnered responses from more than 1,000 tax professionals, the research ...
Best buys CPASoftware. (tech bulletin).
Oct 01, 2002 ... Irvine, Calif.-based Best Software has acquired CPASoftware, a vendor of accounting practice solutions for CPAs, consultants, and other accounting professionals. Headquartered in Pensacola, Fla., CPASoftware has more than 90 employees, and currently distributes its products via ...
Net tools: standard's stuff. (tech bulletin).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The worldwide take on financial goings-on from the people who write the book. All the latest listings and detailed breakdowns of the market's ...
ATX acquired. (tech bulletin).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... UCG, a provider of specialized business information, has acquired ATX Forms Inc., a tax software company. UCG ...
Blackbaud nabs U.K. competitor. (tech bulletin).(New Generation Consultancy)(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... Blackbaud has acquired AppealMaster from New Generation Consultancy in Devon. England. The acquisition should help Blackbaud build a market ...
Option expensing update. (accounting & auditing report).
Oct 01, 2002 ... As we go to press, the FASB anticipates issuing a proposed statement to amend SFAS No. 123. It does not require entities to adopt the fair value recognition provisions of Statement 123. It simply proposes to provide optional transition methods for those entities that decide to voluntarily ...
Interim Financial Information. (accounting & auditing report).(Auditing Standards Board )(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... An SAS proposed by the Auditing Standards Board would revise SAS No. 71, Interim Financial Information. It would, among other items: * Clarify the applicability of generally accepted auditing standards to a review of interim financial information; * Cite the SEC ...
Omnibus SSARS proposals. (accounting & auditing report).(Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services )(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The AICPA has issued proposed revisions to existing Statements on Standards for Accounting and ...
SEC swaps ruling. (accounting & auditing report).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The SEC has ruled that an accounting practice used by some ...
Easing transition to international standards. (accounting & auditing report).(International Accounting Standards Board )(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... The International Accounting Standards Board has published proposals on the transition ...
A&A watch. (accounting & auditing report).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002 ... November 15, 2002 Proposed Standard, Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. December 15, 2002 SSAE No. 11, Attest Documentation. Proposed Standard, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. ...
How staffing agencies help: in box too full? Staffing agencies can meet a firm's short- and long-term needs. Here's what goes into using one, and how to make the most out of the relationship.
Oct 01, 2002; ... Economic hiccups aside, the struggle to fill the chairs and complete the workload continues. Accounting firms are learning, some the hard way, that traditional methods of finding staffers fall short when referrals turn up dead ends and classifieds bring in only bags of time-consuming, ...
Disability insurance: overlooked, but vital: an evaluation needs to be done during all business reviews and financial planning engagements.
Oct 01, 2002; ... "The chance of being disabled for a younger person is far greater than dying. But people more frequently have their life insurance, but not their disability insurance, in place," says David J. Singer, CEO of Singer Nelson Charlmers of Teaneck, N.J., which sells all types of insurance to ...
Searching business tax returns: get past compliance to tax analysis and savings.
Oct 01, 2002; ... Many practitioners review their clients' individual tax returns to identify tax-savings and financial planning opportunities. Tax prep software is helpful in this regard. These efforts can increase fees and client goodwill and retention while reducing taxes. So why shouldn't business tax ...
Self-charged interest offset OK: limited victory for partners/S shareholders; management fees bar remains.
Oct 01, 2002; ... Let's hear a drumroll please for the IRS! After only 16 years, it has issued final regulations (T.D. 9013) under Section 469, the passive activity loss rules, concerning "self-charged" items of income and expense. To be fair, the Service did issue proposed regs on this matter in 1991 for ...
Minding the store. (practice profile).(Brief Article)
Oct 01, 2002; ... "The corruption and incidents of fraud are much greater in the public sectors than in private industry because people aren't dealing with their own money," says Keith Balla, partner at RosenfarbWinters, LLC, a full-service accounting firm, with offices in Roseland and Tinton Falls, N.J., ...
Web directory.(Directory)
Oct 01, 2002 ... 1-800-Accountant www.1800Accountant.com 1-800-Accountant is offering one CPA firm in each territory throughout the United States the Exclusive Rights to receive all 1-800-Accountant's phone calls from local businesses and individuals in need of accounting services ....
Responding to Sarbanes-Oxley. (last word).
Oct 01, 2002; ... As you know, President Bush recently signed into law the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002," legislation designed to enhance the trust of investors and reform corporate financial reporting. While a number of the law's provisions apply specifically to auditors of public companies, it will have a ...