AccountingWEB.com

New Pension Disclosures - an Update to FAS 132R

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:01:33 +0000

1099s May have Truncated Taxpayer ID Numbers

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:56:50 +0000

IRS just released Notice 2009-93 allowing us to issue 1099s to our payees using the kind of truncated numbers we generally use when we pay credit card bills and other bills. This applies to calendar year notices for 2009 and 2010.

This permission only applies to the payee's copy of the paper Form 1098 series, Form 1099 series, and Form 5498 series.

In order to qualify to have the right to truncate your 1099s, you must follow these very stringent rules:

Friday Accounting Ethics Case - Proper Use of Grant Funding

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:50:39 +0000

This weeks ethics case is focused on evaluating the proper use of grant funding and expenditures during the course of an audit engagement. Evaluating the appropriateness of an expenditure under a government or private grant can be subjective in nature and professional skepticism can create a situation where the auditor and the client may not agree on the propriety of a grant expenditure. Who is ultimately right? Who are the stakeholders that must be considered? What is the auditor's responsibility?

Results of the Trust but Verify Ethics Poll

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:00 +0000

Here are the results from the ethics poll from a couple weeks back on the Trust But Verify case study.

Request that the engagement partner confront the client	67%
Ask the audit partner why you were pulled from the assignment	11%
Contact the Board or other governing body	11%
Other	11%

FASB-Related Amendments (Perlmutter/Lucas; Garrett) Pass House Cmte.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:02:58 +0000

As reported by Dow Jones Newswire's Sarah Lynch earlier today, U.S. House Panel Approves A Toned-Down Accounting Proposal. The article refers to the Perlmutter/Lucas amendment relating generally to the role that the proposed systemic risk council would play vis-a-vis accounting standard-setting. Separately, an amendment offered by Rep.

Give Them the Royal Treatment!

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:24:38 +0000

A few years ago I was visiting a CPA firm in Chicago that did two things I found intriguing. The first was that when I sat down in their lobby the receptionist handed me a small, printed menu that offered “bottled water, soft drinks, coffee and tea.” While I have never yet been to a firm that doesn’t offer these amenities while you are waiting, I have never seen the message delivered so nicely. The colorful menu with the firm’s logo made a statement about their commitment to my comfort.

Market the Friendship Bread Not the Starter

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:18:28 +0000

My mother in law recently gave me a 'starter bag' of Amish friendship bread. Friendship bread is a sourdough based cinnamon bread that has been a hit with everyone I have shared it with. The starter bag is a concoction of milk, sugar and flour that acts as the basis for the friendship bread. As a by-product of baking friendship bread, the starter bag multiplies at a geometric rate (that is 1 starter bag will yield 4 new starter bags after making friendship bread, those 4 produce 16, and so on). These starter bags are supposed to then be given to friends, family and neighbors so they can make and share their own friendship bread. Friendship bread may very well have been the predecessor to the chain letter or viral video. However, it always seems that you end up with more starter bags than you can give away so you end up throwing most of the excess starter in the garbage. What makes it so hard to give away all the starter bags?

The end of Microsoft Office Accounting

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:07:54 +0000

Microsoft is formally backing away from the small business accounting market after announcing that the Office Accounting program will no longer be distributed after November 16, 2009. In addition, the Microsoft Professional Accountant's Network (MPAN) will no longer accept new members as of that date.

Boston area CPA elected to board of international accounting organization

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:28:54 +0000

William F. Rucci, Jr., CPA MST, a partner of the Boston area accounting and business advisory firm Rucci, Bardaro & Barrett, has been elected to the board of directors of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent accounting, business and legal consulting firms with affiliates in over 70 countries.

Determining which employees are disabled under the new ADA regulations

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:05:12 +0000

By Richard Alaniz

Wading into the depths of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to determine who is disabled and who is not has never been a simple task for employers or their employees. On January 1, 2009 amendments to the Act took effect but the new amendments left many unanswered questions. Now, as instructed by Congress, the U.S. Equal Employment Commission has proposed rules designed to bring some clarity to both employers and employees.

Cruising for tax deductions? Try deducting your next Caribbean cruise

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:10:31 +0000

By William Brighenti, CPA

Transcontinental merger creates Top 50 accounting firm

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:43:18 +0000

Two leading independent accounting firms, with offices on both coasts, have announced a merger, effective January 1, 2010, which will create a national firm ranked by gross revenues in the "Top 50" accounting firms in the U.S.

Moore Stephens Wurth Frazer and Torbet, LLP, with three offices in California is merging with FROST, PLLC, with offices in Arkansas and North Carolina. The merged firm will be known as Frazer Frost, LLP and will continue to operate out of all current locations.

What your customers really want: Seven qualities of customer care

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:34:13 +0000

By Laurie Brown

Systemic risk legislation amendment threatens FASB’s independence

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:05:20 +0000

Barry Melancon, president and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and Cindy Fornelli, executive director of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), participated in a joint briefing on Monday November 16 to express their strong opposition to an amendment sponsored by Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) to the Financial Stability Improvement Act, one of the systemic risk bills now before Congress. Markup on the bill began before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, November 17.

Madoff’s Florida luxuries bring in $2 million for his victims

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:44:44 +0000

A Mercedes and three boats once owned by Bernard and Ruth Madoff, named Bull, Sitting Bull and Little Bull, went on the government auction block Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale and brought in $2 million for victims of Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

New and enhanced features in QuickBooks 2010

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:25:44 +0000

By Joe Woodard, AccountingWEB QuickBooks columnist

Each year Intuit releases a new version of the QuickBooks product line: Simple Start, Pro, Premier (in several industry-specific editions) and Enterprise Solutions (in several industry specific editions). Each year we QuickBooks ProAdvisors and Intuit Solution Providers look forward to the new version of QuickBooks with great expectation - looking to see what items we can drop from our QuickBooks "wish lists."

Sleeter QuickBooks conference has record attendance

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:54:21 +0000

The 6th annual Sleeter QuickBooks conference kicked off last week with opening statements from Doug Sleeter, founder and president of The Sleeter Group, an organization of QuickBooks consultants and advisors.

Survey results show small businesses are getting ready to hire

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:00:06 +0000

The nation’s unemployment rate may have hit a 26-year high in September but many small business owners are getting ready to hire.

IRS will try to sell e-filing to tax professionals

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:38:12 +0000

Tax professionals can hear first hand from their colleagues and e-mail questions to the Internal Revenue Service about the benefits of IRS e-file during a free November 18 Webinar, “E-file: Building the Case, A Panel Discussion with Tax Professionals.”

The hour-long program, hosted by the IRS, will air three times on Nov. 18. Tax professionals must register by November 17 for one of three session times: 10 a.m., 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. EST.

Michigan attorney and client sentenced for tax crimes

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:25:13 +0000

John A. Campbell, a resident of Portage, MI, has been sentenced to 60 months in prison by the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Michigan for conspiring to defraud the United States, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In April 2008, Campbell, who is a former partner in and resident director of the Kalamazoo, MI, office of the law firm of Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone P.L.C., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.