Practice Development
CPAs whose entrepreneurial spirit compels them to put professional experience on the line and open a practice of their own should consider the advice in this article before bidding their current employers adieu.
Business & Industry
Derivatives survived rough times and bad publicity in the 1990s to emerge as a key risk management tool for businesses. Experts say tighter controls and better accounting have made the disasters of the past a distant memory.
Employee Benefits
The Department of Labor and the IRS have introduced a new form 5500. Plan administrators and employers sponsoring employee benefit plans should find it easier to prepare the new form, which is required for 1999 filings.
Investments
Taxable mutual fund distributions have investors looking to tax-managed funds for some much-needed relief. This portfolio management strategy may help protect a substantial portion of a fund’s return from taxes.
Business & Industry / Financial Reporting
FASB is considering eliminating pooling-of-interests accounting by yearend. Companies should review their options carefully rather than rush to complete a pooling transaction. The authors’ research finds few real advantages to this method of accounting for a merger.
In My Opinion
Do complicated technical accounting standards really serve the investing public well? Or would U.S. and global markets be better served by simpler, more understandable standards uniformly applied? The profession needs to take a closer look.
Software / Technology Workshop
This Technology Workshop is the second in a series on creating databases. It demonstrates how to enhance a database by linking tables to make their information relational and how to build and use a data-entry form.