Professional Issues
The right mix of business and interpersonal skills can help accounting and finance professionals climb the career ladder.
Technology Workshop
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Tax
Practice Management / Tax
The AICPA has adopted eight Statements on Standards for Tax Services as enforceable standards for AICPA members, replacing the Statements on Responsibilities in Tax Practice. What issues did the tax executive committee face in turning the advisory SRTPs into mandatory SSTSs? And how will members be affected?
Fraud / Practice Management
One practitioner found that some small business clients were letting their internal controls slip as a result of the strong economy. His firm used that discovery to create a new practice niche.
Auditing / Environmental Audits
The ISO 14000 standards are the first globally recognized guidelines intended to help businesses voluntarily manage their environmental responsibilities. For CPA firms, ISO 14000 represents a chance to leverage experience performing ISO 9000 audits into a market niche certifying and auditing companies' environmental management systems.
Business & Industry / Tax
The IRS is making it more difficult for companies to deduct the costs of starting new business activities or expanding existing businesses. Since IRC section 195 clearly allows amortization of investigation and creation costs in start-up situations, this move is puzzling. Here's how companies and their CPAs may be able to find solutions.
Not-for-Profits / Software / Technology
Although conventional accounting software and not-for-profit organization applications have much in common, their differences are so significant that without major customizing, for-profit software just can't handle NPOs' unique accounting needs. This article examines the 10 most popular packages engineered specifically for NPOs—itemizing their strengths and weaknesses.