Business & Industry / Corporate Governance
Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, publicly traded companies must disclose whether they have adopted a code of ethics for senior financial officers. This rule and other provisions of the act mean many companies will be reviewing or drafting ethics codes to ensure compliance. CPAs can play a role in this process.
Worth Repeating
Incoming AICPA Chairman William F. Ezzell, CPA, will lead the profession to restored self-esteem and renewed dedication to core values, client service and professional unity.
Technology Workshop
Add easy-to-create graphic messages or input boxes to your spreadsheets and you’ll make them more useful. They can explain a function or formula, remind you what data to enter and even refuse to let you proceed before you input required information.
Marketing / Practice Management
Firms that developed versatile consulting niches to compete with the all-service, all-the-time culture of the Big Four now must deal with Sarbanes-Oxley restrictions on cross-selling. Here’s how some CPA firms adjusted their focus to market services that avoid conflict of interest.
Fraud
Executives can cheat on their expense accounts, just as rank-and-file workers can. When the independent auditor discovers such abuse, he or she must take action. Therefore auditors must know what to do if management commits even “immaterial” fraud.
Insurance Issues
For CPAs, the key to reading life insurance illustrations is to examine them carefully, focusing on several critical areas. This skill will put accountants in a better position to advise clients on policy provisions.
Tax
As a result of 1998 changes to the innocent spouse rules, the Tax Court now is reviewing a wide range of domestic issues previously left to divorce courts. CPAs must take the court’s new role into account when advising clients.