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October 2009 |  Article

Since the onset of the economic crisis last fall, many CPAs who are personal financial planning specialists have been working overtime to reassure clients overwhelmed with fear about the future and safety of their investments and to reassess and reorient investment portfolios when necessary. Members of the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning (PFP) Section recently reflected on their experiences from the past year and their outlook for the future.

September 2009 |  BY Alexandra DeFelice |  Article

Individual investors’ confidence in U.S. capital markets increased slightly from 2008, with 73 of investors indicating they have at least some confidence compared with 70 last year, according to a telephone survey of 1,000 investors conducted by the Center for Audit Quality and The Glover Park Group released Wednesday.

February 2009 |  Article

The SEC finalized a rule requiring mutual funds to provide investors with a concise summary of the key information they need to make informed investment decisions. The new summary prospectus will appear at the front of a fund’s prospectus. The SEC also approved a new rule that permits sending a summary prospectus to satisfy prospectus delivery requirements provided that the mutual fund’s summary prospectus, statutory prospectus, and other specified information are available online.

January 2009 |  BY Francis C. Thomas |  Article

CPA financial planners are often confronted with the question, When should I start collecting Social Security benefits? For married couples, the question should be asked in the plural. Current financial needs and expected life span may be paramount considerations for a single person. However, the implications of when to begin receiving benefits (and on which spouse’s work record) for spousal and survivor’s benefits not only introduce key points for every married couple to ponder but also create additional strategic opportunities for financial security in their golden years together.

January 2009 |  Article

The SEC finalized a rule requiring mutual funds to provide investors with a concise summary of the key information they need to make informed investment decisions. The new summary prospectus will appear at the front of a fund’s prospectus. The SEC also approved a new rule that permits sending a summary prospectus to satisfy prospectus delivery requirements provided that the mutual fund’s summary prospectus, statutory prospectus, and other specified information are available online.

January 2009 |  BY William M. Weintraub, Michael B. Allmon |  Article

A CPA is in an excellent position to help clients address the issues of estate planning. CPAs are usually aware of the scope of their clients’ assets and often know something about family relationships, recent marriages, children, grandchildren and other key facts. They see their clients annually in connection with the preparation of income tax returns.

December 2008 |  Article

The AICPA has issued a new nonauthoritative Technical Practice Aid addressing potential accounting a

November 2008 |  BY Michael Dowd |  Article

Faced with a slumping stock market and lowyield bond portfolios, some fund managers maybe tempted by the higher potential yields of private equity. Before leading clients to this option, advisers should ask some hard questions R Do you understand the deal? Is the specific industry one you believe you can get your arms around? Some investments, notably real estate and producing oil properties, may have simpler economics and more transparent balance sheets and disclosure than startups and technology companies.

July 2008 |  BY Megan Pinkston |  Article

WEALTH MANAGEMENT PFP CLASSES 2.0 httppfp.aicpa.orgEventsPFPandPFSWebSeminars.htm Visit this site from the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning Center to register for upcoming Web seminars on sophisticated IRA and AMT strategies and overcoming common challenges in PFP practices. Through the Web seminar format, participants can interact with fellow financial planning CPAs and earn CPE credit for select programs.

July 2008 |  BY Adam Snyder |  Article

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The first step in developing a wealth harvesting plan is to identify the client’s departure objectives, focusing on four categories providing for the client and the people and causes they care about ensuring a smooth and successful succession protecting assets and developing taxsmart strategies. It takes a variety of expertise to help create a wealth harvesting plan.