http://www.journalofaccountancy.comJournalofAccountancy.com is the ultimate resource for today’s CPA, providing daily professional and regulatory updates, breaking news and videos./NR/exeres/3CC3CE7C-30DB-4F28-A611-B8F71398C70A.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedTue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 GMT{3CC3CE7C-30DB-4F28-A611-B8F71398C70A}Auditors' going concern evaluations and the auditor's reporting model project will be among the topics discussed Thursday at a meeting of the PCAOB's Standing Advisory Group (SAG). Established in 2003 to advise the PCAOB on the development of standards, the SAG includes auditors, /NR/exeres/1D636CB6-E39D-443B-BA18-013C1BDAB427.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedTue, 15 May 2012 14:30:00 GMT{1D636CB6-E39D-443B-BA18-013C1BDAB427}The AICPA on Tuesday introduced the Total Tax Insights calculator, an online tool designed to give U.S. taxpayers a clearer, more complete picture of their estimated total federal, state, and local tax obligation. 'Here at the AICPA, we recognize that taxes are one of the public's /NR/exeres/9A48AE1E-4C5E-401A-B40C-E8E520422412.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedTue, 15 May 2012 02:00:00 GMT{9A48AE1E-4C5E-401A-B40C-E8E520422412}The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that farmers who sold farm assets during a bankruptcy reorganization under Chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code were liable for the full amount of the capital gains tax that resulted from the sale (Hall, Sup. Ct. Dkt. No. 10-875 (U.S. 5/14/12), aff'g 617 /NR/exeres/96709F98-62A5-49BC-86D6-586273F4F9B2.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{96709F98-62A5-49BC-86D6-586273F4F9B2}At various summits over the past couple of years, leaders dedicated to the advancement of African Americans in accounting have proposed various strategies to promote diversity within the accounting profession. The most recent and extensive summit took place in December 2010, when four dozen /NR/exeres/9A53E8DC-2C4F-4E16-B205-63BA9AFBD198.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{9A53E8DC-2C4F-4E16-B205-63BA9AFBD198}It should come as no surprise that a profession known for integrity and character has had more than its share of special people. The goals of the profession—among them establishing a climate of fairness for investors, helping businesses avoid risk and prosper, and aiding people in /Issues/2012/Jun/20114845.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{9EA57BF9-5D9A-4CB7-B77A-33814DD420F3}Throughout its history, the JofA has striven to help CPAs achieve greater productivity. In honor of that great tradition and the AICPA's 125th birthday, presented here are 125 technology quick tips. WORD 1. Crop picture to shape. Crop a picture according to a shape, such as a heart or star, /NR/exeres/A1863669-23F0-43A0-9AC5-0C6ADF9A0103.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{A1863669-23F0-43A0-9AC5-0C6ADF9A0103} With the accounting profession undergoing perhaps its biggest technological sea change since the introduction of the personal computer three decades ago, CPAs are faced with a slew of questions. To help provide answers, the JofA asked a distinguished group of experts to identify the key /NR/exeres/19F60BF7-29E3-4E52-B14E-300CD5411BAE.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{19F60BF7-29E3-4E52-B14E-300CD5411BAE}The accounting profession and the world in general have undergone extraordinary changes since the American Association of Public Accountants was founded in 1887. Each of the following sections focuses on a single year. The text describes what life and work were like for accountants at that time. On /NR/exeres/25F1E987-EDF9-4DEE-AFB5-CB3EB1480CDE.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{25F1E987-EDF9-4DEE-AFB5-CB3EB1480CDE} Even as Ken Bouyer looks with pride at the progress Ernst & Young LLP has made in recruiting minority candidates over the past 20 years, he realizes that his profession's work to promote ethnic and racial diversity is far from over. Bouyer, E&Y's Americas director of Inclusiveness /NR/exeres/046EF769-CC99-4F04-9C33-BB961D339E2D.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{046EF769-CC99-4F04-9C33-BB961D339E2D} CPA tax preparers can count themselves as part of a specialty with a background that reflects many of the struggles and victories that have left indelible impressions on their profession and the country at large. With a history replete with class struggles, competitive challenges, technological /NR/exeres/0D2554F4-06B2-4503-AA96-7CE5ADB0E4C8.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{0D2554F4-06B2-4503-AA96-7CE5ADB0E4C8}Ninety-four percent of Americans say they have financial concerns of some sort, according to a 2012 Harris Interactive Survey conducted on behalf of the AICPA. These concerns range from the rising cost of gas to lack of emergency savings to retirement planning. Since launching in 2004, the /Issues/2012/Jun/CPA-history-20114926.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{35045B7D-4986-44BA-9EC5-6866B8B21FDF}If you're a CPA, you have vast knowledge of complicated standards and strategies and know how to apply them to complex business situations. But how well do you know the history of the CPA profession? This 10-question quiz should give you some idea. These questions aren't as difficult /NR/exeres/2FD490F9-B698-4999-A79D-B78B33E5C932.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{2FD490F9-B698-4999-A79D-B78B33E5C932}Opportunity rarely knocks. Life isn't that easy. Instead, it hides and waits. Our job is to find it and recognize it for what it is. Those who do are rewarded handsomely. As Exhibit A, consider Jeff Petka, a 31-year-old accountant with Atlanta-based energy giant Southern Co. In 2009, Petka /NR/exeres/4290F9BE-1E8B-460E-A0ED-BBF571DB6F33.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{4290F9BE-1E8B-460E-A0ED-BBF571DB6F33}The first state-level accounting organizations were founded in the Northeast about a decade after the birth of the AICPA. Twenty-one states had formed accounting societies, associations, or institutes by 1910, and that wave of development continued through the 1920s and 1930s. Click here to view /Issues/2012/Jun/20114842.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{CDC06547-F798-4326-918F-24B5B6BA173C} The next couple of decades will see massive change for the accounting profession. More than 100,000 baby boomer CPAs are likely to retire, creating a void that new leaders will have to fill. Technology will radically redefine what accountants do and how they do it. A rapidly evolving global /NR/exeres/D981BD6C-06B3-4569-BB54-160D8DC79871.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{D981BD6C-06B3-4569-BB54-160D8DC79871}Change is inevitable. Knowledge is power. Those two phrases encapsulate how AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, views the accounting profession today and where he envisions the CPA—both the credential and the professional—being a decade from now. In an interview with /NR/exeres/F3771774-2519-4CE2-BF5B-C97FA7BFEFFC.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{F3771774-2519-4CE2-BF5B-C97FA7BFEFFC}Business was about as good as it could get for A&A Manufacturing in early 2008. The New Berlin, Wis., company was busy cranking out custom-engineered protective covers, cable carriers, and those roll-up doors you see on the sides of fire trucks. The workforce couldn't keep up with the /NR/exeres/FA24C93B-FE10-4A0E-9CCA-C6C43323A8F3.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedMon, 14 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{FA24C93B-FE10-4A0E-9CCA-C6C43323A8F3}In 1887, the year the AICPA was founded, federal spending was about 2.5% of annual U.S. economic output. In 2011, federal spending was about 24% of the nation's GDP, and it is on a path to reach 37% of GDP in 2040. In 1887, the allocation of a vast majority of the government's /NR/exeres/774C57A0-F3DD-4FE3-995E-48BEDB2C983A.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedSat, 12 May 2012 01:00:00 GMT{774C57A0-F3DD-4FE3-995E-48BEDB2C983A}The IRS issued temporary regulations relating to the treatment of upfront payments made pursuant to certain notional principal contracts (NPCs) for U.S. federal income tax purposes (T.D. 9589). The temporary regulations establish an exception to the definition of U.S. property for obligations of /NR/exeres/A9360E08-EAC0-40B8-B8C1-FE69BF2E059C.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublishedFri, 11 May 2012 10:00:00 GMT{A9360E08-EAC0-40B8-B8C1-FE69BF2E059C}FASB on Wednesday clarified its plans regarding requirements for specific qualitative disclosures and the definition of 'financial institution' that will be included in the liquidity disclosures section of its proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) on accounting for financial