January 1998 - Journal of Accountancy

“Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower The discourse about how rapidly the world is changing and the need to retool ourselves for the Age of Information

With the Internet, Wall Street can be anywhere you want it to be. The vast amount of online information will keep you in the loop no matter where you are located. The following list, in alphabetical order, contains some key sites with information investors—and the CPAs who work with them—should

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMPANIES THAT ARE PREPARED for their audits and can work smoothly with their auditors end up saving time and money. PLANNING IS IMPORTANT: Preliminary work should take place about three months before yearend. MAKE SURE YOUR STAFF UNDERSTANDS what is expected of them and knows when to go

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A NUMBER OF CPA-FINANCIAL PLANNERS have expanded their practices to include investment management services. As the CPA profession prepares to move into the next century, more accountants are likely to realize there is a market for providing such services to their clients. CPAs WHO WANT TO BE INVESTMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DON’T ASSUME your organization has adequate computer systems insurance. There’s a good chance your coverage has small, but significant, gaps. SOME OF THE REAL COSTS of computer systems are generally exceeded or are not addressed in conventional business insurance policies. Some of the risks not covered by conventional

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AUDITING STANDARDS BOARD issued SAS no. 83 and SSAE no. 7 to provide CPAs with guidance on establishing an understanding with the client. THE TWO NEW STATEMENTS ARE IN LINE with SQCS no. 2, which requires firms to have policies and procedures in place for obtaining an

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE UNIFORM CPA EXAMINATION has been undergoing rapid changes and recently became nondisclosed. Nondisclosure helps ensure a fairer, more consistent CPA exam and paves the way for a computer-based exam. MORE PROFESSIONAL EXAMS are becoming computer-based. Such a switch for the CPA exam would relieve state boards of

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BIG CHANGES ARE taking place in the accounting software industry. The highlights: High-end vendors are enlarging their market focus by packaging slimmed-down versions for smaller customers. Applications software will be delivered not on disks or CD-ROMs, but through the Internet from central facilities and will be billed the