January 2000 - Journal of Accountancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A TREASURY WORKSTATION INCLUDES both hardware and treasury management applications. Systems that go by that name generally allow companies to automate most of their core treasury operations seamlessly with a database and communicate directly with banks, other financial institutions and sometimes even customers and suppliers. They can typically

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE DEBATE OVER THE EFFICIENCY of financial markets leaves investors—and those who advise them—to answer this question: Can active portfolio managers exploit market inefficiencies enough to overcome the costs of their efforts? For those who answer no, the best option is to own passively managed funds. MUTUAL FUNDS

Exhibit 9 All blue numbers indicate that a filter is operating.

Exhibit 8 Filtering out all information except for West.

Exhibit 7 Clicking on a drop-down arrow displays filter options.

Exhibit 6 Click on any of the drop-down arrows to select a value in the column.

Exhibit 5 Highlight the cell to which you want to apply AutoFilter.

Exhibit 4 Nest one subtotal inside another and the component numbers are not double-counted.

Exhibit 3 This is what a cell will look like when Conditional Formatting is evoked.

Exhibit 2 Setting up the Conditional Formatting argument.

Exhibit 1 Conditional Formatting highlights errors in red.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THIS TUTORIAL focuses on three underused but very powerful spreadsheet functions: Conditional Formatting, Subtotal and AutoFilter. Although we use Microsoft’s Excel 97 to illustrate these functions, Lotus 1-2-3 also has similar tools. CONDITIONAL FORMATTING alerts you when numbers don’t meet predetermined conditions, such as when they don’t agree

Exhibit 5: Active Investment Strategies To actively approach the market, CPAs should employ these strategies: Develop a specific investment goal for your client or employer and establish an investment policy that governs the management of the portfolio. Review the prospectus of any potential or existing investment to help determine whether

Exhibit 4: S&P 500 Composition by Capitalization Because of capitalization weighting, investment in an S&P 500 index fund does not necessarily provide broad market diversification. Source: Invesco, as of September 30, 1999.  

Exhibit 3: S&P 500 Total Return The majority of the gains achieved by the S&P 500 during 1999 (January 1, 1999 to September 30, 1999) resulted from the top 10 stocks, by capitalization, in the index. This means the gains from an investment in an S&P 500 index fund come

Exhibit 2: The Sizzling Six S&P 500 index funds don’t necessarily reflect the broad market’s returns. If you take the “sizzling six,” listed below, out of the S&P 500, the index’s return for the period from January 1, 1999, through September 30, 1999, would be negative. Source: Invesco.  

Exhibit 1: Sector Weights in the S&P 500 Index, Then and Now—1980, 1990, 1998 Source: Prudential Securities.

There are more than 130 associations of accounting firms, 30 of which are international. However, fewer than 1,000 U.S. firms belong to some kind of accounting association. David Albrecht, professor of accounting, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio. he world is our horizon! How can we—a midsize accounting firm

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH THE STOCK MARKET’S RISE, INDEX FUNDS have grown to gigantic proportions. But they aren’t right for all investors. By understanding the investment-management process of index funds CPAs will be better able to advise their clients or employers. AN INDEX FUND IS A MUTUAL FUND THAT BUYS the

   INVESTMENTS Is it a search for the Holy Grail? The Quest to Outperform BY LARRY SWEDROE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE DEBATE OVER THE EFFICIENCY of financial markets leaves investors—and those who advise them—to answer this question: Can active portfolio managers exploit market inefficiencies enough to overcome the costs of their

LEADING ASSOCIATIONS The following is a list of 37 accounting associations. Before you decide to join one, determine how your firm will contribute as well as benefit from working with its member firms. Also consider the association’s fee structure, membership requirements and services offered, such as a peer review program

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH ITS SOUTH CENTRAL BELL TELEPHONE decision, the U.S. Supreme Court settled another skirmish in the battle between individual states and their powers to tax and the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The Court declared a franchise tax Alabama assessed on out-of-state corporations to be unenforceable because it violated