May 2000 - Journal of Accountancy

   Exhibit 2: Quick Reference Chart for Filing Form 5500 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IF YOU PLAN TO START YOUR OWN FIRM, it is imperative that you take steps ahead of time to ensure you start off on the right foot. WORK FOR A SMALL PRACTICE BEFORE you leave a large firm. Learn the profession, sharpen your skills, and learn how to

There comes a time for any set of rules when a thorough in-depth review is appropriate and necessary. For the accounting profession, globalization provides both the impetus and the opportunity. The profession needs to step back now and take a good, hard look at accounting standards—specifically those issued by FASB.

   SOFTWARE   Exhibit 7 Select the tables you want in the data-entry form. Exhibit 8 Select the attributes to be included in the query by clicking on the * items. Exhibit 9 The Form Wizard guides you through the creation of a data-input form. Exhibit 10 The Form Wizard

   SOFTWARE   Exhibit 13 Double-clicking the space between field names adjusts the space to fit the words. Exhibit 14 Move columns to make data input efficient. Exhibit 15 Now the Order Details input screen is set up for fast data entry. Exhibit 16 If you know the product ID,

   SOFTWARE   Exhibit 1 If you’re now using Access 2000, the software will prompt you to convert the Access 97 database to the newer version. Exhibit 2 To create a new table named Orders, use the Table Wizard. Exhibit 3 Create the second new table, with the name Order

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FASB IS CONSIDERING ELIMINATING POOLING of interests as a method of accounting for a business combination on January 1, 2001. As a result, experts expect companies to complete a flurry of poolings this year as companies rush to complete acquisitions while they can still do so without recording

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DERIVATIVES PROVIDED SOME OF THE 1990s MOST devastating financial disasters. Despite this, companies continue to use them. A survey by the Association of Financial Professionals found 63% of respondents used over-the-counter derivatives. THE WELL-PUBLICIZED PROBLEMS OF THE LAST decade have led to changes in the derivatives industry. Today’s

   INVESTMENTS When a fund’s manager factors taxes into investment decisions, investors should do better. A Taxing Problem BY PETER D. FLEMING EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INCOME TAXES CAN EAT UP A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION of the investment return on an equity mutual fund. For tax conscious investors, tax-managed mutual funds offer a

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND THE IRS HAVE revised Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan. Plan administrators and employers sponsoring employee benefit plans need to use the streamlined form for 1999 filings. THE REVISIONS, WHICH REPLACE THE FORM 5500 series with a single form, are expected