April 2001 - Journal of Accountancy

Businesses today expect professional service providers to offer a broad business perspective and deliver value-added solutions to an expanding array of opportunities. There is a clear market need for professionals who can manage a rapidly changing business environment and provide solutions that integrate broad strategic business issues. Many CPAs have

Editor’s note: The information contained in this article is specific to the auditing and assurance landscape on or about the date it was authored, including references to Generally Accepted Auditing Standards in effect at that time. To ensure you have the most recent and relevant information on audit and assurance issues,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A SPREADSHEET CAN alert you to significant changes in data in a network database or on the Internet. TO TRIGGER THE ALERTS, all you need is a computer that’s linked to the Internet and the special code to command your spreadsheet application to search for the data. IT

his study investigated whether clients’ fee pressures on audit engagements affected audit managers’ decisions on how much to rely on work performed by a client’s internal auditors. It also examined whether fee pressure from the client could be mitigated when an audit partner placed a strong emphasis on quality audit

ndependence and objectivity are hallmarks of the auditing profession. However, auditors are subject to economic incentives to please clients that could lead them away from perfect independence and objectivity and potentially result in undesirable conduct, even if they comply with professional standards. Auditors face two potential risks—failing to detect a

n December 1999, legislation repealed the availability of installment-method reporting for accrual-basis taxpayers. (See “Installment Sale Reporting for Accrual-Method Taxpayers—Gone But Not Forgotten?” JofA, Jun.00, page78.) Section 536(a) of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, which enacted IRC section 453(a)(2), repealed use of the method

ule 101 of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct has long required CPAs who perform any attest services to be independent of their clients. Recently the SEC has also issued new rules applicable to SEC registrants. Underlying both the AICPA and SEC rules is the belief that the auditor is

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DON’T BE QUICK TO upgrade to the hot new technology. Those who rush to be at the forefront often pay a high price because the newest and hottest technology is usually the most expensive and the most vulnerable to initial design errors. AVOID GETTING LURED into buying the

W ith financial and technological backing from strategic partners, the AICPA and the state societies are about to enter the information highway’s express lane through a Web site that will bring CPAs and their clients closer to each other and the world of e-commerce. The site, cpa2biz.com, is the product

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS AN INCREASING PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS reaches age 65, counseling older clients will become a more important part of a CPA’s practice. WORKERS AGE 65 OR OLDER CAN RECEIVE FULL Social Security benefits regardless of earnings; those under age 65 will lose benefits if they earn too much.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A WEB SITE IS A VALUABLE DIRECT MARKETING TOOL when it has action-oriented copy and graphics, reader involvement devices and promotional offers that prompt readers to respond. FOCUS ON WHAT CLEARLY SEPARATES YOUR FIRM from the competition and can be locked into the minds of your prospective clients.

While researchers disagree on how swiftly electronic commerce between companies is growing, they all say the ongoing expansion is huge and won’t level off anytime soon. According to a conservative forecast, worldwide online business-to-business transactions will soar to $2,700 billion by 2004, up from $226 billion in 2000.   Spending