June 2001 - Journal of Accountancy

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CAROLYN SECHLER, CPA. HEADS A 14-MEMBER virtual office workforce (three employees are full-time) that serves 300 clients in several states and countries. Team members are from firms having strategic alliance agreements with hers and work on a project basis. CPA services include bookkeeping, write-up, tax returns and

   ractically everyone has experienced the frustration of trying to adjust the many elements of a financial scenario until they produce the desired result. If the scenario is complex and there are several different variables, the task can be long and exasperating. Key to Instructions To help readers follow the

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AMID CONCERNS ABOUT IMPROPRIETIES, the SEC issued SAB 101, which provides guidance on recognizing, presenting and disclosing revenue in financial statements. The official implementation date is no later than the last quarter of fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1999 (the quarter ending December 31, 2000 is

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MONEY LAUNDERING HELPS ILLICIT ORGANIZATIONS by lowering their cost of capital, giving them a competitive advantage over legitimate businesses. NEITHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS NOR THE BUSINESS community alone has the resources to counter international money laundering by drug cartels and other organized criminal groups. ACCOUNTANTS ACTING IN A

   A survey of more than 3,000 business executives revealed the great majority of them were dissatisfied with the rate at which their companies adopted new policies and procedures.   More than two-thirds said the pace of change should be quicker.     Respondents said certain departments hindered change more

   ust a hint of inventory fraud can be a frightening experience for an auditor of financial statements. Indeed, the list of freakish inventory manipulations companies have committed over the last 50 years reads like a rogue’s gallery: McKesson and Robbins, the Salad Oil Swindle, Equity Funding, ZZZZ Best, Phar-Mor.

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SINCE NO ONE REALLY KNOWS when B2B exchanges will get their act together, now is a good time for CPAs to help their employers and clients take stock of their internal systems capabilities, the quality and quantity of their technical support staff and the technological literacy of

   A s technological, regulatory and business changes sweep through the profession, CPAs are looking for ways to survive—and thrive—amidst the upheaval. Vendors, meanwhile, are churning out products and services to meet practitioners’ needs. But where can CPAs turn for the strategic tools that will help them assist business clients

   EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE SEC’s NEW AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE RULES could have a significant effect on some tax practitioners. The SEC includes tax among the non-audit services CPA firms provide. AS PROPOSED, THE SEC RULES PUT IN DOUBT whether an auditor can do anything other than review the tax provision in