March 2002 - Journal of Accountancy

eek first to understand.” This advice is as true when CPAs deal with a client’s financial life as it is in all other relationships. As trusted advisers, CPAs are in the best position to meet clients’ insurance needs. But before trying to sell life insurance, the most successful practitioners first

SPECIAL BULLETIN To the Members of the AICPA: T he events surrounding the Enron bankruptcy have sparked an unprecedented level of public policy discussion and media coverage regarding the accounting profession and our role in our nation’s capital market system. The situation is very fluid and can make the task

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY YOUR EMPLOYEES’ COMPUTER CONNECTIONS with the office can be as fast and reliable when they’re traveling or working in a remote location as when they’re in the office, and you can realize that goal without breaking your budget, compromising security or waiting for tomorrow’s technology. THE SIMPLEST AND

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO HELP FAMILY BUSINESS OWNERS BUILD A LEGACY, CPAs need to help family members develop a plan to transfer the business to the next generation while minimizing estate, gift and income taxes. Although the 2001 tax act eliminates estate taxes in 2010, there is no guarantee the repeal

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A FIRM’S SUCCESSION PLAN ISSUES include mentoring new leadership, providing retirement benefits and deciding how to transfer the firm to younger owners. TO ENSURE FAIRNESS, CPAs should establish a succession plan before the partners know who will stay and who will move on. The ideal time is when

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHETHER THE ESTATE TAX will actually be repealed in 2010 and the possibility it will return in 2011, CPAs need to help their clients plan carefully to make sure they take maximum advantage of all of the estate tax changes. THE ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION INCREASES

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TO ESTABLISH A SINGLE MODEL BUSINESSES CAN follow, FASB issued Statement no. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. FASB intends it to resolve implementation issues that arose from its predecessor, Statement no. 121, Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets