April 2003 - Journal of Accountancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AICPA’s ANNUAL SURVEY to learn how the supply of public accounting graduates is meeting firms’ needs for recruits reveals that turnover rates for CPA firms have held steady in a range from 7% to 10% for local firms and 22% to 28% for national firms. Losing staff

he audit standard issued by the AICPA auditing standards board (ASB) in October 2002—SAS no. 99, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit —does something no audit standard has ever done. It contains a document titled Management Antifraud Programs and Controls: Guidance to Help Prevent, Deter, and Detect Fraud,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PUT YOUR CHECKBOOK AWAY. Although there are loads of hot, new technology gadgets on the market, you probably have nearly everything you really need with little or no upgrading necessary—that is, if you’ve been keeping technologically up-to-date. SINCE MOST OF THE EQUIPMENT you may be buying will not

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HISTORY SHOWS THAT FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE NEITHER rational nor efficient, and any investment strategy that ignores that fact is doomed to failure. Stock prices move up and down according to a bewildering array of factors, only some of which are easily apparent to CPAs and the clients they

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs WHO FILE FORM 706 ON BEHALF OF DECEASED clients should be familiar with some common pitfalls. The form shows the decedent’s assets, liabilities and allowable deductions that together are used to calculate the estate’s tax liability. FOR HELP IN DETERMINING WHICH ASSETS TO LIST on form 706,

ou’ll never catch Burgin,” television investigative reporter Marsha Halford said to me during an off-camera interview regarding rumors of bribery in the Mississippi senate. “He is the smartest and most corrupt politician in the state.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation had Senator William G. Burgin Jr., chairman of the Mississippi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR SOME CPAs, A CAREER AS A TEMPORARY CFO may bring financial rewards, professional challenges and career flexibility. A growing number of placement companies have sprung up to help these executives find interim assignments, which can sometimes lead to permanent jobs. COMPANIES TYPICALLY HIRE AN INTERIM CFO for

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BEING ABLE TO REACH STAFF IS PARAMOUNT during and directly after a disaster. To communicate while power and telephone lines are down, a firm can use public service radio announcements to give out phone numbers where employees can get information. ORGANIZE BUSINESS RECOVERY TEAMS AND DETERMINE the resources