August 2004 - Journal of Accountancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MORE THAN 50% OF PARTNERS AT CPA FIRMS are over 50 years old, and a significant number of firms now are run by baby boomers who will seek retirement during the next five to 10 years. There is a shortage of partnership candidates to take the reins. GROWING

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DEPRECIATION OF LUXURY CARS requires careful analysis due to recent tax law changes. OPTIMIZATION OF LUXURY-VEHICLE DEPRECIATION demands thoughtful analysis of the IRC section 179 expense allowance, the 30% or 50% additional depreciation allowance and regular depreciation. THE ULTIMATE GOAL is to maximize the total auto deduction and

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SPAM IS A BUSINESS PROBLEM companies now must address because of domestic and international laws. Companies need to adopt Internet marketing privacy policies to comply with various privacy and spam regulations. CPAs can use the AICPA/CICA Privacy Framework to help organizations accomplish these goals. THE AICPA/CICA PRIVACY FRAMEWORK

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COST SEGREGATION CAN PROVIDE REAL ESTATE purchasers with tremendous tax benefits from accelerated depreciation deductions and easier write-offs when an asset becomes obsolete, broken or destroyed. CPAs CAN RECOMMEND USING THE cost segregation technique when a taxpayer constructs a building or buys an existing one. It can be

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WELCOME TO THE WORLD PDAs —personal digital assistants. These handheld devices can perform many of your computer tasks and some even do double-duty as cell phones. THE PDA MARKET IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE GROUPS: Palm, Pocket PC, Blackberry, smartphones and combination devices (which function both as PDAs and

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH THE ADVENT OF FEDERAL LAWS controlling spam e-mail, CPAs must exercise caution in their communications with clients and prospects. In so doing they can improve the look and effectiveness of their e-mail marketing programs. THE CAN-SPAM ACT OF 2003 INCLUDES civil and criminal penalties for predatory and

  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SSARS NO. 10, PERFORMANCE OF REVIEW ENGAGEMENTS, effective for reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2004, amends SSARS no. 1, Compilation and Review of Financial Statements, by introducing new requirements for performing such services. CPAs MUST APPLY THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF FINANCIAL