September 2004 - Journal of Accountancy

ne of the main features of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). The PCAOB, a Congressionally created private-sector, nonprofit corporation, was granted sweeping powers over the nation’s external auditors with respect to their auditing of publicly held companies. Some powers are new

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NYSE-LISTED COMPANIES MUST HAVE INTERNAL audit departments in place in advance of an October 31 deadline. Internal auditors also are evaluating the scope of work their departments should take on to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other rules. A COMPANY STILL PUTTING TOGETHER ITS INTERNAL audit department should proceed

ncentives that reward individuals for short-term results, a culture that has been insufficiently vigilant, advances in technology and more sophisticated business transactions have increased opportunities for fraud and abuse and enabled fraudsters to flourish. Consider this: 75% of companies responding a 2003 KPMG fraud survey said they had experienced at

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THERE IS A CLEAR TREND toward adopting IFRS as the single body of internationally accepted financial reporting standards. In the next few years, thousands of companies will move to IFRS as a primary basis of financial reporting. THE IFRS MANDATE WILL AFFECT U.S. COMPANIES. Some may be required

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MANY EMPLOYERS PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH TAX-FREE education benefits. The two most common are scholarships and grants under IRC section 117 and education-assistance programs under section 127. There is, however, a third alternative: CPAs can recommend using the working condition fringe benefit of IRC section 132(d). SCHOLARSHIPS UNDER SECTION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs WHO PROVIDE FINANCIAL PLANNING SERVICES need to weigh the similarities and differences between U.S. Treasury series EE bonds and I bonds to help clients make savings bonds a part of their investment strategy. SERIES EE AND SERIES I BONDS HAVE interest rates that vary over the life

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR ALIMONY TO BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE, payments must be made in cash under a divorce or written separation instrument, the spouses must reside in separate households, the payor’s liability must end with the payee’s death, the payor and payee must file separate returns and the divorce or separation

CPA2Biz, the AICPA’s marketing and technology provider, experiences steady online growth, releases new site features and develops a set of core business solutions programs to meet the needs of small and midsize public practitioners and CPAs working in business and industry. O ver the past year CPA2Biz, the exclusive marketing

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