FYI

The AICPA named Ben Neuhausen of BDO Seidman LLP the chair of its Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC), succeeding Mark Bielstein of KPMG LLP. As an AcSEC member, Neuhausen earlier chaired the AICPA Task Force on Real-Estate Time-Share Transactions. AcSEC member Carl Kampel of Ellin & Tucker, Chartered, will become the committee’s vice-chair after its meeting this month.

An AICPA Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey ( www.aicpa.org/download/cefm/ ) found that 71% of CPAs serving as CEOs or CFOs were optimistic about the nation’s economy and its prospects this year.

The AICPA developed an incident response plan ( www.aicpa.org/innovation/baas/ewp/ ) that CPAs can use to help organizations design, create or adapt customized strategies for managing security breaches that threaten the confidentiality of individuals’ personal information.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration is seeking CPAs with two or more years of public accounting experience to perform cost-of-production investigations of foreign manufacturers. The starting salary ranges from $62,886 to $81,747. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and proficient in GAAP, GAAS and manufacturers’ cost-accounting systems. E-mail resumes to accounting_office@ita.doc.gov .

The IRS developed the EITC Assistant, a Web-based questionnaire designed to help working families determine whether they’re eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC) and, if so, to estimate how much credit they’ll receive ( www.irs.gov/irs/article/0,,id=134523,00.html ). For 2004 the maximum credit is $4,300. The tool is available in English and Spanish and reflects recent tax law changes, including new income limits for eligibility.