December 2006 - Journal of Accountancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sound ergonomics makes economic sense. The goal of ergonomics is to boost productivity by increasing employee performance and comfort and reducing injuries and errors. CPA firms that attend to staff members’ comfort and health are rewarded with greater work performance and job loyalty. A neat, clean and comfortable

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In general, the home office must be used exclusively and regularly as the principal place of business or to meet and deal with customers in the normal course of the business. If the taxpayer is an employee, the home office must be maintained as a convenience to the

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sound contingency plans can prevent or minimize damage in a crisis. Although natural disasters are the most obvious and dramatic, firms also should be prepared to resume business after a fire or theft, or the loss of a key firm member. Business continuation insurance can pay for time

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Increased international trade regulations have led to greater risks for companies that do business abroad. How CPAs help companies manage these risks will vary based on the countries and products involved, the size of the company, the potential penalties and the company’s import/export structure. In going global, companies

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To satisfy the information needs of external and internal stakeholders, more organizations are measuring and reporting on their social and environmental performance. CPAs can play an important role in providing the needed information and helping to verify its accuracy. Corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) involves reporting financial and nonfinancial

ccounting firms worldwide have for many years formed alliances, and there are good reasons to do so. A network of firms can capture marketing and promotional synergies and offer a broader range of accounting services to clients by expanding the availability of resources, expertise and geographic coverage. Moreover, with the

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The PCAOB in April 2006 issued a set of seven rules for auditors of public companies. The rules focus primarily on tax services, but also address contingent fees, audit committee preapproval of tax services and fundamental requirements for ethics and independence. Individuals who contribute directly and substantially to

usiness forecasts typically are based on historical information that is modeled by current conditions and anticipated futures. But to make the forecasting exercise more useful for planning, accountants can tinker further with the numbers by calculating how even an unanticipated future will change various metrics. This article will describe a