SURVEY SAVVY f your clients’ personal savings accounts aren’t increasing fast enough to provide a lucrative retirement, you might suggest they switch to equities. Nearly 57 million U.S. households owned stock directly or through mutual funds—three times the number that did two decades ago, according to a survey by the
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When the Boss Trumps Internal Controls
hen a college was so broke it couldn’t even afford copy paper, toner and other inexpensive supplies, it took some sleuthing to find the reason. This article summarizes the heroic efforts of one CPA, without pay or outside staff (or experience in fraud detection), who helped bring down a powerful
IRS Commends AICPA for Service to Small Businesses
The Institute received an IRS citation of excellence for helping small business taxpayers. At the National CPA/IRS Tax Issues Meeting in November, AICPA Tax Division technical manager Benson Goldstein accepted the award from Kevin Brown, commissioner of the IRS’s Small Business/Self-Employed Operating Division. The IRS applauded the Institute’s “outstanding team
CPAs Are a Hot Commodity
CAREER UPDATE on’t you wish you could look into a crystal ball to see what’s ahead for the profession? So do we. But since that seems unlikely, we turned to Kent Burns, equity partner of MRINetwork’s Indianapolis office, to get his take on CPA career prospects in the near future.
Banking
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued advance notice of a proposed rule that would make it easier to ascertain whether FDIC insurance covered deposits in banks with more than 250,000 customer accounts and $2 billion in domestic deposits ( www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2005/pr12205.html ). The last time the FDIC updated its deposit
Employee Benefits
The Treasury Department and the IRS released Notice 2005-86, which clarifies that an individual participating in a flexible spending arrangement (FSA) is ineligible to contribute to a health savings account (HSA) during an FSA grace period, which extends the covered expense eligibility time frame up to 2 months into the
What It Takes to Be a Chief
SURVEY SAVVY Source: TheLadders.com survey of 1,366 executives earning $100,000 or more, www.theladders.com , 2005.
Take the Money and Run
Source: Hewitt Associates, www.hewitt.com , survey of nearly 200,000 workers.
Protect Retirement Assets
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE NEW BANKRUPTCY LAW protects tax-qualified retirement plans—pensions, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans—from creditors in bankruptcy. SEP AND SIMPLE IRAs ARE excluded from bankruptcy estates under the new law, even if they qualify as ERISA pension plans. TRADITIONAL AND ROTH IRAs that are created and funded by an individual
Stamp Date and Time on Documents
With Sarbanes-Oxley pushing on us, we’d like to add a date and maybe even a time stamp on all our documents. Is there a simple way to do that? In Word, the fastest and easiest way is to position your cursor where you want the stamp to appear on your
Taxing LTC Premium Refunds
“ LTC Insurance for Owners and Executives ” ( JofA , Mar.05, page 53) speaks about the advantages of using a C-corporation as a funding vehicle for long-term-care insurance. The article is quite useful. However, one issue needs to be clarified. The article talks about the “return or refund of
Automatically Open Applications
When I fire up my computer Id like Outlook and Excel to open automatically. Is there a way to make them do that? No problem. Click on Start and then go to All Programs where youll see all your applications listed alphabetically. Youll find the Outlook and Excel icons under
Tax Pros in Demand
Source: The Conference Board, www.conferenceboard.org , survey of 10,000 households.
Time Waits for No Job
Source: Online poll of employees from 1,500 client companies, LifeCare, Inc., Westport, Conn. www.lifecare.com , 2004.
Can Spam
or some, spam is like ants at a picnic: uninvited, ubiquitous and annoying. For many others, whose uninvited e-mails flood their computer mailbox, it’s an expensive headache. Try as you might, technology can’t entirely eliminate spam. But stay with us and we’ll share with you the best and easiest ways
Crowding on Millionaires Row
SURVEY SAVVY T he number of U.S. households with more than $1 million in net worth (excluding the primary residence) has increased for the third consecutive year. Surprisingly the rise was fueled neither by real estate investments nor stock market growth but, instead, by the householders’ long-term accumulation of wealth.
Key Issues in Global Reporting
ON THE RECORD Patricia McConnell, CPA, senior managing director, Bear Stearns & Co., New York, speaking at the AICPA Business & Industry Financial Executive Forum, October 27, 2005. “ Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley really has no teeth itself. The bite, if a company is noncompliant, is the market reaction caused
Improve Computer Training
Many prepackaged computer training programs fail to discriminate between what trainees already know and what they need to learn. Following are guidelines for making such technology training useful: Ask trainees whether they would rather attend group classes, have one-on-one sessions or do self-training with audio tapes or manuals. Most people
Golf Courses
Top Ten Golf Digest picks the country’s best links. 1. Pine Valley Pine Valley, N.J. 2. Augusta National Augusta, Ga. 3. Shinnecock Hills Southampton, N.Y. 4. Cypress Point Club Pebble Beach, Calif. 5. Oakmont Country Club Oakmont, Pa. 6. Pebble Beach Golf Links Pebble Beach, Calif. 7. Merion Ardmore, Pa.
Bill Gates Quote
As Quoted “ Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ” —Bill Gates, in his book Business @ The Speed of Thought
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How to find the right CAS clients
The key to success with CAS is selecting the best clients. Tools like ideal client profiles (ICPs), buyer personas, and even artificial intelligence can help identify the businesses that best fit each CAS practice.
From The Tax Adviser
March 31, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
March 31, 2026
Current Developments in Taxation of Individuals: Part 1
March 6, 2026
