BURNING BV QUESTIONS
www.go-iba.org/blog
This site from the Institute of Business
Appraisers hosts a discussion group between its
members and Rand M. Curtiss, FIBA, MCBA, ASA,
chairman of the American Business Appraisers
National Network. Its question-and-answer format
covers a range of topics relating to the appraisal
of closely held businesses, which, according to
the IBA, make up 90% of U.S. businesses and employ
two out of every three taxpayers. Posts include
“Investment Profiles and Valuation Discounts,”
“Financial Forecasts and Willing Buyers and
Sellers,” and “Investigating Investment Value,” as
well as quizzes to test your valuation knowledge.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH
www.appraisalfoundation.org
This e-stop is the source for standards and
appraiser qualifications established by the
Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) and the Uniform
Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
(USPAP). Have record-keeping or ethics questions
regarding appraisals? Click on the
“USPAP/Standards” tab for access to their
extensive archive of monthly Q&A documents or
to read and submit comments about ASB exposure
drafts. Also, keep an eye out for updates and news
about the organization’s ongoing study of
valuation fraud and the relationship between
appraisals and mortgage fraud.
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SHORT ON TIME?
http://goldenmarketing.typepad.
com/acctroundup
Let this stop do the work for you. Published
by Golden Marketing Inc., it pulls the day’s top
news, commentary and practice ideas for CPAs from
dozens of accounting, business and marketing
sites. Also take some time to read the firm’s
other CPA-oriented sites: Golden Practices ( http://goldenmarketing.typepad.com
), where CEO and President Michelle Golden
offers marketing advice and practical ideas for
CPAs; and Golden Web Review (http://goldenmarketing.typepad.com/golden_web_review),
where you’ll find reviews of the good, bad and
ugly of CPA firm Web sites and tips to improve
your own.
TRASH YOUR BUSINESS CARDS
www.linkedin.com
This business and career-oriented networking
site recognizes that professional relationships
are essential to professional success. Find or be
found by current or former colleagues, clients or
classmates, then use these connections to expand
your network of potential clients, service
providers and employees or land a new job or
promotion. Before your next conference, meeting or
interview, use the network to look up the
interests and backgrounds of other attendees.
Users can search by company, school or name. The
site, winner of two 2007 Webby Awards in the
categories of social networking and services,
hosts 12 million users from 150 countries and all
of the Fortune 500 companies, including
more than 140,000 current or former Big Four
accounting firm employees.
SMART SEARCHING
www.freepatentsonline.com
When under the corporate gun, use this Smart
Stop’s free online database to research patents
and intellectual property. Both its “expert” and
“quick” search options include a word-stemming
feature, which when turned on, determines the root
of the search term first, then retrieves results
for all possible variants of the word. Once found,
documents, including current patents or
applications, can be delivered via e-mail in PDFs
or XML format. To ensure no documents are missed,
registered users can also set up “Alerts,” which
run saved searches at specified intervals, and
then deliver the results to your inbox.
SHARE BIG IDEAS
www.pando.com
Have you ever been unable to e-mail or
instant message large files to your clients
or co-workers? Visit this site to download
Pando, a free software program that lets users
send files, videos and audio clips—as large as 1
gigabyte—via e-mail or instant messenger or post
them to Web sites. The application supports
private and secure transfers from within your
existing accounts and is compatible with all major
e-mail and IM clients.
CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUTES
www.streetiq.com
This is your one-stop shop for podcasts on
career growth, mergers and acquisitions, business
management and international issues, to name a
few. Produced by both large media companies and
independent professionals, including the SEC and
Deloitte, the programs are organized into channels
and tagged by industry category, keyword and even
stock ticker symbol. Listeners can stream audio
content on their computer or download the podcasts
to a portable audio device. And if you find a
channel you love, click “Subscribe” to have its
new podcasts sent directly to you. |