January 2009 - Journal of Accountancy

CPA financial planners are often confronted with the question, “When should I start collecting Social Security benefits?” For married couples, the question should be asked in the plural. Current financial needs and expected life span may be paramount considerations for a single person. However, the implications of when to begin

Like many of their clients, CPAs tend to consider the problem of retirement planning solved once they develop a plan for accumulating savings during the client’s working years. But as recent events have shown, panics and bear markets can add another dimension to the equation. Moreover, there is another side

Few differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP loom larger than accounting for inventories, particularly the disallowance of the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method in IFRS. The proposed shift of U.S. public companies to IFRS could affect many companies currently using LIFO for both financial reporting and taxation. This is because the

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million people have their identities stolen every year. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 200 million instances of data breaches have occurred since the beginning of 2005, and they show no signs of letting up. In the first

An overview of the advantages and disadvantages of a cash balance plan.

FASB Statement no. 157, Fair Value Measurements, introduces new concepts and practices to the world of financial reporting, including some that are beginning to impact the fair value measurements of real estate assets. “Highest and best use” is one of these concepts. As it applies to fair value measurements of

Editor’s note: On Oct. 21, Ernie Almonte began a one-year term as the AICPA’s chairman. Almonte, Rhode Island’s auditor general, is the first AICPA chairman from the government sector. This is a condensed version of Almonte’s inaugural speech, delivered at the October meeting of the Institute’s governing Council in Tucson,