The best IT security policies are only effective if employees abide by them, and these days that can be a big “if.” More than half (53%) of employees in a recent international survey said they work around their company’s IT security policies to get work done. Other findings included: 64%
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Money Laundering
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in an effort to make the administration of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) more efficient and effective, published a proposal to simplify its rules and regulations by centralizing them in its own new chapter of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The proposal would
The Paperless Chase
Almost 65% of accounting firms believe that paperless processes are critical to their firm’s future success, according to the recent findings of the online 2008 CCH Accounting Trends Survey. Moreover, 62% of the firms surveyed said their use of paperless solutions will evolve quickly over the next year. The most
Smart Moves and Shortcuts
A proper place for the mouse: Since I’m a lefty, I guess I’m biased, but I think the right place for the mouse is on the left of the keyboard. That leaves your right hand free to work the number pad. Hard to make the switch from right to left?
Remove Error Messages From a Printed Worksheet
It doesn’t look very professional to print an Excel worksheet displaying those little error symbols (#DIV/0! or #N/A). And even though I know they are harmless, I don’t want to have to explain them to a client. How can I keep them off my printed sheets without having to go
Business Valuation Section Wins Best Article Award
The JofA’s 2007 business valuation section that introduced the AICPA’s Statement on Standards for Valuation Services has won the Journal’s Lawler Award for the best article of the year. The section appeared in the September 2007 issue. The winning authors and their articles are: Edward J. Dupke, “AICPA Introduces Its
State Workers at Low End of Wage Scale
Workers in business and financial operations at nonprofits earned significantly more than their counterparts in state government in 2007, but slightly less than people doing similar work in local government. Wages of business and financial workers were the greatest in private industry. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wages in the
Barbara Evans, CPA
Growing up in the small, rural town of St. Albans, W.Va., I didn’t foresee any future beyond that of my family of nine. My father was a self-employed bricklayer, and my mother made $6 a day cleaning houses. I worked alongside both of them, plus milked cows and did everything
The Death of LIFO?
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
Ellentuck Receives Tax Division’s Highest Award
Albert B. Ellentuck received the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the highest award given by the AICPA in the area of taxation. Ellentuck, currently of counsel to King & Nordlinger LLP Attorneys at Law in Arlington, Va., has spent his career in practice with both law and CPA firms, focusing
CFO Optimism Falls in Third Quarter
CFOs are seeing their glasses as less and less full, according to a survey by Financial Executives International and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. The CFO Optimism Index for the U.S. economy fell to 41.73 in the third quarter, down from 48.92 in the second quarter, an all-time low
Bunting, Walker Receive Gold Medal Award
Robert L. Bunting, former AICPA chairman, and David M. Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, are the 2009 recipients of the Institute’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service. The medal is the highest award granted by the AICPA. Bunting served as the 2004–2005 chair of the Institute’s board of directors and
Need to Create an Assortment of Financial Scenarios? It’s a Snap With Excel
In my business I have to assemble a wide range of scenarios so we can prepare negotiations on pricing certain projects, and since the scenarios usually contain many variables, that job can take hours. Any ideas for speeding the process? Sure enough, Excel has a perfect tool for that job,
Einhorn Named Tax Executive Committee Chair
Alan R. Einhorn, national director of the Quality Assurance Group for Deloitte Tax LLP, is the new chair of the Institute’s Tax Executive Committee. Einhorn’s work with Deloitte includes ethics and professional standards and taxpayer and preparer responsibilities. He is also involved in coordinating the firm’s tax quality assurance reviews
Highlights
The 165-page document echoes the outlines of the plan unveiled Aug. 27, when the Commission voted unanimously to seek comments on the road map. Under the proposal, the SEC would decide in 2011 whether to proceed with rulemaking to require that U.S. issuers use IFRS beginning in 2014. Limited early
Most CPA Firms Still Doing Well
Most CPA firms continue to grow in a sluggish economy, based on the results of the AICPA’s 2008 PCPS/TSCPA National MAP Survey, with many maintaining the high levels of income and billing rates of the previous survey, which was conducted in 2006. More than a quarter of the responding firms
Quick Points on Prenups
Premarital agreements (also known as prenuptial agreements, or “prenups” for short) involve elements of estate planning and divorce law. And because such agreements can center on finances and taxes, accountants should be aware of how they operate. WHEN A PRENUP MAY BE NEEDEDPrenups aren’t just for rich people—they are for
Medical Residents Not Subject to FICA
Although circuits have split on the issue previously, two recent decisions concluded that medical residents are not subject to FICA, based on the student exception of IRC § 3121(b)(10). The provision states that the term “employment” “shall not include…service(s) performed in the employ of…a school, college, or university…if such service
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