2009 - Page 27 of 27 - Journal of Accountancy

The magazines

January 1, 2009

VEBA’s Excess Set-Aside is UBI

The Court of Federal Claims ruled that a tax-exempt voluntary employees’ beneficiary association (VEBA) recognized income subject to the unrelated business income tax (UBIT) because it exceeded the amount the VEBA could set aside to pay benefits. The UBIT was enacted to prevent tax-exempt organizations from competing with taxable entities

January 1, 2009

Financial Reporting

The AICPA has issued a new nonauthoritative Technical Practice Aid addressing potential accounting and auditing implications of a fund or its trustee imposing restrictions on a nongovernmental entity’s ability to withdraw its balance in a money market fund or other short-term investment vehicle. TPA 1100.15, Liquidity Restrictions, covers balance sheet

January 1, 2009

Auditing

The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board issued two final standards on internal control. Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) no. 15, An Examination of an Entity’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Its Financial Statements, converges the standards practitioners use for reporting on a

January 1, 2009

U.S. Commercial Service Fees

January 1, 2009

Plan Design in the Balance

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

January 1, 2009

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

A volunteer president of the board of directors of a nonprofit day care center was held personally liable for the day care’s payroll taxes and therefore was not entitled to a refund of the taxes he paid on behalf of the organization. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the

January 1, 2009

CFC Credit Rules Eased

In response to the liquidity crisis, which has made it difficult for taxpayers to fund their operations, the IRS quickly responded on Oct. 3 with Notice 2008-91, temporarily expanding the short-term financing exception to IRC § 956. This measure will permit corporations to access cash from their controlled foreign corporations (CFCs)

January 1, 2009

Congress Extends, Amends Research Credit

The recently enacted Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 includes the long-awaited extension of the IRC § 41 research credit. The credit had expired at the end of 2007, but the act extends it to apply to amounts incurred after Dec. 31, 2007, and before Jan. 1, 2010. Under section

January 1, 2009

Groskopf Joins FASB Committee

Thomas J. Groskopf was named to FASB’s Private Company Financial Reporting Committee, which receives administrative support from the AICPA and is part of a joint standard-setting improvement effort by the organizations. Groskopf is the youngest person to become director of his 110-person firm, Barnes, Denning & Co. Ltd., which specializes

January 1, 2009

Ethics as Recruiting Tool

The ethical—or unethical—behavior of an organization is a critical factor for new college graduates seeking jobs, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. The NACE’s 2008 Graduating Student Survey found that current graduates are much more likely to avoid employers they perceive as engaging in unethical behavior than

January 1, 2009

Financial Reporting for Real Estate

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

January 1, 2009

Annuities and the Other Side of the Retirement Savings Coin

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

January 1, 2009

FYI

The SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant is seeking up to four professional accounting fellows to help develop proposed securities rules, work with standard setters in accounting and auditing, and consult with filers on reporting matters. The two-year fellowships begin this summer or fall. Two positions are in the Accounting

January 1, 2009

Stock Loan Treated as Sale

The value of a couple’s stock securing a loan could not be deducted as a theft loss, even though the stock was sold without the borrowers’ knowledge, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled. Other claims, including whether, as the government argued, the loan was really

January 1, 2009

International

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published guidance on the application of fair value measurement when markets become inactive. The guidance includes a report by an expert advisory panel established to consider the issue, as well as a summary document highlighting important issues associated with measuring the fair value of