While FASB and the IASB work to complete an unprecedented 11 standards over the next 14 months, SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker told the JofA in April that he would support the boards’ cutting the number of projects due in June 2011, provided there was good rationale for a
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Mapping the Scope of Personal Service Corporations
The Tax Court held that a land surveying company was a personal service corporation subject to a 35% flat income tax rate because it was engaged in engineering, despite the fact that it performed no work requiring an engineering license under state law. Section 448 requires most C corporations to
Financial Reporting
Responding to the recent rise in loan modifications, FASB updated standards related to troubled-debt restructuring. Amendments in the update are aimed at increasing comparability regarding modifications of loans accounted for within pools under ASC Subtopic 310-30, Receivables—Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality. FASB said differences in practice
Auditing
The AICPA prepared a set of questions and answers to help explain the changes resulting from the issuance of Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements no. 16, Reporting on Controls at a Service Organization, by the Auditing Standards Board. SSAE no. 16 applies when data resulting from an outsourcing
Developing Your Personal Brand Equity
Building a reputation in the accounting profession takes time, but is critical to success. Traditionally, partners built their reputation, or personal brand, by pushing information out to clients, prospects and friends. The timeworn mantra “it’s not what you know, but who you know” has been a fundamental building block for
Deferral and Spreading of Roth Conversion Income Not Always Best
This year has been touted as the Year of the Roth IRA Conversion (“2010: The Year of the Roth Conversion?” JofA, Jan. 2010, page 28). Advice abounds on when to carry out a conversion and how to pay for it. Often, though, a thorough analysis of the alternatives requires planners
FYI
George Beckwith, CPA, controller of National Gypsum Co. in Charlotte, N.C.; Stephen Bodine, CPA, audit and accounting principal of LarsonAllen LLP in Minneapolis; and Steven D. Lords, CPA, CFO of Martin-Harris Construction in Las Vegas, were named to the Private Company Financial Reporting Committee. “Beckwith’s large private company perspective, Bodine’s
Pin a Worksheet, Page or Even an App Like the Calculator to a Screen, and It Will Stay on Top
Q: For years I’ve been looking for an application that would place on my screen a spreadsheet table or an app like the Calculator, and it would remain there as I maneuvered from one worksheet to another or from one file to another. That way I could always instantly reference
A Snapshot of Workplace Fraud
The 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse takes a comprehensive look at workplace schemes, their perpetrators, how the crimes were ultimately detected and their estimated cost. The report, released this month by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, is based on data compiled from a study
Fortify Your Facebook Privacy Settings
Thousands of CPAs and many state CPA societies are using Facebook to help establish and maintain relationships. A search for “CPA” on Facebook yields more than 31,000 results. As more CPAs continue to embrace this venue, privacy concerns are on the rise. As a CPA, I use Facebook both professionally
Government
GASB issued an exposure draft of a proposed statement, The Financial Reporting Entity, an amendment of GASB Statements No. 14 and No. 34. The proposed statement is intended to improve guidance for including, presenting and disclosing information about component units and equity interest transactions of a financial reporting entity.
Jeffrey DeBolt, CPA
Fear is a funny thing. It can paralyze—or it can motivate. One type of fear, however, actually inspires me: It is the fear of passing up an opportunity because I am comfortable with the status quo. I don’t ever want that to happen. Right now, I have the best possible
Line Items
ADOPTION CREDIT AND EXCLUSION EXPANDED The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PL 111-148) temporarily increased the adoption expense credit and fringe benefit exclusion limit for adoption-assistance programs and made the credit refundable. The changes are effective for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2009. The act increased the statutory
QSub Bank’s Tax-Exempt Bond Expense Deductible
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a bank organized as a qualified S corporation subsidiary (QSub) could deduct in full its interest paid to acquire tax-exempt bonds, reversing the Tax Court. As a general rule, expenses related to producing tax-exempt income, including interest, are nondeductible. Therefore, IRC §
New GAAP for Multiple Deliverables
Many companies, large and small, offer a broad range of products and services to their customers. Often these product and service sales are negotiated at the same time with a single customer, resulting in a single contractually binding arrangement with multiple deliverables. Consider the cell phone company that provides a
Firm Up Your Data Security
Given the many threats organizations face in protecting critical information and processes, an information security policy is arguably one of the most important documents an organization can create. Consider these best practices for creating a new security policy and keeping an existing policy up to date. —By Ron Box, CPA/CITP/CFF,
Spouse Had “Reason to Know” of Disallowed Deductions
The Sixth Circuit joined the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh circuits in adopting the “knowledge of the transaction” test of Price v. Commissioner (887 F.2d 959 (9th Cir., 1989)) in innocent spouse cases, upholding a Tax Court finding of ineligibility for relief. IRC § 6015(b)(1)(C) requires taxpayers seeking
Test Your Knowledge of Professional Ethics
Periodically the JofA publishes questions on ethics topics that have been raised by AICPA members via the Institute’s Ethics Hotline. This set of questions and staff answers deals with the application of the Code of Professional Conduct (AICPA Professional Standards). 1. A CPA firm has a partner who is “semiretired.”
Small Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) warned that the agency has received several complaints from small businesses about abusive marketing practices, scams and exorbitant fees charged by companies offering to help businesses get a loan, grant or other federal funds from the SBA. Complaints received by the SBA’s Office of
Personalize Windows 7 With a Versatile Tweaking Tool
Q: Back in the old days—that is, when I was still using XP—I downloaded a neat freeware utility from Microsoft that let me tweak my computer’s settings in multiple ways. Is there anything like that for Windows 7? A: Yes, it’s called the Ultimate Windows Tweaker, and it works in
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FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
4 ways solo practitioners can stand out
Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.
From The Tax Adviser
April 30, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
April 30, 2026
