July 2011 - Journal of Accountancy

For decedents dying in 2010, Congress provided two systems of taxing estates and determining basis of their assets. Executors of those estates must determine the better course. To do so, especially for valuations of gross estates above the new $5 million exclusion, they must take many factors and considerations into

Martin Shenkman, Esq., CPA/PFS, is the author of numerous books and articles on tax and financial planning, including the AICPA-published Estate and Related Planning During Economic Turmoil, and with Steve R. Akers, Estate Planning After the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010: Tools, Tips, and Tactics. His firm,

If you think there is room for improvement in your accounting firm’s marketing and sales effort, you’re in good company. A recent study by Broderick & Co., consisting of in-depth interviews with leaders representing 130 well-known professional services firms in accounting, law, executive search, management consulting, architecture, financial services and

Overview During 2010, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting – consisting of a cross-section of financial reporting constituencies, including lenders, investors, owners, preparers and auditors – explored the changes necessary to best meet the needs of U.S. users of private company financial statements. In January 2011, the

PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty sees the audit profession as being at a turning point, not just in the U.S., but globally. “One of the fundamental advantages of our society has always been the audit. We believed we could believe in the numbers and that the numbers would be right.

As of early 2011, 46 states had enacted some form of privacy regulation. In particular, those enacted by Massachusetts and Nevada in 2010 significantly raised the bar in terms of business requirements. Even organizations that have no facilities or personnel in Massachusetts may be subject to the state’s regulations if

Several prominent internal control breakdowns and increased focus on internal control by regulators, boards of directors and others charged with governance have led to increased demand for attestation reports on controls over subject matter other than financial reporting provided by an independent CPA. Neither Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) no.