Q: Does Twitter really serve a legitimate business purpose? All I see are people using it to gossip and to keep track of others’ personal activities and corny stuff such as new songs and concert dates. A: Like the internet, Twitter can dish up both useful and useless information. It
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LB&I Ends Tiered Issues Effective Aug. 17, 2012, the IRS will no longer use the tiered management process to set examination priorities and address important issues in the Large Business & International (LB&I) Division. Instead, it will examine the former Tier I, II, and III issues and assess risk in
Flaw in non-LIFO balance sheet
I enjoyed the LIFO article in the August 2012 issue of the JofA (“Avoiding Missteps in the LIFO Conformity Rule,” page 60). I did note one flaw in the presentation of the non-LIFO balance sheet information in Exhibits 1 and 2, and in the balance sheet and supplement presentation in
Six minutes that will alter your view of history
To celebrate the AICPA’s 125th anniversary this year, CEO and President Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, challenged the Institute’s in-house Creative Services–MultiMedia Group to create a video highlighting key events in American and world history that hinged on the work of accountants and CPAs. The result of that challenge is Evolution
QuickBooks job costing
Q: We are planning to convert our accounting system to QuickBooks next month, and we plan to use QuickBooks primarily for job costing. Do you have any recommendations related to our setup that we should consider? A: You are asking the right question at the right time. I sometimes find
Facing the tax cliff
You can’t pick up a newspaper or go online this fall without seeing stories about the coming “tax cliff” or “taxmageddon”—the time at the end of this year when the current tax rates for income, capital gains, gifts, and estates are scheduled to expire. Mostly overlooked by the news media
AICPA proposes Financial Reporting Framework for SMEs
Traditional accounting principles form the foundation for a new approach to financial reporting that the AICPA is developing for small and medium-size entities (SMEs) and released for public comment Thursday. The proposed Financial Reporting Framework for SMEs (FRF-SME) is designed to emphasize familiar accounting concepts such as historical cost and
Windows 8 keyboard and swipe commands
Editor’s note: Also read “Windows 8: Jump or wait?” in the November 2012 issue of the JofA. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS Windows + Arrow Keys: Use this to place an application window to the left/right of the screen and also to maximize/minimize. Windows + Shift + Arrow Keys: Maximize, restore and move
Custom calendar
Q: Is there a quick way to create or paste a calendar into a Word document that can be edited, without having to create one from scratch? A: Word includes a tool called Quick Tables, which provides several options for inserting calendars into a Word document, as follows. From the
Authors contributing to the November 2012 issue
Embracing Change: Richard Caturano, the AICPA’s 100th Chairman, Outlines Vision to Grow and Advance the Profession page 26 Back to Basics: Proposed Framework for SMEs Geared for Reliability and Simplicity page 32 Applying the Principles: COSO Proposal Relates Framework to External Financial Reporting page 36Ken Tysiac is a JofA
Award recognizes early-career researcher’s work on management accounting issues
Jasmijn C. Bol, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business in New Orleans, received the Best Early Career Researcher Award from the AICPA. The $2,000 grant is given to the researcher with the best overall body of research in management accounting and whose research was
Ethics / Compilation & review
Two AICPA committees extended comment deadlines to Nov. 30 on recently proposed revisions to professional standards. The proposed change to the ethics rules would require CPAs who prepare financial statements for attest clients to apply the general requirements of Interpretation No. 101-3, Nonattest Services, to maintain their independence. Proposed changes
Emma Swain, CPA
Some people think I work too much, but I really enjoy my job. I get to meet wonderful people all over the world who are interested in food and wine. We have fun together; we sell some wine and drink a little wine along the way. Many of the things
TIGTA: Appeals errors persist
The IRS Office of Appeals continues to make errors in classifying hearings and determining the statute of limitation on collections, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported (TIGTA Rep’t No. 2012-10-077). The audit and report, required annually by statute, indicates that, based on statistical samples studied, the potential number
Charitable contributions of vehicles
Your clients may ask about donating used vehicles to charitable organizations. Donating a car is a good way to get a tax deduction, but increased scrutiny by the IRS means taxpayers need to have a good understanding of the rules related to the items claimed on their return. Clients should
Lost Excel file
Q: Help! I was working in Excel 2010 on an important file for several hours when the unthinkable happened. I meant to close a single workbook, but I accidentally closed all of my workbooks without saving. Hoping that there was an undo feature to recover the file, I selected File,
Applying the principles: COSO proposal relates framework to external financial reporting
News reports show the frightening weather satellite images of a hurricane that is causing concern for leaders of an automobile manufacturing plant. The storm’s possible effects on the supply chain seem obvious as it approaches one of the company’s suppliers. The problems this could cause for internal control over the
Follow MAP to better firm
The 2012 National MAP (Management of an Accounting Practice) Survey, conducted by the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section and the Texas Society of CPAs, allows CPAs to benchmark their firms against their peers, an exercise that can identify areas—and processes—for improvement. To best use the MAP results, CPAs should do
News highlights for November 2012
A new auditing standard approved unanimously by the PCAOB is designed to encourage two-way, effective communication between external auditors and audit committees during public company audits. With the aim of improving audit quality, the PCAOB approved Auditing Standard (AS) No. 16, Communications With Audit Committees, and amendments to other PCAOB
The case has been solved
Q: Excel provides several functions (=LOWER, =UPPER, =PROPER) for changing character case; does Word have similar capabilities? A: To change the character case in Word, highlight the word, sentence, paragraph, or document, then press Shift+F3 to toggle between lower, upper, and proper case.
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FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Flip out with the latest Tech Q&A
The September Technology Q&A column shows how to create dynamic to-do lists with Excel's checkboxes and also how to set up multifactor authentication texts that don't rely on phones. Flip through both items and view a video walkthrough in our digital format.
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