Forensic services

Ponzi schemes. Using money from later investors to pay early ones until the scheme collapses is an old con that still finds new victims. Unlicensed individuals selling securities. Unlicensed sellers should be a red flag for investors. Unregistered investment products. Most legitimate investments must be registered with the state before

Think accounting is the invention of modern minds? Not likely. Two Harvard researchers are convinced that ancient Incas tracked inventory and taxes through a three-tiered accounting system using knotted bundles of threads. The researchersand many scholars pondering their reportbelieve the colorful knotted quipu strings found at a 13th century archaeological

NUMEROLOGY Source: The Ladders, www.theladders.com .

SURVEY SAVVY

Whether you decide to remodel your home or move to a new one, it could cost you big bucks. Here are some things to consider when making the decision. Source: Adapted from Remodel or Move? Make the Right Decision by Dan Fritchen, ABCD Publishing LLC, 2005.

Americans spent more than $1 billion on travel insurance in 2004, more than 80% of it on per-trip policies that included cancellation coverage. The U.S. Travel Insurance Association says the top misconception consumers have about the need for travel insurance is that credit card companies or travel suppliers such as

Peter Drucker, the management guru, maintains that people motivate themselves. You cant motivate them; you can only thwart their motivation. To be an effective leader you must recognize that the business youre really in is the obstacle identification and removal business.

NUMEROLOGY 1 You have three credit reports. Each of the three national credit bureausEquifax, www.equifax.com ; Experian, www.experian.com ; and TransUnion, www.transunion.com independently collects and maintains consumer financial records. The information on each credit report can be significantly different, though. Since you dont know which bureau a lender will use,

Alan Greenspan, June 9 testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress T here can be little doubt that exceptionally low interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes, and hence on home mortgages, have been a major factor in the recent surge of homebuilding and home turnover, and especially in the

Although some of these jobs still exist, most CPAs are not likely to see these titles on form 1040. Can you identify them? 1. Mercer 2. Collier 3. Cutler 4. Draper 5. Costermonger Robert Lester Porter, CPA 1. A dealer in textile fabrics. 2. A coal miner, one who works

ON THE RECORD John W. Green, CPA Partner, Marcum & Kliegman LLP, Melville, N.Y. Speaking at AccountantsWorlds CPE Symposium in New York We ought to call Sarbanes-Oxley the CPA Employment Act of 2002. Ive been in public accounting since 1981 and Ive never seen anything like this. Next year, when