Thanks for the new expanded industry and technology content in the May 1999 issue. You have made the JofA a much more useful tool for members in business and industry. Keep up the good work. I look forward to more articles of this nature in the future. Randy A. Webb,
Advertisement
TOPICS
Forensic services
CPAs, CFEs and Fraud
“The CPA As Sleuth: Working the Fraud Beat” ( JofA , Apr.99, page 20) was very interesting and provided some excellent tips on how to investigate fraud. The article, however, assumes that CPAs are knowledgeable enough in matters of fraud to provide an efficient and effective fraud examination. This is
Ads Neglect Women
In the January 1999 JofA, I noticed all but two advertisements pictured only men. The first exception was the advertisement for AICPA insurance (page 70); the second exception (page 87), showed two women involved in a flurry of activity while a calm male handled the situation with a telephone call.
Bottom Line Still Top Management’s Focus
The article “Accounting—The Digital Way” ( JofA, May99, page 99) cited the need for executive commitment as a cultural element essential to putting enhanced financial reporting systems into place. I agree, but the ability to clearly demonstrate to executive management the bottom-line benefit of a new system’s expected efficiency gain
Unhappy Merger—Happy Ending
Many of the problems I experienced in the unsuccessful merger of my practice with a larger firm were not covered in your article, “Solo, But Not Alone” (JofA, Apr.99, page 35). My practice grossed $50,000 its first year, and I was averaging two to three new referrals a week. Suffering
Another Viewpoint on Health Care Plans
As an avid reader of the JofA, I have come to trust it to provide me with accurate and useful information. Having worked in the health care insurance industry for the past six years, I was dismayed at the misinformation presented in a recent article titled “Ask Your Health Plan
About the Publisher
July 1999 Vol. 188 No. 1 Highlights Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Colleen Katz ExecutiveEditor Barbara J. Shildneck Managing Editor Elizabeth Uva Senior Editors Katharine W. Coveleski Peter D. Fleming John von Brachel Michael Hayes Emily S. Plishner Stanley Zarowin Senior News Editor Robert Tie Associate News Editor Mavis C. Allen Assistant
I’ve Got Your Number
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BENFORD’S LAW PROVIDES A DATA analysis method that can help alert CPAs to possible errors, potential fraud, manipulative biases, costly processing inefficiencies or other irregularities. A PHYSICIST AT GE RESEARCH LABORATORIES in the 1920s, Frank Benford found that numbers with low first digits occurred more frequently in the
When Your Customer Goes Belly-Up
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BANKRUPTCY LAW HAS SOME UNPREDICTABLE consequences. If a customer has physical possession of its supplier’s property, ownership may be debated. Conversely, a supplier may reclaim some goods it has already shipped. If a supplier files a formal proof of claim, it may waive other rights. THE COURT MAY
The CPA As Sleuth: Working the Fraud Beat
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW THEIR WAY through a financial tangle, CPAs can be invaluable in a fraud investigation-if they know the legal basics. A CPA SHOULD ADVISE THE CLIENT to hire a lawyer if a fraud is suspected specifically to establish privilege of information. He or she should
Tax Brief. Business/Industry: New pension plan self-correction programs.
BUSINESS/INDUSTRY New Pension Plan Self-Correction Programs The IRS consolidated four correction programs for tax qualified plans into a single Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). Self-correction programs allow employers that sponsor tax-qualified pension plans to correct failures or defects that otherwise might threaten a plan’s qualification. Revenue procedure 98-12 provides
The CPA as Fraud-Buster
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SAS NO. 82 PROVIDES guidance about auditors’ responsibilities in detecting and reporting possible fraud. Practitioners need to examine the presence of risk factors, assess the risk of material misstatement due to fraud, develop a response, document the performance of their assessment and meet their communication responsibilities. MANAGEMENT HAS
The Auditor and Fraud
Editor’s note: The information contained in this article is specific to the auditing and assurance landscape on or about the date it was authored, including references to Generally Accepted Auditing Standards in effect at that time. For up-to-date information as of September 2023, please refer to the JofA article “A Refresher on Fraud and
Litigation Services: Standards and Ethics
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY LITIGATION SERVICES continue to grow in popularity, and practitioners must understand the standards and ethics that govern them. MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES standards govern litigation services. These include serving the client interest, understanding with client and communication with client. AUDITING STANDARDS, ATTESTATION standards and accounting and review services standards
Who Got Sued?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AUDITOR LITIGATION RESEARCH SHOWS that auditors encounter a significant level of weak claims and engage in costly activities to dispose of these weak claims. DEFENDING AGAINST WEAK LAWSUITS is a difficult, time-consuming and financially burdensome experience. The average weak claim costs $3.7 million to defend against and 3.7
SEC leadership
SEC Leaders Discuss the Value of Independence S enior officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission told members attending the American Institute of CPAs annual Conference on current SEC Developments in Washington, D.C., that audit firms must strive to ensure that audit quality will not be compromised and that auditor
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
What small firm CPAs need to know
In a new JofA column, the AICPA’s small firm advocate answers questions about making A&A services and peer review more manageable, dealing with frequent tax law changes, and planning for retirement.
From The Tax Adviser
July 31, 2026
Current developments in S corporations
July 31, 2026
