iven the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code, many estate planning techniques can be used to lower (or eliminate) the tax burden over the course of an individual’s life. One method taxpayers can use is simply taking advantage of lifetime-giving opportunities through the annual exclusion amount, the applicable estate and
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Personal financial planning
Personal Financial Planning
Faced with a turbulent stock market, rising energy prices and other signs of an economy in flux, Americans are increasingly worried about their finances. And though individual investors admit to financial planners’ expertise, few consult one. So says a new survey the AICPA commissioned to better understand how
Using Money Managers
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ONE WAY CPAs CAN UPGRADE THEIR INVESTMENT advisory services is to offer their clients the services of individual money managers. Managed portfolios permit the CPA to gain more control over the investment process vs. mutual funds and to develop customized investment and tax strategies to meet clients’ special
How to Maximize IRA Accumulations
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TAX LAW REQUIRES IRA OWNERS TO BEGIN TAKING minimum distributions from traditional IRAs starting in the year they turn age 70 12 . Since the balances in these accounts can be quite sizable, some owners prefer to continue generating tax-deferred earnings as long as possible. CPAs can
SEC Launches Online Investment Adviser Database
T he SEC and an association of state securities administrators have formally introduced a Web-based depository of information on investment advisory firms, ushering in a new phase of the digital age for both advisers and investors. The new system will enable the firms, which manage more than $18 trillion
The SEC’s Proposed Auditor Rule Threatens Our Profession and the Public.
SEPTEMBER 2000 VOLUME 190, NUMBER 3 Editorial Staff Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Colleen Katz Executive Editor Barbara J. Shildneck Managing Editor Elizabeth Uva Senior Editors Katharine W. Coveleski Peter D. Fleming Michael Hayes Raj Rangarajan Robert Tie Cynthia Waller Vallario Stanley Zarowin Assistant Editors Sarah Cobb Vincent Nolan Contributing Editors Maria
Facing a Hobson’s Choice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MANY MARRIED COUPLES FACE A CLASSIC ESTATE planning dilemma. They have combined estates large enough to require them to pay estate taxes, but each spouse has insufficient separate assets—other than retirement plans—to fund the bypass trust that could cut their estate tax bill. Funding a bypass trust
Personal Financial Planning
SSA Commissioner Urges Rescue Plan Speaking in June before an audience of AICPA technical managers, Social Security Administration Commissioner Kenneth S. Apfel shared his views on the major challenges confronting his agency, including the projected insolvency in 2034 of the Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Trust Fund. Apfel’s appearance was part
The Planning Peril
PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING Redesigning the budgeting function? Avoid built-in risks. The Planning Peril BY LAWRENCE B. MacGREGOR SERVEN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A REDESIGN OF YOUR organization’s planning and budgeting process is a risky business—for you and your company. Reasons: If the redesign lacks support and fails to deliver, the finger
The Dos and Don’ts of IRA Investing
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE DECISION OF HOW TO INVEST IRA ASSETS is complicated because the law does not allow taxpayers to hold certain investments in an IRA. CPAs will find little formal guidance on IRA investments from the IRS or the Department of Labor. IRA INVESTMENT GUIDELINES GENERALLY ARE limited to
Counseling Clients on Credit
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WITH CONSUMER DEBT AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH, CPAs need to help clients focus more attention on debt management. The Federal Reserve says Americans owed $1.33 trillion, excluding mortgage debt, at the beginning of 1999. MOST LENDERS AND CREDIT COUNSELORS RECOMMEND that families limit debt payments to 36% of
The CPA As E-Consultant
FEBRUARY 2000 VOLUME 189, NUMBER 2 Editorial Staff Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Colleen Katz Executive Editor 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.
Personal Financial Planning
Study Illuminates Opportunity for PFS Practitioners A recent study based on U.S. census data indicates that, despite the economy’s dramatic expansion, the typical American family has modest net worth and less than $1,000 in savings. Perhaps even more striking is that Americans’ failure to accumulate assets often is caused not
10 Commandments of Mutual Fund Investing
ROBERT R. THOMAS, CFA, is vice-president and director of investment for the Aris Corp. of America in State College, Pennsylvania. His e-mail address is rthomas@ariscorporation. com . RICHARD C. MUSAR, CPA, is business development manager for the Aris Corp. of America. His e-mail address is rmusar@ariscorporation.com . o pick the
Buyer Beware
The High Cost of Growing Old In the United States, 54% of women over 65 and 30% of men ultimately will go into a nursing home. In 1998, the average cost of a nursing home was more than $40,000 per year. Monthly skilled nursing-facility costs ranged from a low of
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
Personal Financial Planning
Internet Investing Is Getting a Bad Name It’s hard not to get caught up in the hype surrounding online investing. After all, you can’t turn on the television these days without seeing clever advertisements from Internet trading companies exhorting would-be investors to “get rich quick” by trading stocks online. The
A New Chapter in Bankruptcy Reform
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS THE NUMBER OF BANKRUPTCY FILINGS grows, CPAs are likely to find an increasing number of clients involved in the process. To provide timely advice, CPAs should be familiar with the current bankruptcy system as well as reforms being considered by Congress. CONGRESS CREATED THE NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY Review
Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE PROPER ALLOCATION OF RETIREMENT ASSETS is essential if investors are to have enough money, in qualified plans and other investments, for a comfortable and secure retirement. CPAs can help clients apply asset allocation techniques to retirement assets so a client’s portfolio is effectively distributed among money market
How to Start an Investment Advisory Practice
In an ongoing effort to meet the constantly changing needs of our clients, our CPA firm, Spoor, Doyle & Associates, began to provide investment advisory services on a fee-only basis in December 1997. It was a logical step for us to take. We had always taken great pride in the
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