EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gaming has come of age and become a real discipline and a serious nationwide business. It involves a lot of different industries under one roof: gaming, lodging, entertainment, food and beverage, golf and other recreational activities. CPAs with auditing skills are in high demand
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TOPICS
Firm practice management
Firms Not Planning for Booming Retirements
Almost 40% of companies have made no projections about the retirement rate of their employees and more than 25% have not even analyzed their work force demographics, which might unexpectedly jeopardize employer success, according to The Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College. The study found that, although
Stay Connected on the Road
When traveling on business, it would be great if you could receive and send e-mail and easily perform other simple office tasks, like sending and receiving faxes or scanning documents into your computer—all without lugging around a ton of equipment. It would be even better if none
Use Power Efficiently at the Office
Have a long-term goal to reduce your overhead and operating budget? Every few years firms can schedule professional energy audits, which pinpoint where your office is wasting energy and suggest how to increase efficiency. Follow these simple tips to keep your employees comfortable while cutting your summer energy bill: Install
Effective Websites for CPAs: Grow Your Practice and Profits
by Kristi Stangeland, CPA RJ Thompson Publishing, 2006, 177 pp. Shortening the client development cycle is one of the most compelling reasons for a CPA firm to develop a Web site if it does not already have one, according to author Kristi Stangeland. Keeping clients abreast of change, increasing sales
Time to Rethink Your 401(k) Plan?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The PPA has made it easier for plan sponsors to automatically enroll employees in a retirement plan by eliminating the worry over state withholding laws. It delineates a new safe harbor automatic enrollment provision that starts the automatic deferral at 3%, raising it by
Incentives for Businesses in Distressed Communities
Since the mid-1990s, Congress has tried to help businesses operating in certain low-income and economically disadvantaged areas. This has taken the form of tax credits and deductions for businesses that locate in, and hire residents from, those areas. These inducements may be of interest to companies looking
Talent-Tempting Web Sites
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPA firms have long sought answers to problems in recruiting and staffing. Some have used their Web sites to attract and inform prospective hires by adding features and content that highlight aspects of a career there. A survey of Web sites of the 50
Structuring for Growth
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Managing partners at small CPA firms —those having four or fewer professionals on staff—face a challenge. Their chief responsibilities are to build and maintain a solid foundation of financial, technological and legal support and to take action to ensure the firm’s profitability and future.
Build, Buy (or Sell)?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In managing a practice’s lifecycle, CPAs periodically face questions of how best to grow–to build the practice from within over time or to acquire an existing firm. They also must consider how best and when to sell their practice. The decision of how or when to build,
Market Every Day (in Every Way)
Marketing is the process of educating people about the availability and value of your firm’s CPA and advisory services. It lets potential clients know how you can help them solve problems and meet financial goals. Targeted, budgeted marketing plans generally work best, but many simple strategies cost
Smart Stops on the Web
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT GOOD FOR GROWTH www.buildyourfirm.com This site is dedicated to marketing for CPA and accounting firms. You can sign up for the free newsletter or browse the advice columns. Under the Marketing Tips tab, there’s info on generating leads, marketing on the cheap and recovering
Highlights
HIGHLIGHTS With FASB affirming its implementation date for FIN 48, several organizations, including the AICPA and FASB itself, are producing educational materials or additional guidance to help issuers comply with its new requirements for recognizing and measuring tax assets and liabilities. FASB Interpretation no. 48, Accounting for
Economics of Scale
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Faced with a major piece of new business, many clients find they instantly need more equipment, space, inventory, people and working capital. They must obtain capital quickly while simultaneously managing the other, physical aspects of the total opportunity. Many entrepreneurs are accustomed to pushing
CPAs as Trust Protectors
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Clients who want their beneficiaries to avoid probate often place assets in trust. Many CPAs are reluctant to take on being a trustee, which is a time-consuming responsibility. An alternative is to be a third-party “trust protector” alongside a professional trustee. CPAs are highly
School Your Clients to Stop Theft
Maybe it’s only human nature, but all too often businesses stung by embezzlement first blame their outside CPA instead of assessing controls of their own that might have prevented the theft in the first place. These suggestions can help you teach small to midsize businesses and nonprofit
Help Clients Get Government Contracts
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The U.S. government is the biggest buyer in the world. CPAs can help clients build business by learning the federal procurement process and advising on how to compete successfully for a share of government business. Companies first must obtain a data universal number (DUNS)
Highlights
The PCAOB proposed a standard, An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting That Is Integrated With an Audit of Financial Statements, to replace PCAOB Audit Standard no. 2 (AS2). The proposal is designed to focus audits on the matters most significant to internal control, eliminate unnecessary
Highlights
HIGHLIGHTS The SEC enhanced the Internet-based search capability of its EDGAR database of company filings. Users now can search the contents of disclosure documents with a full-text search tool. The newly searchable information includes registration statements, annual and quarterly reports and other filings by companies and
Sell Financial Products Wisely
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Many CPA firms now provide insurance and investment services to their clients in addition to core services. This can be an attractive avenue to growth that increases client retention and firm revenues, but it carries certain reputational, legal and economic risks. To limit liability
Features
SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
From The Tax Adviser
October 31, 2025
Recent developments in estate planning
October 31, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
September 30, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
August 30, 2025
