IRS practice & procedure

The AICPA Work/Life and Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee released “Staff Retention: The New Face of the CPA Profession,” a DVD in which professional staffing experts, leading CPAs and young members of the profession discuss recruitment and retention strategies. The committee also issued a report, “What Women in the Profession Are

The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) published a discussion paper, Key Issues in Sustainability Assurance—An Overview, encouraging the International Federation of Accountants to develop an international standard for sustainability assurance ( www.fee.be ). FEE said such a standard would improve auditors’ ability to assess corporations’ reports on the effectiveness of

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued Technical Bulletin no. 2006-1 to clarify how state and local government entities should report payments received from the federal government under the retiree drug subsidy provisions of Medicare Part D. The bulletin (product no. GTB0601) can be ordered at http://gasbpubs.stores.yahoo.net/gtb0601.html . With certain exceptions,

The SEC Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recommended that the commission’s Division of Corporation Finance continue improving its preliminary reviews of corporate securities filings ( www.sec.gov/about/oig/ ). The recommendations were part of the OIG’s report on its audit, from January through October 2005, of the division’s preliminary review process.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released Internal Control over Financial Reporting—Guidance for Smaller Public Companies to supplement Internal Control—Integrated Framework, t he committee’s landmark 1992 publication that outlined a comprehensive framework for internal control systems. The new guidance was developed primarily to help smaller public

The AICPA Tax and Personal Financial Planning membership sections, together with a number of prominent legal and financial services organizations, have established the Synergy Summit, a think tank that will advise national policymakers and others on financial planning and wealth preservation issues. The group’s other members are the National Academy

FASB issued as final two staff positions—FSP SOP 94-6-1, Terms of Loan Products That May Give Rise to a Concentration of Credit Risk, and FSP AAG INV-1 and SOP 94-4-1, Reporting of Fully Benefit-Responsive Investment Contracts Held by Certain Investment Companies Subject to the AICPA Investment Company Guide and Defined-Contribution

The ASB has approved for issuance eight statements on auditing standards (SASs) for audits of nonissuers related to risk assessment. These standards address the auditor’s assessment of the risk of material misstatements in financial statement audits and the design of audit procedures responsive to such risks ( www.aicpa.org/members/div/auditstd/2005_06_15_risk_assess.htm ). The

FASB is codifying U.S. GAAP literature for nongovernment entities into a single authoritative reference that will supersede all existing standards and be available online. The board is seeking researchers’ feedback on the capabilities such a system should have ( www.fasb.org ).

Robert L. Bunting, AICPA immediate past chair, was appointed to the board of the International Federation of Accountants for a three-year term. In this post he will help determine how the international accountancy profession can best meet its public-interest responsibilities and contribute to worldwide economic growth and stability. Bunting is

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) amended International Accounting Standard 21, The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates, to clarify its requirements and to resolve certain implementation concerns. The IASB also published a discussion paper, Measurement Bases for Financial Accounting—Measurement on Initial Recognition, that was prepared by the staff

The AICPA issued a set of technical practice aid questions and answers (TPAs 6910.16–.20) on presentation and disclosure issues facing nonregistered investment partnerships. Another set (TPAs 2130.09–.35) answers questions related to implementing Statement of Position (SOP) 03-3, Accounting for Certain Loans or Debt Securities Acquired in a Transfer. The TPAs

The AICPA published online an article on members’ perceptions of its peer review program and other issues being studied by the Peer Review Task Force—for example, whether review results should be confidential ( www.aicpa.org/transparency/member_perceptions.htm ). The Institute encourages CPAs in public practice or business and industry to discuss the role

The IRS’s revenue ruling 2006-1 clarifies that income from commodity-index derivatives contracts does not help a mutual fund qualify for the usual tax benefits ( www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-06-01.pdf ). The service will apply its newly announced position prospectively so that funds will have enough time to adapt to it and communicate it

The Treasury Department and the IRS made final regulations under IRC sections 401(k) and 401(m) that allow sponsors to design retirement plans in which employees can make designated Roth IRA contributions. As a result, workers can choose to make all or part of their 401(k) deferrals on an after-tax basis,

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) published a Guide to Implementation of GASB Statement No. 44 on the Statistical Section, which explains in question-and-answer format how the comprehensive annual financial reports of state and local governments should present trend information on financial results, major revenue sources, outstanding debt, economic and

The AICPA’s PCPS Firm Practice Center is offering practitioners a free white paper, “Preparing for Transition: The State of Succession Planning and How to Handle the Process in Your Firm,” that describes best practices and shows firms how to benchmark their succession plans against those of their peers ( www.aicpa.org/pcps