OBITUARY CPA Stanley Person, the founder and managing partner of Person and Co. in New York City, died on November 1, 2003, at the age of 69, after a long battle with heart disease. Person, who devoted much of his professional life to serving the accounting profession, was a tireless
Advertisement
TOPICS
Tax
Military Call-Up Prompts Focus on USERRA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) gives employees who take a leave of absence for active military service certain statutory rights—not only to reemployment but to specific coverage for retirement and wellness benefits. THE LAW APPLIES TO ALL EMPLOYERS in the United States,
Auditing
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issues a briefing paper describing its plans for overseeing—in cooperation with appropriate auditing regulators in other countries—the activities of U.S. accounting firms fully or partially responsible for auditing public companies in a foreign jurisdiction ( www.pcaobus.org/rules/Release2003-020.pdf ). The paper also described the board’s
Smart Stops on the Web
COMPLIANCE SITES Sarbanes-Oxley Act/PCAOB Implementation Central http://cpcaf.aicpa.org/Resources/Sarbanes+Oxley/ The+Changing+Regulatory+Landscape.htm Auditors and CPAs looking for background material and implementation guidance on the 2002 act will find documents including “How the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Impacts the Accounting Profession” at the Institute’s Web site. Visitors also can download “Key Internal Controls for Management”
Who Gets the Exemption?
TAX CASE Generally a taxpayer must provide more than half the support for a person to claim that individual as a dependent for tax purposes. IRC section 152(e)(1) provides an exception for parents who (1) are divorced or legally separated, (2) are separated under a written separation agreement or (3)
FYI
The Accounting Hall of Fame inducts Phillip W. Bell, Edgar O. Edwards and James J. Leisenring into its ranks. Bell served on many university faculties in the United States and has held visiting professorships throughout the world. He and Edwards, who taught at Princeton and Rice Universities, are coauthors of
International
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) publishes a proposed set of reforms ( www.ifac.org/Downloads/ReformProposals.doc ) to harmonize international auditing standards, strengthen the processes used to set them and ensure the international accounting profession serves the public interest. The proposal would establish a public interest oversight board to monitor IFAC’s standard-setting
FSAs and Over-the-Counter Medications
TAX BRIEF A recent ruling by the IRS has given individuals who have “cafeteria plans” at work and who elect to fund medical reimbursement accounts an opportunity to be reimbursed for a much wider range of health-related expenses (also see From the Tax Adviser ). Cafeteria plans. The majority of
Fly the Expensive Skies
TAX MATTERS Source: Americans for Tax Reform, www.atr.org .
Accounting
The AICPA accounting and review services committee (ARSC) issues three interpretations of AR section 100, “Compilation and Review of Financial Statements.” They are no. 8, “Reports on Specified Elements, Accounts, or Items of a Financial Statement— Revised ”; no. 24, “Reference to the Country of Origin in a Review or
Royalties or Wages?
he Tax Court ruled that “royalties” paid to a C corporation’s officer were wages for which the corporation was liable for payroll (for example, Social Security, Medicare and unemployment) taxes ( Charlotte’s Office Boutique, Inc., 121 TC no. 6 (2003)). The case teaches CPAs how not to structure a self-employed
Tax-Planning Services for Clients or Employers
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AICPA ISSUED INTERPRETATION NO. 1-1, “Tax Planning,” of Statement on Standards for Tax Services no. 1, Tax Return Positions , partly in response to congressional inquiries about how the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct disciplines members who are involved with abusive tax shelters. It is effective December
Deducting Compensation Paid With Property
Employees must report as income compensation paid to them in either cash or property. The employer is entitled to a corresponding deduction. If the property is restricted, IRC section 83 determines how much income the employee must report and the timing of the deduction. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Government Accounting
The Federal Accounting Advisory Standards Board (FASAB) issues an exposure draft, Identifying and Reporting Earmarked Funds ( www.fasab.gov/exposure.htm ). The ED distinguishes such funds from traditional trust or fiduciary activities and requires that financial statements present the cumulative amount designated for specific federal programs. If adopted, the proposal would be
Auditing
The auditing standards board (ASB) issues Statement of Position 03-2, Attest Engagements on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information (see Official Releases, JofA , Nov.03, page 99). It provides practitioners with performance and reporting guidance for examinations of information about greenhouse gas emissions for a compliance period or about a greenhouse gas
AICPA Issues Nonattest Services Independence Rules
It is important to remember that regardless of which nonattest services a member provides to any attest client, he or she must comply with ethics Interpretation 101-3’s broad-based provisions, including the requirements discussed in this article. Of equal significance are the nonattest services provisions contained in the independence rules of
What a Relief!
Source: IRS, www.irs.gov , and Simone Macca & Larrow LLP, Rocky HIll, Connecticut, www.smlcpas.com , 2003.
FYI
S. Scott Voynich assumed the AICPA chairmanship at council’s fall meeting ( www.aicpa.org/download/ ). He is managing partner of Robinson, Grimes & Co. in Columbus, Georgia. Last month, Voynich sat for an interview with the JofA ( www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/nov2003/tie.htm ). The AICPA is presenting a series of Web-based programs on the
International
The European Commission adopts a regulation endorsing international accounting standards (IAS), including related interpretations, thereby requiring the approximately 7,000 European Union public companies to implement them beginning in 2005 ( www.iasb.org.uk ). The regulation includes all IASs and interpretations except those pertaining to the accounting and disclosure of financial instruments,
Court Says Unallocated Support Payments Are Alimony
TAX BRIEF Generally, whether a payment is alimony depends on IRC section 71(b). Alimony and separate maintenance payments (collectively referred to as alimony) are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payor. When a taxpayer makes support payments under a court order issued pending a divorce, the parties
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
4 ways solo practitioners can stand out
Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.
From The Tax Adviser
April 30, 2026
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 2
April 30, 2026
