I’m preparing a memo for clients that contains definitions of many technical terms. Although I must include those definitions somewhere in the memo for nonaccountants, I don’t want the definitions to get in the way of the flow of the text; nor do I want them stuck at the end,
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Information management and technology assurance
Surfing In Public Places Is Not Safe
Wireless surfing in public places leaves you vulnerable to many hazards. The major risk is unscrupulous people who use packet sniffers to capture packets of data as they pass between a computer and the wireless access point. The sniffers are software programs (many of which can be downloaded free
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
Spyware Protection
Embedded stealthily on the hard drives of many computers—even those protected with conventional antivirus software—are tiny unfriendly programs variously called spyware, malware or adware. Most are simply nuisances, triggering unsolicited pop-up advertisements or surreptitiously changing your default Web page so you’ll visit specific commercial sites. But others
Surf Safely
The Internet is a gold mine of information, but it’s also a minefield, loaded with scores of innocent-looking sites that contain stealthy programs designed to steal or destroy your data. But if you take proper precautions, you can browse the Web with relative safety. In our illustration
Fast and Easy Format Changes
I have something better than a macro: Press Ctrl+A to highlight the entire document and then press Ctrl+0 (that’s a zero), and Word adds a single line space (that’s a 12-point line space) before each paragraph. And while I’m on the subject of quick and easy Word format changes, consider
Move Formulas Canceling the Location Adjustment
Excel takes loads of abuse for guessing wrong. And while some of the complaints are justified, quite often it’s the user who is at fault. In most cases when you copy a formula to a new location, you want Excel to automatically adjust the cell references; it’s a great convenience
XBRL
The submission of tagged risk and return summary information would be supplemental and would not replace required official versions of information. Any mutual fund submitting tagged risk and return summary information would be required to include this information as an amendment to a filing on form N-1A, the registration form
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
The Power of Arrays
One of the most powerful features of Excel is the array—a formula designed to act simultaneously on sets of two or more values in order to calculate other values. Yet, because arrays appear to be forbidding, few CPAs use them. This article is designed to dispel arrays’
Excel Translates a Date Into a Day
I asked a colleague, and he surprised me with a simple solution. Highlight the target cells, click on Format, Cells and the Number tab. Then click on Custom. In the box in the Type column, type dddd f or the full name of the week and ddd for abbreviated names…
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
Word Can Calculate, Too
No, Word can do simple math, but the tools are well-hidden. Did you notice I said tools—not tool. Buried deep in Word are all sorts of wonders. For simple arithmetic, the function is Tools Calculate. It’s certainly not in your toolbar unless the person who used your computer before you
Highlight Text Vertically Down a Page
Yes, you can cut, copy or reformat vertical columns of text. (see screenshot below). Think of the letters in Word as appearing in two dimensions—as a horizontal row (which is how we traditionally think of it) and as a vertical column lined up one above the other. To highlight a
How Safe are Password-Protected Data?
The simple answer is sort of. Let me explain: Windows password-protected files are secure as long as a would-be intruder is not computer literate. If you do a Google search on Word Excel passwords, you’ll quickly come up with a bunch of products designed to crack Windows passwords. So
Make Your Own Toolbar Menus
I assume you’ve thought of the obvious: placing those favorite tools as stand-alone icons right in the toolbar. And I assume you want to avoid having the toolbar (which, when full, expands to accommodate new icons) get so fat and crowded that you can’t easily find the ones you want.
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