Big Small Business Resources www.bizoffice.com CPA sole practitioners planning to start or grow their own firms can get information on financing and government grants, business plans and Internet marketing in this site’s BizOffice Library. Other links lead to tips on small business survival and strategic planning. Get the Word Out
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TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
Outrageous Employee Benefits
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE PARTNERS AT VITALE CATURANO & CO. (VCC) have listened carefully to what employees and potential hires say matters to them in the workplace—growth, intellectually stimulating and diverse projects, and a sense of being appreciated. VCC ATTRACTS STAFF AND ENCOURAGES LOYALTY by offering a generous work/life incentives program
Peer Review Is Stronger and Better Now
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AICPA REVISED ITS STANDARDS for performing and reporting on peer reviews for firms that do not audit SEC registrants. The revised standards, effective for reviews commencing on or after January 1, 2005, will enhance the quality of peer reviews and increase the usefulness of peer review reports
XBRL: A Multitalented Tool
PAs have a rare opportunity to help the business world take a giant leap forward. The extensible business reporting language (XBRL) can vastly improve the timeliness, accuracy and flexibility of data in financial statements and other business reports. Many experts think it will boost today’s commerce just as double-entry bookkeeping
XBRL and Data Standardization: Transforming the Way CPAs Work
ccountants spend too much time moving data from one financial reporting spreadsheet to another, leaving less time for analyzing information to enhance reporting integrity and improve management’s decision making. The extensible business reporting language (XBRL) can reduce time spent manually finding and preparing information and improve data quality through fully
Frame a Travel Strategy
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HAVE A CLEAR TRAVEL POLICY signed off on by the highest levels of management, and give someone responsibility for managing the program. BEST PURCHASING PRACTICES are to maximize the amount of business you do with a small number of suppliers. But small firms often do better letting travelers
Succession-Planning Dos and Donts
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DON’T FAIL TO PLAN. CPAs have to get moving, experts say. Succession isn’t a process that can be done well under pressure or in a hurry. Firms need to address the issues of finding a new firm owner, nurturing future leaders, transitioning clients, codifying operating processes and drafting
XBRL Revisited
XBRL: A Structure for Business Data This month the JofA begins a series of articles exploring how XBRL can help CPAs, their clients and employers, financial institutions, regulators, rating agencies and individual and institutional investors issue or obtain business information in a standardized format for sharing and viewing in any
Smart Stops On The Web
Keep Abreast of New Rules www.sarbanes-oxley.com CPAs and compliance officers can find a link at this PCAOB Web site to a free Sarbanes-Oxley section 202 audit fee disclosure calculator, as well to the latest SEC rules and regulations cross-referenced to other specific sections of Sarbanes-Oxley, such as section 208 for
Tax Season Defanged
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WHATEVER CPAs CAN DO TO SYSTEMATIZE the repetitive aspects of individual tax work and spread the workload over the year makes their lives easier and allows their firms to make more money. THE ESSENCE OF A SUCCESSFUL TAX SEASON is effective communication in the office; adherence to procedures
The Best of Technology Q&A
Key to Instructions To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we used two different typefaces: Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs. Sans serif type shows the names of files and the names of commands and instructions users should type into the
Accounting
For news from the AICPA and state societies, visit www.cpa2biz.com , which also offers online CPE, AICPA professional literature, practice management aids and links to state society Web sites. The AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee issued a revised illustrative representation letter for review engagements ( www.aicpa.org/members/div/auditstd/revision_of_appendix_f.htm ). The revisions
Privacy
The AICPA introduced educational resources designed to improve CPAs’ ability to help their clients and employers manage privacy-related risks. Understanding and Implementing Privacy Services: A CPA’s Resource (paperback with CD-ROM, product no. 056509JA) and “Privacy Issues for Business: Whose Information Is It Anyway?” (CD-ROM, no. 780005HSJA) are available at www.cpa2biz.com
Transfer an Excel formula from one worksheet to another
Q. I know how to link data from a cell in one worksheet to another worksheet, but how can I transfer a formula? A. To transfer data, enter them in sheet 1, go to sheet 2 and the cell in which you want the linked number to appear and enter
Tax
President George W. Bush last month signed the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004. The legislation extends a number of tax provisions affecting individuals and businesses, such as marriage penalty relief and the research and development credit that expired June 30, 2004. Additional information is available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Links.asp?section=343 .
Pro Bono
The AICPA launched an online database ( http://volunteers.aicpa.org/financialliteracy ) where CPAs now can register as volunteers in 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy, the Institute’s program to improve Americans’ ability to manage their personal finances (see JofA , Aug.04, page 14, and www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/aug2004/special.htm ). Both member and nonmember CPAs are eligible
Professional Issues
The AICPA Peer Review Board issued revised standards for performing and reporting on peer reviews, as well as revised and new interpretations that will help CPAs understand how to apply the standards. Both are effective for reviews beginning after December 31, 2004; early implementation is not permitted ( www.aicpa.org/members/ ).
Enforcement
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) introduced communications links that make it easier to contact the board when a registered public accounting firm—or anyone associated with it—may have violated provisions of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, PCAOB rules or other applicable laws ( www.pcaobus.org/tips ). Concerned parties now
Auditing
The AICPA launched an improved version of its Audit Committee Matching System (ACMS). The upgrade responds to suggestions from members, who now can add their resumes to the system so that companies can search among them for potential candidates. The ACMS and related resources are available at the Institute’s Audit
Managing Change
Robert L. Bunting, chairman and CEO of Moss Adams LLP in Seattle, assumed the AICPA chairmanship at the Institute’s annual meeting. His acceptance speech will appear verbatim in a future issue of the JofA . oss Adams is in the vanguard of midsize firms skilled at serving an international clientele.
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Data governance: How finance builds trust in data
Learn how finance can use data governance to improve data quality, strengthen internal controls, and build trust in business data.
From The Tax Adviser
July 31, 2026
Current developments in S corporations
July 31, 2026
