The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement no. 154, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections, a replacement of APB Opinion no. 20 and FASB Statement no. 3 ( www.fasb.org/pdf/fas154.pdf ). It applies to all voluntary changes in accounting principle and to changes required by an accounting pronouncement if the pronouncement
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TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued as final a rule that, as of June 1, 2005, requires businesses and individuals to judiciously dispose of sensitive information from consumer reports ( www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/06/disposal.htm ; www.ftc.gov/os/2004/11/041118disposalfrn.pdf ). The standard, known as the Disposal Rule, is part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions
Nothing Succeeds Like Succession
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SENIOR PARTNERS AT CPA FIRMS NEED TO PLAN how they will cash out of their practices. A firm’s revenues greatly depend on clients’ repeat business, so however partners choose to exit, maximizing value when they leave requires having knowledgeable, prepared successors who can keep clients during a transition.
“Outsourcing, Offshoring, Nearshoring: What to Do?”
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FANS OF OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING SAY it lowers labor costs; it’s efficient; and it lets firms accept new work during periods of peak demand. SOME LONG-TERM CONCERNS CPAs VOICE ARE: How will outsourcing affect the traditional CPA career path? How will it affect U.S. employees’ training? How will accountants
Calculate length of service in years and months
How to use Microsoft Excel to calculate employees’ length of service.
SmartStopsOnTheWeb
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
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 .
Features
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Agentic accounting has arrived: What’s hype and what’s real?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving beyond chatbots and into accounting workflows. A new generation of agentic AI tools can plan, execute, and adapt as they complete tasks, raising expectations for what automation can do inside firms and finance departments. What can agentic AI realistically do today and what challenges are there in its implementation? Find out in this Journal of Accountancy sponsored report.
From The Tax Adviser
August 31, 2026
2026 tax software survey
July 31, 2026
