EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PROTECTING THE PRIVACY of personal information is no longer optional for organizations that collect, use and distribute it. Federal law now requires entities to take responsibility for safeguarding the data they gather from customers and patients. ORGANIZATIONS THAT ACCEPT AND FULFILL their privacy-related obligations will find it easier
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TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
The A to Z of Keeping Staff
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE AICPA’s ANNUAL SURVEY to learn how the supply of public accounting graduates is meeting firms’ needs for recruits reveals that turnover rates for CPA firms have held steady in a range from 7% to 10% for local firms and 22% to 28% for national firms. Losing staff
Before the Deluge—and After
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BEING ABLE TO REACH STAFF IS PARAMOUNT during and directly after a disaster. To communicate while power and telephone lines are down, a firm can use public service radio announcements to give out phone numbers where employees can get information. ORGANIZE BUSINESS RECOVERY TEAMS AND DETERMINE the resources
Hot Stuff: What You Need and What You Don’t.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PUT YOUR CHECKBOOK AWAY. Although there are loads of hot, new technology gadgets on the market, you probably have nearly everything you really need with little or no upgrading necessary—that is, if you’ve been keeping technologically up-to-date. SINCE MOST OF THE EQUIPMENT you may be buying will not
Smart Stops on the Web
SMART STOPS ON THE WEB IT Lessons and Links www.toejumper.net Dedicated to offering troubleshooting guidance, this Web site provides information on crashproofing and maintaining PCs, as well as speeding up computer functions. CPAs also can link to search engines, business advice, new product information and Toejumper’s newsletter archives. Tune It.
Period of Adjustment
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE NONAUDIT SERVICES Sarbanes-Oxley prohibits CPAs from providing to their public company audit clients are bookkeeping or services related to the accounting records or financial statements of the client; financial information systems design and implementation; appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions or contribution-in-kind reports; actuarial services; internal audit
Accounting
AcSEC, the AICPA accounting standards executive committee, in agreement with FASB and the SEC, rescinds SOP 92-3, Accounting for Foreclosed Assets. FASB statement no. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, effectively superseded the SOP, the scope of which did not include non-long-lived assets such as inventories
Audit Redux
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AN INCREASE IN AUDITOR CHANGES HAS LED t o an increase in reaudits, raising unique practice considerations for the CPAs that perform them. Reauditors can use the guidance in SAS no. 84, Communications Between Predecessor and Successor Auditors and Practice Alert 02-3, Reauditing Financial Statements to help with
Privacy
A new Federal Trade Commission publication, Financial Institutions and Customer Data: Complying with the Safeguard Rule ( www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/safeguards.htm ), explains important aspects of the regulation ( www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact ), which applies to businesses “significantly engaged” in providing financial products or services to consumers. The report includes a section called “How to
It Works for Them
ersonal financial planners help clients identify financial goals, organize ways to achieve them and set timetables for implementation. Together, a planner and client look at the clients total financial picture, including income, savings, investments and debts as well as his or her personal situation. Then, they analyze where the money
Maintain Excellence, Cut Risk
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THERE ARE TWO BASIC RISKS IN the CPA profession: catastrophic service failure, such as that from providing inaccurate audit-related services, and business failure caused by losing top-quality clients. A FIRM THAT CONCENTRATES ON IMPROVING leadership, staff and the client base can enhance partner, staff and firm performance and
Retirement
The IRS releases 2003 cost-of-living adjustments related to benefit and contribution limits for qualified retirement plans ( www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir02-111.pdf ). Many such savings caps are not changing this year because the increase in the cost-of-living index fell below the statutory thresholds that otherwise would trigger their adjustment. However, several will increase
Auditing
The ASB issues Statement on Auditing Standards no. 100, Interim Financial Information, replacing SAS no. 71, with the same title. The new standard provides additional guidance on performing reviews of interim financial information and incorporates the SEC’s requirement for timely filing of interim data. It also includes recommendations from the
Don’t Volunteer for Trouble
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MANY CPA VOLUNTEERS AT NPOs ASSUME state and federal laws protect them from legal liability. However, unpaid workers and board members aren’t protected if an NPO violates federal or state civil rights laws or in instances where sexual offenses occur, for example. BOARD MEMBERS SHOULD BE CAREFUL about
A Napster for Financial Data?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE, you may be able, with just a few mouse clicks, to access any public company’s financial reports in extraordinary detail and for any period. In addition, you may be able to perform an array of instant analyses of those data. THE UNDERLYING TECHNOLOGY is
FYI
Four practitioners replace departing members of the ASB. The appointees are Kenneth Macias, William F. Messier Jr., Steven L. Schenbeck and Michael T. Umscheid.
International
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issues an exposure draft, Share-based Payment ( www.iasb.org.uk ), which proposes companies, on their financial statements, report as expenses any shares or options they grant to employees as compensation. The IASB concluded that such transactions are not different from those in which an entity
Practitioner Tells Bush of “Trickle-Down” Effect
Carmen J. Aguiar, CPA,of Bellevue, Washington, was a panelist at the economic forum President George W. Bush, right, convened at Baylor University in August. Drawing from her experience in running a small firm, Aguiar expressed concern over the extensive financial reporting requirements her small business clients face.
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
