A contentious divorce. Clients who want to file delinquent tax returns. The new client who represented himself as an upstanding businessman but has been indicted—for the third time. After malpractice claims are resolved, CPAs often say, “I never should have taken this client.” But there is a way to help
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TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
A large problem
Q: Each day I export a list of outstanding accounts receivable balances consisting of several thousand customers, and it is my job to produce a report containing the customers with the 25 highest outstanding balances for follow-up. As illustrated below, the problem is that the accounting system produces a list
Mergers emerge as dominant trend
Powerful forces are transforming the accounting profession in the United States. The Baby Boomers are heading into their retirement years. Baby Boomer CPAs are in charge of most U.S. accounting firms. And most U.S. accounting firms don’t have a signed succession or practice-continuation plan in place. These realities are rewriting
How to open new doors by closing your office
Virtually no one who has leased office space has enjoyed writing that rent check every month. It might have been satisfying at first, when the firm or company was young and having an office was a sign of progress, but watching money go into a landlord’s pocket inevitably gets old. Still, the
A bit confusing
Q: When installing Office 2013 on my 64-bit computer running a 64-bit operating system, the Microsoft installation routine recommends installing the 32-bit version of Office 2013, but it also provides the 64-bit option of Office 2013, which seems to be the more obvious option. Which do you recommend and why?
Five iPad tips
1. View full URLs. In Safari, holding your finger on any hyperlink for a few seconds reveals the full URL and also allows you to copy that URL. 2. Full-screen videos. You can increase the size of a video to full-size screen by tapping twice on the video. Pinch the
A good measure
Q: How can we tell if our internet service provider is delivering the internet speed we are paying for? A: There are many web-based internet speed tests, but use caution: Some so-called “speed tests” also install malware on your computer. For this reason, I like to use reputable speed tests
Three Word-based hyperlink questions
Q: Why is it that sometimes when I type a webpage address in Word, it converts to a hyperlink automatically, and sometimes it does not? A: Word recognizes and converts to a hyperlink webpage addresses containing “www” (such as www.irs.gov), but not those that don’t (such as irs.gov). The next
Staffing, succession emerge as top CPA firm concerns
Succession planning and staffing joined new client acquisition and dealing with the complexities of rapidly changing tax regulations as the top issues facing U.S. accounting firms, according to an AICPA survey released Tuesday. The 2013 Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues survey found evidence that CPA firms
Excel at hyphen removal
J. Carlton Collins outlines two ways to remove hyphens from Social Security numbers in Excel.
OverScan
Q: I purchased a new television for use as a computer monitor and connected the device using an HDMI cable, but this solution is not working properly as my computer displays an oversized screen image that is about 10% too big for my monitor. This prevents me from viewing the
Survey spotlights need for data and security strategies
On the surface, the results of the 2013 North America Top Technology Initiatives survey show that “managing and retaining data” nudged past “securing the IT environment” to become the top technology priority cited by the nearly 2,000 accounting professionals polled. Dig a little deeper, and the evidence indicates that the
Going paperless checklist
Q: Our company has finally decided to go paperless, but we are not exactly sure where to begin. Can you provide some guidance for getting started? A: Most CPAs who go paperless later report they are glad they did. There are many ways to reduce the amount of paper your
Independence is in the eye of the beholder
The independence of CPAs is the hallmark of the profession. As such, accountants put forth significant focus and effort to comply with independence requirements related to everything from investments to business and employment relationships to services delivered to clients. But being what accountants call independent in “fact” isn’t enough. CPAs
Five iPhone tips
1. Magnify. To magnify the iPhone’s screen to improve readability and view image details, enable screen zooming by double-tapping the screen with three fingers. You can then pan the screen image by dragging with three fingers. To use this feature, you must first turn it on by selecting Settings, General,
Trigger happy
Q: I use my client’s GoToMyPC connection once a month to log in to her Windows 7 system to inspect her bookkeeping system and financial reports, and this application is not used for any other purpose. My client does not like having this application up and running on her computer
Seven ways to address IT vulnerability
When Mike Foster hears from CFOs about IT security issues, he gets the sense they’re focusing on a single hacking event here or there, instead of viewing IT security as a project that needs constant management and attention. What Foster tells the CFOs is this: “We don’t want to fight
Data, security take top two spots in AICPA technology priorities survey
On the surface, the results of the 2013 North America Top Technology Initiatives survey, released Wednesday by the AICPA and CPA Canada, show that “managing and retaining data” nudged past “securing the IT environment” to become the top technology priority cited by the nearly 2,000 accounting professionals polled. Dig a
Good vibrations
Q: Most of the decent portable speakers available in stores are too bulky to carry as portable speakers, and the few small ones I’ve tried aren’t loud enough. Can you recommend a small portable speaker that actually works well? A: As a CPE presenter, I typically play a few video
Top concern of FVS practitioners: Business development
The top priorities of forensic and valuation services (FVS) accountants have changed drastically over the past few years, with business development concerns outpacing technical issues, according to a new AICPA study. The 2013 FVS Membership Top Issues Survey found that “bringing in new clients,” the classic business development imperative, ranked
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