With Baby Boomers nearing retirement, the number of succession plans in place for CPA firms is on the rise. But fewer than half of multiowner practices have succession plans ready, mentoring is largely informal, and the development of future partners is in decline, new research shows. Forty-four percent of multiowner
Information management and technology assurance
Google Play making serious run at Apple’s App Store
The battle for control of the mobile device market is heating up in an area long dominated by Apple—mobile application downloads. Google, developer of the Android operating system for smartphones and tablets, announced in a blog post Sept. 26 that users have downloaded mobile apps from the Google Play store
Complete advice
Q: My colleague runs the same version of Microsoft Office 2003 as I do, but my version is missing some of the functionality that hers has. Why would this happen, and what can I do about it? A: When installing Microsoft Office 2003, the installation routine provides the option to
Facebook tips
Who you know matters. Accordingly, many social media websites provide proven solutions for expanding and cultivating one’s circle of contacts, both personally and professionally. With this in mind, presented below are tips for using Facebook, the world’s largest social media website with more than 800 million valid users, half of
Excel PivotTable questions
Several readers have submitted questions about Excel 2010 and 2007 PivotTables, as follows: Q1: Why does Excel insert the GETPIVOTDATA function into a formula when you use the mouse pointer to refer to a cell in a PivotTable, and is there a way to prevent this action? A1: As discussed
Take a swipe at this
Q: My friend’s phone has a cool feature that allows her to type text messages by sliding her finger across the virtual keyboard rather than typing each key individually. She says this method of typing is much faster once you get used to it. I cannot seem to find this
Seeing green
Q: I keep seeing green triangles in my Excel spreadsheet (pictured below); can you please tell me how to get rid of them? Thank you. A: The small green triangles displayed in the top-left corner of a cell are indicators of a possible error. By default, Excel 2010, 2007, and
Malware growth maintains rapid pace as mobile threats surge
The number and complexity of cyberattacks, especially those targeting mobile devices, grew at an alarming pace in the second quarter, security technology company McAfee Labs said in its latest Threats Report. McAfee identified more than 8 million previously undiscovered samples of malicious software, or malware, during the three months that ended
2012 tax software survey: Individual product survey responses
In this year’s survey by the JofA and The Tax Adviser, more than 6,070 CPAs assessed the software they used to prepare 2011 tax returns, revealing what they liked and disliked about their software. The survey was conducted in May 2012. Overall, respondents were pleased with their software: On average,
Cookies in red capes
Q: I found unwanted cookies on my Windows computer that I am unable to delete, and my security program does not detect or delete them either. How can I get rid of these persistent cookies? (Note: To view the cookies on your computer, from the Internet Explorer browser menu, select
Exactly!
Q: I am trying to write an IF function in Excel that compares two cells to determine if they are exactly the same, including capitals and lowercase letters, but Excel seems to ignore case when using the IF function. What’s the best way to accomplish this goal? A: Excel’s functions
Confessions of a data hoarder
Q: How long should I keep email before deleting it from Outlook? A: I probably qualify to participate in one of those hoarding shows because I have every email I’ve ever sent or received, dating back more than 20 years (starting with my AOL email accounts). Emails sent or received
Wi-Fi dead spots
Q: Our office has a few dead spots where computers have difficulty accessing the internet through our wireless router. What can we do to solve this problem? A: I had a similar problem with weak Wi-Fi signals in my office when my desktop computer managed only two (out of five)
Area view
Q: I am trying to prepare an area chart in Excel 2010 with multiple ranges of data, but no matter which sort order I use, some of the underlying data remains obscured (see below). What is the best way to fix this? A: It appears that your best solution is
2012 tax software survey
In this year’s survey by the JofA and The Tax Adviser, more than 6,000 CPAs assessed the software they used to prepare 2011 tax returns, revealing what they liked and disliked about their software. Overall, respondents were pleased with their software: On average, the products rated 4.3 out of 5.
Website update
Q: I have been tasked with reviewing and updating our firm’s website content, and I want to go about it as efficiently as possible. Can you help me get started? A: I find that I can review content better on a printed page with pencil in hand. Adobe Acrobat Standard
What’s your privacy IQ?
Maintaining the privacy and protection of customers’ and employees’ personal information is a risk management issue for all organizations. The increase in identity theft is also a concern for all organizations. Laws and regulations continue to place requirements on businesses for the protection of personal data. Myriad laws and regulations
FASB releases proposed 2013 U.S. GAAP taxonomy for comment
FASB released Thursday the proposed 2013 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy for public review and comment. The taxonomy is a list of computer-readable financial reporting labels coded in XBRL, a computer language that allows companies to tag the pieces of financial data included in typical long-form financial statements and related
Accountants: What it takes to start your own business
Accountants who think they want to launch their own business should not proceed unless they have a clear vision of their company’s purpose and a thorough understanding of what it really means to become an entrepreneur. Those were among the main points made by a panel of accountants-turned-entrepreneurs during a
PwC: Internal audit has to play a more substantial role in information security
Most companies fail to adequately monitor and update their defenses against cybercriminals, raising the risk of costly data security breaches, according to PwC. Fortifying Your Defenses: The Role of Internal Audit in Assuring Data Security and Privacy, a PwC white paper, asserts that the increasing frequency and sophistication of hacker
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Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
