The Tax Court has amended its procedural rules, effective Jan. 1, 2010, to allow electronic filing of documents submitted to the court (Tax Court Rule 26). The court set up a pilot electronic filing program in 2005. In 2008, the court added an electronic document access system to its Web
Advertisement
TOPICS
Information management and technology assurance
Panelists Advise Companies to Take Responsibility for XBRL Tagging—Even When Outsourcing
When reporting financials in XBRL, companies need to take responsibility by documenting the reasons items are tagged the way they are and allocating ample time for management review—even if they outsource the data tagging to a third party, according to panelists at the 2009 XBRL US National Conference that took
IRS Pilot Program Will Allow Truncated Social Security Numbers on Information Returns
The IRS on Thursday announced a pilot program aimed at deterring identity theft (Notice 2009-93). Under the program, filers of certain paper information returns will be allowed to truncate the payee’s Social Security number on the payee statement. The change affects statements for 2009 and 2010. Only paper payee statements
CPAs on the Go Embrace Mobile Technology
CPAs who find themselves on the go are turning to some of the latest phones and mobile applications to do much more than just stay connected to their clients. A CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC conducted for the AICPA during the summer and still open to respondents,
AICPA Files Suit Challenging Identity Theft Rule
The AICPA filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to bar the Federal Trade Commission from applying its so-called Red Flags Rule to CPAs. The Institute says the rule, which is designed to help prevent identity theft, would “impose onerous and unnecessary requirements on AICPA members.” The lawsuit, filed in U.S.
Stop the Letter Designation of a Remote Drive From Arbitrarily Migrating to a Different Letter
Q: I use memory sticks frequently because they’re so handy for quick backups and copying or moving files to another computer. Also, I have a remote hard drive for regular backups that is designated my F drive. The memory sticks and the remote drive connect to the computer via USB
Uncover Strategic Value
Strategic value is not the same as fair market value, where a “hypothetical” buyer and seller have access to all relevant data. Strategic value includes synergies and special features, usually hidden, that give the buyer a quicker, less costly and lower risk way to achieve goals. Look for the following
Indexing, While Helpful as a Search Tool, Puts a Drag on a Computer
Q: My two partners and I use the same make and style of computer, the same XP operating system and pretty much the same application software, plus we maintain the computers with the same antivirus, junk-cleaning and performance-enhancing software. Yet one partner’s computer runs significantly faster than the other two.
Shortcuts
EXCEL To add a line break inside an individual cell, position your cursor at the place you want the break and press Alt+Enter. To synchronize data from one cell to another (even in another worksheet), go to the source cell, press =, then go to the target
A Reader Suggests a Shortcut
If you have a file or folder that you use fairly often but you do not want to clutter your desktop or your Start menu with shortcut icons, consider this method suggested by Paul McClain, controller at the Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla.: In Office 2003’s Word or Excel,
Windows 7: Is It Right for You?
Windows 7, the newest version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system, comes with numerous functional improvements over its widely used predecessors, Vista and XP. Some of these enhancements—such as more powerful hard drive search and data encryption capabilities—will save time and boost security; others, including 64-bit application support and Apple-like multifinger
XBRL Functionality Added to FASB Codification
FASB on Monday announced that it has added new XBRL functionality to its Accounting Standards Codification Web site. “The new XBRL functionality provided by the Codification Web site will help entities as they prepare or plan to prepare XBRL financial statements using the U.S. Financial Reporting Taxonomy,” said FASB Chairman
An Outlook-Improvement Idea for the Low-Tech Crowd
Q: I get loads of e-mails, and while I appreciate your suggestions, I’m just a low-tech guy and would like to remain low-tech—if you get my meaning. So, is there some easy way to bring more order to my inflow of e-mails without making my life more complicated by loading
Toggle Between Relative and Absolute Cell References in Excel With F4
Q: My partner says there’s an F4 shortcut to creating absolute cell references in Excel formulas, but for the life of me I can’t make it work. What am I doing wrong? A: Your partner is right, but while I can’t tell you what you’re doing wrong, I can
Keeping Them Satisfied
Fifty-seven percent of accountants in a recent survey said they plan to stay with their current employer once the economy improves. But almost one-quarter (23%) plan to look for a new job. The survey, by Ajilon Finance, also found that less than 2% of accounting jobs nationwide have been cut
On Second Thought
Several readers questioned my suggestion about using a USB flash memory thumb drive to add zip to a computer’s operating system (“Boost Your System Memory With a USB Flash Memory Stick,” June 09, page 86). On further investigation, I am scratching that suggestion. I’ve since learned that not only doesn’t
Optimism Grew Again in Q3, Spread Across Industries
Heightened optimism among CPA financial executives seems to indicate the worst of the recession is in the past, but the consensus is growing that the U.S. economy is still a ways off from achieving a full recovery. While optimism about the economy continued to improve and spread across most industries
Don’t Defrag the Super-Fast Solid-State Drives on Ultralight Notebooks
Q: I just got a new ultralight notebook for when I travel. It has one of those super-fast solid-state drives. My maintenance program for my regular hard-drive computers in the office includes regularly running a defragmentation program. That way, I can be assured that they will always be able to
What, You Still Don’t Know How to Transpose an Excel Table?
Q: To make an Excel table fit better on a page when I print it, I frequently have to transpose it—that is, move all the data from, say, rows 1, 2 and 3 and put them into columns A, B and C. To do that I have to move each
An Easy Access for Often-Used Files in Office 2007
Q: I just started using Office 2007, and it contains a couple of things I can’t figure out. One, which I find most intriguing, is a pushpin. When I click on the Office icon to save a document, a list of Recent Documents appears, just like in Office 2003, but
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
