FASB issued a revised exposure draft of a Proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, Earnings per Share—an amendment of FASB Statement No. 128. The proposed statement is intended to improve financial reporting by clarifying and simplifying the method of calculating earnings per share. As part of international convergence efforts, the
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Information management and technology assurance
Block editing a memo’s text so only Track Changes comments can be added
Follow the same steps listed in August’s item—only this time, in the dropdown list under Editing Restrictions, select Comments (see screenshot at right) and you’ve created an effective barrier. ©2008 AICPA
Accelerate a Slow-Opening Massive Excel File
There is no compacting function in Excel 2003 or its earlier versions. But Excel 2007, with the new .xlsx file extension, uses file compression, which shrinks spreadsheet files up to 75% of their girth in the earlier .xls format. Of course, that does you no good if you’re not planning
Smart Stops On the Web
FRAUD / FORENSIC ACCOUNTING HAVE FRAUD FEARS?http://fvs.aicpa.org/Resources/Antifraud+Forensic+AccountingSearch no further than the AICPA’s offering of antifraud and forensic accounting resources. Click “Tools and Aids” to download Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide, which outlines principles for establishing effective fraud risk management. The paper was released jointly by the
Remove Errant Paper-Clip Icons from E-mail Messages
No, you’re not being hacked; and it’s not a joke. More likely it’s a bug. There are at least two possible causes for the appearance of the icon. If your e-mail software gives you the option of receiving mail in plain text rather than the more graphical HTML, switching the
Ready of Not, Here Comes XBRL
Despite the SEC-proposed mandate that all public companies adopt XBRL by 2011, a Compliance Week survey found that few are prepared for implementation. Of the 236 publicly held companies surveyed, nearly 80% said no member of their staff is well-versed in XBRL, and 15% said they had no knowledge of
E-Filing Lags behind Mandate
IRS estimates indicate about 60% of all tax forms will be electronically filed during 2008, far short of a 1998 congressional mandate of 80% by 2007. For a second year, the Service’s Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee recommended that Congress authorize the IRS to require e-filing by paid tax preparers
Quick Way to Arrange Multiple Windows on Your Screen
There is a neat way, and it works in both Windows XP and Vista. You can also add Word or screens of other files or Web sites to the mix. Begin by initially loading the files you want displayed and then minimizing them so the icons are in the taskbar.
Managing Multiple Identities
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Identity management addresses the difficulties encountered when one physical user has separate user IDs and passwords on multiple systems and applications. Access management addresses the challenges associated with the specific access rights and permissions of multiple user IDs. Large, complex organizations have the greatest potential to benefit from
Succession Plans Simmer on the Back Burner
According to the AICPA’s 2008 PCPS Succession Survey, almost 70% of multi-owner firms and more than 50% of sole proprietors (sole owner firms and sole practitioners) believe succession planning will be a significant issue for them in the near future. But only 35% of multi-owner
Suggested Guidelines for How to Implement SSVS1 in Your BV Practice
Follow these 10 recommendations to integrate Statement on Standards for Valuation Services no. 1, Valuation of a Business, Business Ownership Interest, Security, or Intangible Asset, into your business valuation practice. These guidelines are presented as optional suggestions to members to facilitate the adoption of the SSVS1 professional
Shortcuts
Word: Alt+Ctrl+R produces the trademark symbol ®. But if you want it to be properly superscripted, ®, use the next shortcut. Word: Ctrl+Shift ++ (that’s Ctrl and Shift and two clicks on the plus sign above the equal sign) toggles between superscript and normal (Stanley or Stanley). Excel: Ctrl+F4 closes
Hiring Forensic IT Specialists: Ask the Right Questions
Understanding forensic IT specialists’ capabilities and defining their roles is critical to a successful engagement. Take these steps to ensure the candidate you’re considering is right for the assignment. R Determine if the engagement will be a matter of information preservation, financial or economic analysis, a review for relevant data
Offshore Preparers OK’d to See SSNs
The IRS modified its final rules regarding the disclosure of a taxpayer’s Social Security number to a tax return preparer located outside the U.S. to allow disclosure under specified circumstances. Previously, the rules had generally required U.S. preparers to redact SSNs from tax return forms and other information transmitted to
Join the Hunt
You’ve used a database to search your client’s data for a red flag that might indicate fraud. You imported the data into a database and created relationships between table fields. Then you carefully created a filter to search for red flags. Finding nothing, you conclude that there is no evidence
Fine-Tune The Character Spacing of Text in Word
Character spacing of justified type is a common problem, and, I’m sorry to say, depending on how fussy you are, you may have to try several format tweaks before you can repair, or at least minimize, the problem. To save time, try these steps: Add automatic hyphenation. The hyphenation option
Managing Intellectual Property
It would be inexcusable for a company to have no idea of the value of its inventory or plant and equipment. But, in fact, many companies know neither the full extent of intellectual (intangible) properties they own nor what they are worth. Many specific responsibilities for
Put a “lock” on Track Changes
I’ve got a “security” problem. I often distribute a memo to staff members inviting them to use Track Changes to suggest editorial changes and to make comments on it. Every now and then someone—intentionally or not, I don’t know—effectively erases all the work done by those who read and edited
Locate the last number in a spreadsheet and copy it into a formula
So what you want is a formula that locates the last number in a column or row. An Excel array formula can perform the search and then drop the target number in any formula you wish. Here’s how it’s done: If the column with prices starts at cell E1, the
Replace Vista’s factory-designated ID code with a personalized name
In the pre-Vista days, renaming computers was a snap, but Vista makes you dig down several menu layers and the trip is a little tricky. Start by opening Control Panel ; if that icon isn’t already on your desktop, now’s a good time to install it because it’s one of
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From The Tax Adviser
August 31, 2026
2026 tax software survey
July 31, 2026
