The Right Way to Use PowerPoint Do you use PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation software, to make sales pitches for new clients? Or do you use it, as a consultant would, to lay out in-depth analyses in an effort to convince a client or your boss to adjust complex business strategies?
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Valuation Services
Small Firms: Think Big!
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT HAS CREATED new requirements for public companies, spurring greater demand for professional services and for a range of engagements that offer opportunities to well-positioned smaller firms. ONE RESULT IS A CHAIN REACTION in which the big firms are going to focus on certain services and
Attorney-Client Privilege: CPAs and the E-Frontier
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE EXTENDS to accountants under the Kovel rule when a CPA acts at the direction of the lawyer to provide information for the client. Inadvertent disclosure of confidential information may lead to loss of the privilege. A PRACTITIONER WHO DOES LITIGATION CONSULTING should document the circumstances of
The ABV Credential: Leading the Way
redentialing has always been an essential way for professionals to distinguish themselves and highlight their qualifications in a particular field. This article focuses on the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential, administered by the AICPA, and describes its charter, its underpinnings and its evolution as the accounting profession goes through
Niche Development Tips
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs WITH DIVERSE EXPERTISE tell JofA readers what niche development techniques or processes helped them accumulate clients in a certain category. To learn about the automotive industry, for example, one firm attended automotive conferences, took dealership classes and interviewed car dealers. TO BUILD A FORENSIC ACCOUNTING, family law
Reasonable Compensation
Determining what constitutes reasonable compensation is a long-standing issue for C corporations. IRC section 162(a)(1) allows a deduction for reasonable compensation for personal services actually rendered. The IRS views unreasonable salaries as disguised dividends, making them nondeductible by C corporations and taxable to the shareholder. This means employee shareholders are
Losses Trust Deducted Were Not From Passive Activity
IRC section 469(a)(1) defines a passive activity as one involving the conduct of any trade or business in which the taxpayer does not materially participate. In section 469(a)(2), the statute describes a taxpayer as any Individual, estate or trust. Closely held C corporation. Personal service corporation. In general, the IRS
A Good Deal Depends on Preparation
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A SPECIALIST SUCH AS A CPA/ABV can optimize results for owners who want to sell to an outsider for the maximum the market will reasonably bear. HOW THE CLENT WILL USE A BUSINESS VALUATION (BV) determines the procedures a CPA/ABV will follow to produce the end result. At
Bankruptcy and S Corporation Pass-Through
Although there are some signs the economy is improving, many businesses continue to fail. Recently the Tax Court considered the effect of an S corporation’s selling an asset while in bankruptcy. All S corporation shareholders contemplating filing for corporate bankruptcy need to consider the potential tax outcome of such a
Smart Stops on the Web
SMART STOPS ON THE WEB Resources Revisited www.bvresources.com First listed as a Smart Stop a year ago this issue, this Web site still offers CPAs and business valuation (BV) professionals all the features they have come to expect, such as its BVLibrary, definition of the week, online forums, and gratis
Start a BV Engagement the Right Way
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY EACH VALUATION ASSIGNMENT IS UNIQUE, and often there’s more than one way to answer a question, interpret a fact or approach a problem. How the valuator prepares the client for the BV engagement sets its direction and becomes the foundation of the engagement letter and, ultimately, a responsible
Tell Us More
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CUSTOMER CASE RESEARCH (CCR) can reveal how a company’s people and circumstances influenced it to engage one CPA and not another or to obtain one accounting, tax or consulting service and not another. Such case studies illustrate situations business managers must solve all the time, and CPAs can
The Auditor’s Approach to Fair Value
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STATEMENT ON AUDITING STANDARDS (SAS) NO. 101, Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, gives auditors guidance on understanding how an entity’s management calculates fair value and on determining whether that measurement conforms with GAAP. THE SAS’s PROVISIONS ARE EFFECTIVE FOR AUDITS of financial statements for periods
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
Difference Between Mergers and Acquisitions
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CLIENTS BENEFIT FROM USING AN INTERMEDIARY such as a CPA/valuator to handle a merger or acquisition. A valuator should know a client’s industry thoroughly and have procedural training. Even experienced CPA/valuators may need to bring in an outside expert for longtime clients in order to avoid bias.
Smart Stops on the Web
BUSINESS VALUATION SITES Definitions, Discussions and Downloads www.bvresources.com CPAs involved in business valuation (BV) can obtain free information and purchase books and software here. The forums online section features various discussion topics such as what happened at recent BV-related conferences and court case decisions. The definition of the week clarifies
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A CPA/VALUATOR PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE in merger and acquisition (M&A) engagements. He or she helps to organize the transaction, mitigate trouble spots, establish an objective marketplace value for a client’s business and structure the deal along with attorneys, appraisers, bankers, financiers and regulators. A BUYER’S VALUATOR
A Perspective on Audit Malpractice Claims
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs CAN USE DATA ON AUDIT MALPRACTICE claims filed with CNA, which underwrites 22,000 CPA firms in the AICPA professional liability insurance program, to help them avoid high-cost claims when they audit nonpublic entities such as private companies, governments or NPOs. MOST NONPUBLIC AUDIT CLAIMS ARISE
An Ethics Quiz
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CPAs NEED TO BE MINDFUL of ethical issues in performing client services. They must be sensitive to public perceptions and expectations and must use informed judgment as well as adhere to professional standards. THREE OF THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS made against small to midsize CPA firms involve
Five Tips to Steer Clear of the Courthouse
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS PART OF THEIR RISK MANAGEMENT strategy, companies are increasingly hiring an array of experts, including CPAs, to review their policies and controls and scrutinize internal procedures to help keep them out of the courthouse. CPAs ACCUSTOMED TO ASSESSING controls can recommend these “best practices” to their clients:
Features
SPONSORED REPORT
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.
From The Tax Adviser
September 30, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
August 30, 2025
2025 tax software survey
July 31, 2025
