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Top of the News
Liability Insurance: Buy before it rains
The professional liability insurance marketplace for accountants is continuing to soften, according to most of the nation's providers.
It's not just for women anymore!
The event may be have been billed as The Forum for Women in Accounting, but the issues and topics discussed at the three-day confab here were decidedly not just for one gender.
The future will be simpler
n a venue where fantasy can often trump reality, some 500-plus attendees at Tech+, the American Institute of CPAs' Information Technology Conference, were mostly all business as they crammed into sessions and various keynotes in hopes of profitably applying any and all takeaways to their practices and their clients.
EU banks soften opposition on fair value
After a storm of protest from banking interests against the principle of booking asset values at a forced exit price for fear of a potential downward spiral in asset values, bankers in the European Union have eased their position on the fair value principle.
Blackman Kallick mourns Fensin
Accounting firm Blackman Kallick announced the death of former managing partner Dan Fensin, who retired from the firm late last year after running it for 17 years.
FASB proposes simpler hedging standard
Accounting for hedging activities has never been easy, but by year's end, if a proposal from the Financial Accounting Standards Board meets approval, it might get a little simpler.
In Brief
PCAOB to require annual firm reports
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has adopted rules requiring audit firms to submit reports at least once a year on fees, disciplinary actions and other information that will be posted on its Web site.
Opinion
Editor's desk: The Bam and Mac tax revue
n Smokey and the Bandit, the classic 1970s beer and muscle-car chase-fest, the outlaw Burt Reynolds character is asked a series of cultural literacy questions by a comely hitchhiker played by Sally Field. Failing to answer them, he responds with a few of his own -- all indigenous to his Southern roots -- that she, in turn, can't answer. He explains to her that sometimes the definition of smart depends on which part of the country you happen to be standing in.
COMMENTARY: Mobility is on the move, but there's still work to do
As the chief executives of four state CPA societies from different regions of the country, we have seen firsthand the positive impact that has been made on the issue of improving mobility for qualified CPAs to practice across state lines without notification or additional fees.
Practice Management
Find the membership group that's right for your firm
Going it alone is tough in the accounting profession. Better connections, improved ability to handle inter-regional and international business, better employee recruiting, and greater operating efficiencies are just a few of the elements needed to continue a healthy upward curve.
Tax Practice
Experts weigh in on small biz tax reform
Consideration of any tax reform for small business must take into account the difficulties small-business owners face when deciding how to structure their business and comply with the Tax Code's complex requirements, said Dewey Martin, a Hampden, Maine-based CPA.
In Brief
Tax Strategy: New preparer penalty regs: Still dangerous for tax strategies
The proposed regulations on preparer penalties, released on June 17, are the latest iteration of rules that tax practitioners should consider carefully when recommending and executing tax strategies. Not heeding them can result in stiff penalties or, worse, the loss of the right to continue to practice tax law and serious damage to a firm's reputation in the client community.
Assurance
FASB, IASB present docs on framework
In a significant step toward more solid and relevant accounting standards around the world, the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board have rolled out two joint discussion documents that may indicate where the boards are going in their project to improve and converge their conceptual frameworks.
Change of Auditors
The spirit of accounting: Mythbusters: On values and volatility
In this third installment in our Mythbusters series (with credit to the Discovery Channel show, MythBusters), we turn to the oft-repeated but seldom-scrutinized notion that reporting values in financial statements creates volatility.
Financial Planning
What Wealthy Families Really Want
While in India with an accountant and his client, I observed a classic "trusted advisor" moment.
Technology
Software Review: Document management: Gateway to the paperless office?
It seems that there always has to be a "killer" application to justify our interest and efforts in using PCs. Spreadsheets were the first of these, and have been followed over the years by word processing, desktop publishing, customer relationship management and, most recently, document management.
In Brief
Boomer's Blueprint: Declassify your firm's intelligence
What a firm knows today may not be relevant in the future, and many risk a significant loss of knowledge when partners retire. Fostering a culture that efficiently transfers knowledge is crucial. Is your firm's knowledge centered mostly in its partner group? If so, it may be unable to remain competitive in the future.
New Products
New Products
Software, books, equipment and other products for accountants.
People and Firms
Firms
People
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