Financial Planning

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a guide sheet for organizations that maintain donor-advised funds to help safeguard against abuses.

The Marketplace provides you, the tax and accounting professional, a tool to help find the products and services you need to easily and efficiently run your practice or to recommend to your clients. Browse by category below or search by company name.

Retirement management may be a classic win-win scenario.A fast-growing segment of the population urgently needs sound retirement advice and related services, while the accountants who provide them can derive considerable economic (and emotional) rewards for doing so.

As the life settlement industry grows at an accelerating pace, an increasing number of life insurance producers are opting to transact directly with life settlement providers -- companies that actively purchase life insurance policies in the secondary market.While executing life settlement transactions through a specialized life settlement broker is beneficial for life insurance producers who do not have the know-how, resources or desire to transact directly with life settlement providers, producers who do elect to work directly with life settlement providers may benefit from the significant opportunity to execute more efficient transactions, while raising the level of the total policy sale consideration for their clients.

CFP BOARD DELAYS NEW STANDARDS

“Women, Money and Power” is a new study released by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America that says more than half of all women want to learn about retirement planning and try level-saving and investing, although many are not sure where to begin. Allianz examined two key questions: what women want to learn about finances and how they want to learn it. It found that while the Internet is the most consulted resource, it is the least trusted. Apparently, human contact remains the most meaningful and effective source of information. The study identified the financial planning topics women want to learn about most. The top five subjects include: · Planning for retirement/maintaining lifestyle in retirement · How to start saving or investing on very little income · Basics of buying smart (savvy shopping, buying vs. leasing, etc) · How to buy/select the right insurance products (life, long-term care) · Definition of basic financial terms (IRAs, annuities, mutual funds) According to Allianz, single women with children were overwhelmingly interested in planning for retirement, with 68 percent saying it was a topic of interest. In addition, 47 percent of that group was interested in how to buy or select the right insurance products, and 49 percent wanted to learn the definitions of basic financial terms. Single women were particularly interested in educating themselves. Forty-five percent of single women with children and 55 percent of single women without children expressed interest in learning about financial planning. Divorced women were also above the group average, at 42 percent. “This intense interest by women, especially single women with children, demonstrates that all women are thinking about finances for themselves and their families, and are ready to take control, with a little bit of help,” says Sherri DuMond, vice president of Marketing Solutions for Allianz. Difficulty in understanding financial information is a critical barrier for many women, the Allianz study finds. When asked about their financial planning concerns, women responded: · Information is overwhelming/too much/hard to sort through · Information is complicated or hard to understand · Materials are really boring and dry · Don’t understand terminology/materials seem foreign Despite their reservations, more than one in three respondents, some 35 percent, said they were very or quite a bit interested in learning about financial planning, retirement planning, and investment decisions. Tom Burns, senior vice president and chief distribution officer, says, “I’m excited about this opportunity to really take a look at what women need from a financial services company. This study represents a clear opportunity for Allianz and the financial services industry as a whole to break the cycle of women’s hesitance to be involved in financial planning.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission signed a memorandum of understanding with the Labor Department to make permanent the sharing of information to help protect the retirement savings of American workers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to hold a roundtable discussion on Aug. 4 to compare the performance of International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. generally accepted accounting principles during the recent period of market turmoil caused by the subprime loan crisis.

Accounting firm Burr Pilger Mayer has introduced an employee stock ownership plan that it is offering to all of its 325 employees.

Conrad Hewitt joined the Securities and Exchange Commission as chief accountant in August 2006. Hewitt is charged with establishing and enforcing accounting and auditing policy to enhance the transparency and relevancy of financial reporting at the SEC. His office also aims to improve the professional performance of public company auditors in order to ensure that financial statements used for investment decisions are presented fairly and have credibility. Lately he has been much involved with planning for the transition from U.S. accounting standards to international standards. WebCPA talked with him and his department's chief legal counsel, Jeff Minton, about the convergence of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and International Financial Reporting Standards.