'Fraud 101'
We here at New Products, being dedicated to our life of crime, should reverse-engineer the second edition of Fraud 101 and figure out how to commit the ultimate investigation-proof business scam. For those with a less felonious frame of mind, the book offers step-by-step guidance on how to detect and investigate fraud in all its many guises, from "ghost vendors" to Enron- and WorldCom-style mega-frauds.
With workplace fraud and abuse costing U.S. companies close to $400 billion every year, and chief executive officers and chief financial officers on trial across the country, this is a hot topic, and the second edition of Fraud 101 has been thoroughly updated on both the latest legislation and the latest crooked schemes.
Price: $49.95.
John Wiley & Sons
www.wiley.com
(800) 225-5945
FASB on stock options
You had to know that a rule as contentious and long in the making as this year's Financial Accounting Standards Board's requirement of the expensing of options would be hideously complex. Fortunately, David Hardesty - who was named to our Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list for, among other things, his exegesis on Sarbanes-Oxley - has written Share-Based Payments: An Analysis of FASB Statement 123(R), a comprehensive treatment of this momentous rule.
The book includes a paragraph-by-paragraph explanation of the statement, in-depth analysis of the new requirements, sample spreadsheets and work tools, sample disclosures and more.
Price: $125. Quantity discounts available.
RIA
http://ria.thomson.com
(800) 950-1216
Selling your practice
We don't know if you can sell your accounting practice on eBay, but we do know that you shouldn't. The fact is, though, that as many Baby Boomer accountants look to retire and the market toughens, practice sales are going to become both more frequent and more complicated than they already are. John Ezell of ProHorizons, an accounting firm consultant and brokerage, has spent years helping clients with selling practices (as well as buying and merging them). In his new book, Successful Practice Sales, Ezell parts with a number of valuable models, processes and tips on buying, selling, merging, financing and avoiding the pitfalls associated with each.
Price: $89.
Pro Horizons
www.prohorizons.com
(800) 729-3242
Questions of value
Fair market value isn't just an issue in stock option expensing and used-car donations - each year, taxpayers file around 15 million returns involving valuation-related issues, and court dockets are full of valuation disputes. For a guide to the relationship between federal taxes and valuation, turn to Business Valuation and Taxes, by Tax Court Judge David Laro and valuation expert Shannon Pratt.
This enormous reference is chock full of vital information and in-depth examinations of standards of business valuation, Internal Revenue Service positions, different valuation approaches and more. As a guide to a complicated subject, it's simply invaluable.
Price: $85.
John Wiley & Sons
www.wiley.com
(800) 225-5945
'Practice Made Perfect'
Here's the thing: If you're having trouble making your financial advisory practice work with ten clients, you're not likely to make it work with 20. Maybe you should consider another line of work - or read Practice Made Perfect: The Discipline of Business Management for Financial Advisers. Authors Mark Tibergien and Rebecca Pomering are principals at Moss Adams, which has a significant practice advising financial advisors (Tibergien has been regularly named to our Top 100 People list for his efforts in this area), and they make the point that success in financial planning doesn't always rely on being a good financial planner.
Instead, advisors must match their financial planning skills with sound business management skills - by mastering strategy, sales, marketing, human capital and all the other unglamorous areas that go to making a successful practice.
Price: $65.
Bloomberg Press
www.bloomberg.com/books
(800) 869-1231
