Accounting education

Like woodworking tools in the hands of a skilled craftsman, the income and market approaches to business valuation are the tools of the trade for the valuation analyst. Similarly, the results that are achieved depend greatly on the manner in which those tools are applied.The focus of this article will be on making the most of the toolbox, particularly with respect to three common threads in both the discounted cash flow method and the guideline public company method: cash flow, growth and the weighted average cost of capital.

FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMAND TOP CONSUMER DOLLARConsumers are willing to pay an average of 5.2 percent more for financial services compared to other industries, according to a retail survey conducted by Kanbay Research Institute. In the poll, financial services topped such other sectors as communications, media content, restaurants and beverages, retail, and travel.

Insurance policies with rising or re-appearing premiums can often cause their owners problems, especially when those owners' financial needs or obligations change.Is it a better investment to continue paying a policy that you have already paid into in hopes of a gain at maturation, or to recoup some of the investment by trading the policy for its cash surrender value? Corporate policyholders often face additional dilemmas when dealing with departing executives with key-man or split-dollar policies, or insurance purchased as part of a buy-sell agreement.

A board within the International Federation of Accountants has proposed new guidance to help member bodies develop practical experience programs for accounting students.The International Accounting Education Standards Board, an independent standard-setting board, recently issued a statement outlining such programs, “Practical Experience Requirements - Initial Professional Development for Professional Accountants.”

It has been a natural progression for CPAs to gradually evolve their practices to include both tax and financial planning."There's a natural link between tax prep and financial planning," explained Stephen Parezo, media manager for multidisciplinary practice firm Fiducial. "In doing a client's taxes, you get to see their whole financial picture. You can see if they're making contributions to retirement plans, and get to see what kind of stocks and other investments they have."

With continuing professional education and training inching ever closer together, CPE for 2007 is shaping up to be a mix of new offerings and delivery formats bookended by industry-focused courses and uncertainty over potential changes emanating from the 110th Congress.While CPE demand spiked in 2005 as a result of mandates such as Circular 230 and Section 199 of the American Jobs Creation Act, providers pointed to more recently enacted standards like FIN 48, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, the new risk assessment standards, and the continuing cry for fraud education as topics that will highlight much of CPE this year.

As many of you have already discerned by now, I spend a goodly piece of time in England, specifically because I work with the development office and president of my graduate college there on a new capital campaign that will affect women’s health issues worldwide.

Baby Boomers are just becoming aware that when they retire and because of greater life expectancies, they will probably need a steady income steam for at least 25 years, maybe for as long as 35 or more.

To finish off the year, I thought it might be very worthwhile, as we get ready for New Year’s Resolutions, to consider certain ideals, courtesy of my friends at Buckingham Asset Management. They have adopted the following principles to help them serve as a trusted advisor. It bears repeating over and over because Buckingham is right on target:

Canadian firms reporting under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act have as many, if not more, internal control problems than American companies, according to a new study authored by a Toronto-based academic.

Employers and benefit providers are coming up with some rather interesting ways of providing employee benefits in a cost effective manner.

Derrick Kinney is one of the most charming people on the face of the earth. He is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed succeed with the affluent. Moreover, he is the author of the bestselling "Master the Media to Attract Your Ideal Clients."

William Ferrara, professor of accounting emeritus at Stetson and Pennsylvania State Universities, received the 2007 Lifetime Contribution Award from the Management Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association, sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have jointly released rules to implement “broker” exceptions for banks.

When I was a kid, sometime around the Battle of Gettysburg, I had run up a pretty good comic book collection. I was addicted to comic books and had first editions, first issues of Batman, Superman, Joe Palooka, Little Lulu, and The Katzenjammer Kids, to name a few. The dimes I got from my grandparents went a long way then.But, alas, you know exactly what happened to them, don’t you? I left for four years of college, plus a couple of years in the service (it was mandatory at that time), and by the time I came home (along with many of my neighborhood friends), those cartons in the garage? Well, where they are, I’m unsure but it could have been income in retirement.

Resolutions relating to improving personal finances in the New Year will likely hold steady year-over-year, according to an unscientific survey.

So now Intuit owns a bank? What next? A lot.Intuit's recent purchase of Digital Insight, which provides online services to banks, follows a logical series of moves by Intuit into consumer financial services that also have implications for the business market.

The Securities and Exchange Commission stopped well short of proposing exemptions from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s internal control provisions that many small companies had loudly lobbied for at the panel’s Wednesday meeting.Under the guidance proposed by the SEC, executives would evaluate the design of only those financial controls that might carry the risk of having a material impact on financial statements.

PWC SURVEY FINDS BOARD MEMBERS CONCERNED ABOUT FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS: Nearly 75 percent of board members at U.S. financial services firms said that the increasing use of sophisticated financial instruments such as derivatives will be the next big area of regulatory focus for the financial industry, according to a survey conducted by Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.Meanwhile, a near-unanimous 97 percent of board members polled said that the level of due diligence and understanding of sophisticated financial instruments being used in the market should be a major concern for board members.

LBMC Investment Advisors LLC said that it recently surpassed the $200 million mark of assets under advisement. Formed in 1998 as an affiliate of Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC - Tennessee's largest regional accounting and business consulting firm - LBMC Investment Advisors has offices in Brentwood and Knoxville, Tenn.