Accounting education

Hiring expectations, personal finances and job satisfaction concerns, among a number of other factors, caused confidence among accounting and finance workers to dip in October, according to the Hudson Employment Index.

Personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise, tax brackets will widen and individuals will be able to make larger tax-free gifts in 2006, thanks to inflation adjustments announced today by the Internal Revenue Service.

The American Institute of CPAs and the United Kingdom's Chartered Institute of Management Accountants have agreed to collaborate on developing products and services for their members. This partnership will allow the AICPA to offer additional professional resources to members working in business and industry, who account for nearly 50 percent of the institute's membership.

Legal and regulatory publisher BNA Inc. has launched Accounting Policy and Practice Report, a biweekly publication that focuses on accounting rules and their impact on corporate accounting.The publication -- launched through BNA subsidiary Tax Management Inc. -- features insights and analysis from practitioners on such topics as internal controls, revenue recognition intangibles, and pro forma reporting.

KATRINA VICTIMS CAN TAKE LOANS FROM RETIREMENT PLANS: Employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k) programs, will be allowed to make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Katrina and members of their families, the Internal Revenue Service said.For the first time ever, the IRS and the Treasury and Labor Departments are providing broad-based relief to retirement plan participants affected by a major disaster.

The accountant is one of the catalysts of an estate-planning team - a group that should also include an attorney, a financial planner and a trust officer.The goal of this dedicated team is to help in the management, conservation and transfer of wealth, while considering the legal and tax ramifications, as well as the personal objectives, of the client.

The $11,000 gift tax annual exclusion ($12,000 for gifts made in 2006) is available only for gifts of present interests. A gift to a trust for the benefit of a particular beneficiary is usually a gift of a present interest only if the trustee is required to distribute all of the income of the trust no less frequently than annually. If a trust does not have income because its assets are invested in non-income paying property (e.g., unproductive real estate or artwork), a gift to that trust will be treated as a gift of a future interest.However, the exclusion is allowed for a gift in trust to a minor, if the trust property and the income from that property may be (but don't have to be) spent by or for the minor before he reaches age 21, and to the extent not so spent will pass to the minor when he becomes 21.

Roughly two thirds of companies in the S&P 500 have exceeded analysts' estimates on earnings per share dating back to the first quarter of 2004 -- a signal that companies have become more conservative on their earnings guidance.

Clerks at the nation's bankruptcy courts processed a record 205,129 personal bankruptcy filings last week, and a private consulting firm estimates that a backlog of unprocessed filings could push the total to 300,000.

According to a recent study, the value of stock options given to employees at the nation's largest companies dwindled by roughly 60 percent throughout 2001-04.

Federal government employees can now receive public sector financial management and strategic leadership training through a dual designation program developed by two international accounting bodies in consultation with the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada.

The Social Security Administration recently announced the highest cost-of-living increase since 1991, setting the adjustment at 4.1 percent for more than 52 million retired and disabled recipients.

The Internal Revenue Service could revoke the tax-exempt status of about 20 credit-counseling firms, just as the country's new bankruptcy laws are set to go into effect on Oct. 17.

A bill creating a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and setting capital levels for the two home mortgage giants could be ready for a House vote by the end of the month.

SEC HELPING INVESTORS, COMPANIES AFFECTED BY KATRINA: The Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the growing list of companies and agencies mobilizing to provide relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.The SEC divisions and offices that oversee publicly traded companies, accountants, mutual funds, brokerage firms and transfer agents, among others, are preparing relief measures, including extensions of filing deadlines and suspension of requirements to deliver documents to hurricane-affected areas.

The CFA Institute, the global concern that administers the Chartered Financial Analyst examination and credential, has elected its new board of governors.John Stannard, of Russell Investment Group, was elected chairman, while Vincent Duhamel, managing director of Goldman Sachs Asia LLC, will serve as vice chair. Both Stannard and Duhamel will serve one-year terms, effective immediately.

An individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income for a year is not more than $100,000 may convert an amount held in a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. The amount converted is subject to tax to the same extent that it would be if the amount were distributed to the taxpayer from the traditional IRA and not rolled over to another traditional IRA or to a qualified retirement plan.If a conversion involves property, the conversion amount generally is the fair market value of the property on the date of distribution, or deemed distribution, from the traditional IRA. However, because there was no specific rule dealing with converted annuity contracts, some taxpayers claimed that the amount includible in gross income upon the conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is the cash surrender value of the annuity contract.

Financial services educator The American College is accepting nominations for induction into its newly created Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is designed to recognize graduates of the college's designation or degree programs who have made extraordinary contributions in time, effort and energy to this institution of higher learning.To qualify for induction into The American College Hall of Fame, individuals must have graduated from at least one of the college's designation or degree programs. In addition, they must be long-term volunteers of the college and active participants in its community and learning environment.

Intuit, which is ramping up an aggressive expansion of its product line for small businesses, is also jumping into the financial planning market.

Years of lower equity risk premiums have prompted advisors to begin looking beyond the traditional modern portfolio theory for strategies that can produce heftier returns.Enter the core/satellite design - defined as a commitment to longer-term investing in "core" vehicles, combined with satellites of frequently changed assets that can add to returns.