Consulting

Write-ups are extinct. When I started in 1963, most small CPA firms primarily did write-ups. After I started my practice in 1969, it became an embarrassment to say I did write-ups. It connoted something beneath my “professional” status. I think a problem today is that write-ups no longer exist for younger staff.

The AICPA recently issued an Accounting and Valuation Guide on assets acquired to be used in research and development activities, replacing a practice aid it issued in 2001 for in-process research and development.

PricewaterhouseCoopers completed its acquisition of Booz & Co. last week, renaming the management consulting firm as Strategy& (pronounced “Strategy and”).

Only 33 percent of small businesses employ a bookkeeper, according to a survey by Palo Alto Software, and an additional 50 percent say they also do not plan to hire one this year.

As most exempt organizations know all too well, preparing a Form 990 can be a time consuming and complicated process.

When President Obama announced the myRA program during his State of the Union Address this year, it likely raised several questions among those in the accounting community: What is this new program? How will it work? How does it compare to the retirement benefits businesses already provide to their employees? What do I need to share with my clients about this?

Foreign banks and other financial institutions are facing a number of deadlines this year for complying with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, which is forcing many of them to wake up belatedly to the complex demands thrust upon them by the new reporting regime.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility has entered into a settlement agreement with a group of appraisers from the same firm who were accused of aiding in the understatement of federal tax liabilities by overvaluing facade easements for charitable donation purposes.

When your nonprofit clients understand the conditions that lead to fraud, they are better equipped to reduce risk.

Entrepreneurs are the brightest, most focused and determined people I know. But it is also lonely for many of them.

Pricing, billing and collecting fees for services are how accountants earn their livings.

The internal control framework that was unveiled last year by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, also known as COSO, will take some time to adjust to, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is encouraging companies to transition to it by the end of this year.

PwC US has officially acquired the assets of Minnesota Privacy Consultants, including the company’s privacy professionals and network. Financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.

There are three broad types of work CPAs do—financial reporting attestation and support, tax compliance and planning, and management advisory or consulting services.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada have reached an agreement to give CPAs in both the U.S. and Canada access to the same technical resources and credentials that signify advanced proficiency in the disciplines of forensic and technology advisory services to promote greater consistency across North America.

I spend a lot of time with clients and I believe I have identified the one quality that most of my successful clients have—it is obsession.

Financial executives should become more involved in their company’s sustainability reporting efforts, according to a new report.

Successful client relationships start when you treat each client as if they were your only client or your best client or most important client.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has just joined the rest of the Big Four firms in officially sponsoring the work of the International Valuation Standards Council, which aims to create globally recognized and accepted valuation standards, particularly for financial instruments, and promote quality within the valuation profession.

U.S. Wealth Management CEO John Napolitano discusses how CPAs can start a financial planning practice and how the initiative can go wrong, in an interview with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Daniel Hood.