News

Tax

Obama: IRS' Targeting of Conservative Groups 'Outrageous'

President Barack Obama says he will not tolerate political bias at the IRS and promised to get to the bottom of the agency's admitted targeting of conservative groups. The IRS apologized on May 10 for scrutinizing the tax-exempt status of groups with conservative titles, such as "tea party" or "patriot," in their names.
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Education & Careers

May Day: Retiring Texas Accounting Professor to Give Commencement Speech

After a forty-three-year academic career – the last thirty-four of which were spent as professor, chairman, and dean in the department of accounting at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business – Robert May, PhD, will be addressing 2013 graduating Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) students one last time.
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Tax

IRS Announces Plan to Share Tax Data with Brits and Aussies

The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom have announced a collaborative effort to share tax information from a multitude of trusts and companies holding assets on behalf of residents from far-flung places.
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Education & Careers

Chapman University Competition Gives Start-ups a Head Start

This April, Chapman University in Orange, California, became a mecca for "out-of-the-box" thinking when aspiring student entrepreneurs from top university programs put their business plans to the test in the California Dreamin' Investor and Fast Pitch Business Plan Competition.
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Practice

Maintaining Wage and Hour Compliance in 2013

Over the past six years or so, wage and hour lawsuits have become, if not commonplace, extremely prevalent. This trend, fueled by a large number of workers displaced following the financial crisis and stoked by successful settlements and court rulings over the past several years, is unlikely to end anytime soon.
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A&A

New Report on Financial Reporting Fraud Released

A new research report examines auditor involvement in fraudulent financial reporting cases cited in SEC enforcement actions issued from 1998-2010. During the thirteen-year period, there were eighty-seven sanctions against external auditors in SEC fraud investigations involving publicly traded companies.
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Practice

[Blank] Your Way to a Better Brand

Imagine that your firm comes up in a conversation between two business people. One says, "Smith and Jones, CPAs, sure, I've heard of them. They're the [blank] firm." Now, what do you want the [blank] to be? That's brand positioning.
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Education & Careers

Study Reveals Top Nonaccounting Skills Sought in Accountants

Accounting and finance professionals who possess nontraditional accounting traits, such as general business knowledge and good communication skills, are valued not only by CFOs trying to fill open finance department positions at their companies, but also by human resources directors looking to recruit new talent to their accounting firms.
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Technology

Excel Tip: Determining the Remaining Length of a Loan Using NPER

Learn how to use the NPER function in Excel to determine just how long it will take you to payoff that credit card bill on which you’re making monthly payments..
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A&A

FASB Requesting Participation in FASAC Survey

The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), the primary advisory group for the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), has issued a survey to solicit stakeholder views about the FASB’s future agenda. Participants are asked to respond to the survey by May 30, 2013.
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A&A

Whistleblowing Reaches Center Stage

Court cases and events involving whistleblowing are appearing in news headlines with greater frequency, and awareness about the importance of speaking up, when witnessing wrongdoing continues to grow.
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Community News

Houston CPA Society Grants School $1,052 for Document Cameras

Tipps Elementary School in Houston is expected to purchase four new document cameras this week for classroom use as a result of a $1,052 grant it received on April 23 from the Houston CPA Society’s CPAs Helping Schools program.
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Community News

NJSCPA Video Pokes Fun at 'MTV Cribs,' Shows Lighter Side of CPA

A phone booth. A parking meter. A traffic signal. A fire hydrant. These are among the many decorations CPA Martin Abo has inside his home in Cherry Hill, NJ. Want a tour? Well, you can take one by watching the latest YouTube video by the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA).
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Tax

Pew Survey: One-Third of Americans Like Doing Their Taxes

While many people believe doing their income taxes is a hassle, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center shows that a good portion of Americans don’t mind the process.
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Tax

Update: Lauryn Hill’s Tax Case Leads to Prison

Last month, Grammy-winner Lauryn Hill asked the judge in her tax evasion case for probation. Not because she is a celebrity but because she wanted to work in order to pay the taxes she admitted owing. Things didn't turn out exactly as Hill planned.
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Education & Careers

Five Tips CPAs Should Heed for Continuing Education

Whether it is watching a webinar on their laptop, taking an online self-study course, or attending an educational session at a conference, CPAs have several avenues they can take to accumulate CPE credits.
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Tax

Internet Sales Tax Clears Senate Hurdle

New legislation authorizing the states to collect sales tax from companies peddling their wares online breezed through the Senate on May 6 by a wide 69-27 margin. But the Marketplace Fairness Act is expected to face much tougher opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
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Education & Careers

Southern Illinois University to Offer Online Accounting Degree

A new program at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL allows off-campus students to complete an accounting degree completely online.
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Community News

Company Announcements: Week of May 6, 2013

Following is the latest roundup of community news for the week of May 6, 2013.
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Practice

Top Priorities: Improve Your Marketing, Business Development

A recent survey of CPA firms by Sageworks' ProfitCents Professional Services identified marketing and business development as among the most important management issues facing these establishments.
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Pages

Voice of the Editor

Results from a recent AICPA survey disclosed the two top priorities for CPA firms as they plan for the future: bringing in new business and finding talent. Our goal at Sift Media is to help our readers deal with the issues most important to them. One way in which we are doing this is through the launch of our new recruitment/placement service, Going Concern Jobs. Check it out today for your talent needs.
Read more
Gail Perry, CPA
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AccountingWEB
editor@accountingweb.com
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