Many CPAs have firms as clients who conduct business over the Internet, especially retailers and others fully engaged in E-Commerce, but how equipped are small- to medium-size CPA firms in helping their clients evaluate an online strategy?KPMG has developed its new SAVED!

A teenager stole an estimated 300,000 credit card numbers from CD Universe last year. You might think that this is an isolated case of a hacker with savvy skills cracking the code, but it’s not. A dirty little secret of e-commerce is that credit card numbers are stored in plain-text files by Web sites all over the Internet. If the credit-card data was stored by the Web site in plain text, anyone who gained access to the computer would be able to read the credit card numbers.

Cyber-security is a big issue these days. But just how vulnerable is your computer to a possible security breach? Get a quick, free and easy security diagnostic through www.antionline.com by providing nothing more than an email address. One of their systems will scan your computer remotely, and report back any potential vulnerabilities and how to fix them. Hopefully your analysis will come back without too much to report!

The IRS reports that the fifteenth year of electronic tax filing is off to a strong start, recording a 27.7% increase in e-filing for this opening weekend of the tax season.The IRS expects one in four taxpayers will file electronically this year, representing over 33 million returns.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has signed an agreement with Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and with the Ordre des Experts Comptables (OEC) – both located in Paris – to offer CPA WebTrust in France.

You’ve decided you want an intranet, but now you aren’t sure which way you should go – keep it on the inside of your organization or put it out on the Net. The benefits vary as do costs. If you keep it inside, obviously, your security is increased because hackers can’t get to it – your intranet is hidden inside your firm. Another factor is speed. Since your intranet runs on the same system that connects your computers, the speed is much faster than the Internet. Training isn’t a factor, either, because an intranet uses a browser that your employees most likely know already.

CONTACT: MARY DALE WALTERS 847-267-2038 mediahelp@cch.comFourth Annual List of Wacky Tax Court CasesVENTRILOQUIST, BEGGAR, SPY, BROTHEL VISITOR: IRS THREW THE BOOK AT THESE CHARACTERS, BUT A FEW FOUND A HAPPY ENDING IN COURT (RIVERWOODS, ILL., January 17, 2000) – The expression “truth is stranger than fiction” can usually be proved in court, according to CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), a leading provider of tax law information.

Financial broker H.D. Vest today announced a new service which offers US taxpayers free web-prepared e-filed tax returns, regardless of salary of form requirements.The new service, available at H. D. Vest Online, is expected to draw one million users in its first tax preparation season.

Many CPAs and accounting professionals provide advice to clients on the virtues of investing in long-term IRAs. But how do you explain the tax ramifications for heirs to an estate in plain-speak?Some measures can be implemented to prevent Federal estate tax, and Federal and state income taxes from taking up to 75 percent of investments.