‘Tis the season to be jolly! Once a year gifts can send a nice message to clients. They simply say, “We appreciate you and your business.” So, what should you send?You could send a card that is designed especially for you. The cost for this is minimal for design and the printing costs often are less than buying a commercial holiday card. Want to add a little something to your card? Make a donation on behalf of your clients and let them know the receiving organization in your card.

How's this for a change? More than 5,000 employees with violations of misconduct will be investigated during the coming year, according to an e-mail issued by Inspector General David C. Williams.This equates to an average of one for every 28 IRS employees, and one in every nine front-line auditors and tax collectors under investigation.Williams is head of the newly created tax administration office.

A former FASB board member who is dean of Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management validated the theory that CPAs need to be well-versed in technology in order to compete in the financial marketplace.Robert J.

Should accounting firms be concerned about performing consulting services for their audit clients? After all, auditors are in a natural position to spot inefficiencies that can wreak havoc on the bottom line. They can help a company cut the waste and grow. But should they? Does it put an accounting firm’s unbiased audit approach at risk?Most accounting firms say that it does not compromise their audit approach. There also are already safe guards in place for publicly traded companies.

President Clinton is about to sign a tax bill that would, in effect, eliminate a provision used by sellers of small busineses to defer capital gains for tax purposes until the seller receives the money.Seller financing is a traditional method to buy businesses and real estate.

Okay, you’ve known for quite some time that ergonomic issues were abound, but maybe you just haven’t reached that item on your to-do list. It’s time to move it closer to the top. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently proposed an Ergonomics Program standard. After discussions in early 2000, the final version of the standard will become mandatory by year end.So what does this mean to you? Well, it means that if you don’t currently do the following things (see preliminary checklist below); you could legally be required to do so by the end of 2000.

AccountingWeb has tracked a number of stories over the past few months on Congress and the President's battles over the Federal budget.Based on recent reports, now that the budget year ended Nov. 20, not balancing the budget really isn't so terrible, after all. Among the focus is how Social Security was protected, albeit concern by Republicans and Democrats on securing the senior vote next year.Also under tremendous scrutiny was the proposed Republican tax cut of $792 billion.

All is not well in the city by the Bay. According to sources, San Francisco City Attorney Louise Renne has called for an audit of 30 companies that were awarded more than $72 million in construction contracts for expansion of the city's airport.This audit is an effort by the attorney to determine if these companies illegaly received profits from a minority "set-aside" program.

Cookies aren’t something you bake in the oven for the holidays. They are little files that keep information on your Internet browsing history. They also can be used for some cookie-savvy sites to collect information on you – primarily the sites you visit. Cookies can be good. Sites you visit can store information unique for you so you don’t have to enter a password each time to “enter” a membership zone (think AccountingWeb and Amazon).