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Walker Interactive Systems, which makes enterprise-level financial products, has launched RareVision, a subsidiary designed to market analytical programs for the QuickBooks market. Users upload their QuickBooks data to Web-based RareVision, […]

A FEW YEARS AGO, CERTI-fied public accountants developed a vision statement for their profession that would be viable to 2011 and beyond. While the core purpose simply declares the expanding [...]

Keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in accounting and finance is an absolutely crucial aspect of career advancement. The skills that made you successful as an accountant a decade ago [...]

Have you developed a plan to keep yourself, your family members and your clients out of a nursing home? The stakes are high. If the dice come up snake eyes, [...]

As changes in the profession occur and as CPAs become more specialized, the MACPA is working to provide information and opportunities within those areas of specialization. Recently, the MACPA Executive [...]

In addition to preparing financial statements and tax returns, certified public accountants today consult in many areas, including business management and planning, employee compensation and benefits, personal financial planning, estate [...]

If your financial planning seminars are just not producing the results that you desire, you may be overlooking something. Use a checklist every time that you are running a seminar [...]

If you need an accountant, how how do you choose one to ensure you are getting value for money? Neil Thorogood and Dr Rob Pocock report Selecting an accountant is [...]

Melancon & Co. envision AICPA Inc. American Institute of CPAs president Barry Melancon is setting out a clear and bold vision for the future in a pair of initiatives radical [...]

The first version of XFRML (extensible financial reporting markup language), developed by the AICPA in conjunction with participants from business and technology, is available for comment. Designed for commercial and [...]

With soaring fees and record level profits, many accounting firms are riding the wave of what, for many, has been their best year yet in business. And with all of [...]

Marketing an information-technology (IT) consulting practice requires a different train of thought than when marketing to write-up and other clients, according to Jim Metzler of the Buffalo-based GEMKO Information Group [...]

What's the secret of your success? 'If I told you the secret of my success, it would no longer be a secret. Nevertheless, here it is. I feel I have [...]

Remember the old adage that there are two ways to make money; either earn more or spend less? There is also a third way -- revisit your clients' dead judgments [...]

What is the secret of success? If you ask The Accounting Today 100 Most Influential People, odds are you'll hear something a lot like what your mother told you. The [...]

Planning is like breathing--it happens subliminally and continuously. So why is so much written about it? Could it be that its very elemental nature both demands and defies formality? In [...]

Those who practice fraud, embezzlement and extortion, who squeeze billions of dollars from U.S. companies, municipalities and individuals every year should look over their shoulders. On the trail of these [...]

CPAJ: Most chairs of the MCCA begin their year with a 'ten-point program' as a means of setting their goals for the year. What are the major focal points for [...]

Just about everyone is aware of the year 2000 (Y2K) problem. Some predict catastrophic effects that could cost $300 billion to $600 billion to fix, resulting in significant litigation as [...]

Accountants and other finance professionals need to plan their career especially when they reach 50 years old. Senior finance executives who are in their 50s need a fall-back option as they are found to be particularly vulnerable to redundancies. They are encouraged to maintain a network that could help them should they decide to be consultants.

Many CPAs dream of being their own boss, reaping the direct benefit of their hard work, free from the constraints of employer-related structure and expectations. Yet taking the leap into [...]

With the year-end flurry of activity over and a new year beginning, advisors have already started planning for the future. There are new tax brackets to consider, and portfolios to […]

CPA Australia is supporting the Financial Services Reform act (FSRA), in order to implement strict licensing rules and increase disclosure requirements and to ensure that informed and relevant regulations are in place. The ways in which CPA Australia's education program keeps members well-informed about the changes in regulations supporting the legislation are provided.

CHICAGO -- Some small CPA firms are having trouble handling their audit workloads, and large firms are taking notice. Grant Thornton, accounting's seventh-largest firm, plans to create a national service [...]

Like most professions, accounting has smaller associations that cater to minorities. Two prominent ones are the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance [...]

From Robert Scott, editor of Accounting Technology.... * The amount of support staff at accounting firms will sharply decline. This will stem from techniques such as account aggregation and using [...]

Regular daily report runs can reveal more about the financial state of a company than accounting systems based on spreadsheet. Report writing software packages enable thorough and comprehensive internal reporting without dependence on spreadsheets.

Accounting management and accounting are almost as comparable to the behavioral sciences as they are to the decision sciences and economics. Ideas that are based on the behavioral sciences now have significant repercussions on accountants and managers. The implications encompass motivational theory, participative budgeting, information overload, and the Theory Z and Theory X styles of management. Locus of control represents a person's belief on how much control she or he has on the events over her or his life.

President Reagan's sweeping tax reform plan will damage some industries, such as: real estate, small business, the smokestack industries, savings and loans, and commercial banks. The tax plan seeks repeal of the investment tax credit. Also, the Real Cost Recovery System would replace the existing Accelerated Cost Recovery System. The government's tax plan seeks balanced and fair treatment of individuals and businesses, rapid industrial growth, and reduced inflationary effects on income.

Usually, the ESOP is a valid plan under IRC Sec. 401(a), covering a stock bonus plan element. Workers are eligible for benefits derived from stock bonus plans the same as they are eligible for profit sharing plans, though contributors are not always dependent on profits and benefits become available from the employer's stock. Workers must be willing to take part of their compensation in the form of tax-deferred fringe benefits.

The financial impact of a senior partner's withdrawal from an accounting practice is examined. It is important to establish a written policy which specifies the retirement ages and payments of partners. If the firm has unfunded retirement obligations, the active members of the firm could face financial difficulties if a significant number of partners retire without a corresponding increase in work or revenues. Funding and retirement plans that can avoid this problem are discussed.

A Management Accounting magazine survey of controllers and CEO's in 272 Fortune 500 companies examined what role controllers play in corporate strategic planning. Participation levels of controllers was much higher than expected, ranging from 73% to 88%, depending on activity. Controllers also showed interest in establishing objectives, developing missions, formulating strategies, and monitoring past plans. CEO's, however, showed less enthusiasm for controllers' strategic planning aspirations. There was a significant difference between controllers' desires and CEO's wishes on all ten of the planning activities listed on the survey. Controllers are definitely a part of the strategic planning process, but must assert themselves more in the future with evidence of their abilities to work in unstructured environments and to contribute to nonquantitative decision-making.