Accountants Round Up

Accountants Round Up is Retiring

Dear loyal readers, it is time for ARU to bid you farewell after this week.

We greatly appreciate your readership and trust over the past few years and it has been enjoyable to serve you with a collection of emerging accounting-related news items.

We've been honored to be considered a worthy feed source.

Best wishes,

Golden Marketing Inc

"Accountancy Profession Becoming ‘Closed Shop’ For Rich"

By Paul Grant: Breaking into the accountancy profession is becoming increasingly difficult for those from low income families, according to a government report.

The study into social mobility found that top professions are being closed off to all but the most affluent families, despite efforts to close the gap between rich and poor.

Read complete article Accountancy Profession Becoming ‘Closed Shop’ For Rich
Source: Accountancy Age, 21 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited. All rights reserved.

"Financial Reporting Complexity: Can It Be Reduced?"

By Dan Meyer: The Global Accounting Alliance, a group of accounting standard-setting bodies from throughout the world, recently met in New York to discuss complexity in financial reporting. They found some agreement on the desirably of simplifying financial reporting but not much agreement on how to accomplish the goal.

Read complete post Financial Reporting Complexity: Can It Be Reduced?
Source: Tick Marks, 17 July 2009.

"EU: Banks Using Looser Accounting Rules"

By Brussels (AP): European banks are increasingly using looser accounting rules to report a higher value in their 2008 accounts for complex investments that depreciated during the financial crisis, EU market supervisors said Wednesday.

Rules which required assets to be valued at market prices -- called fair-value or mark-to-market -- were eased in October to allow European companies to use higher prices for derivatives when they reported earnings from the third quarter of 2008.

Read complete article EU: Banks Using Looser Accounting Rules
Source: Yahoo Finance, 15 July 2009. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! All rights reserved.

"Accounting Not To Blame For Financial Crisis"

By Mario Christodoulou: Accounting rule makers should remain independent from `undue commercial and political pressures', a group of recognised leading financial experts has warned in a report which defends accounting standards as `not a root cause of the financial crisis'.

The Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), formed in the wake of the global economic meltdown by American and International accounting rule makers, today published its recommendations where it said the independence of standard setters should be maintained.

Read complete article Accounting Not To Blame For Financial Crisis
Source: Accountancy Age, 28 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited.

"Financial Services Careers: Rising Tide of Regulation"

By Nick Huber: It’s shaping up to be the year of regulation as well as recession, with the government introducing a new regulatory framework in response to the banking crisis. Earlier this month the government unveiled its long-awaited financial white paper, seen as the biggest shake-up in the regulation of the City since it came to power in 1997.

The plans have received a mixed reaction from the City. But experts say that the increase in financial regulations is likely to be good news for accountants as financial firms strengthen their compliance departments, boosting demand for advisory work and providing opportunities to work more closely with regulators.

Read complete article Financial Services Careers: Rising Tide of Regulation
Source: Accountancy Age, 23 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited.

"More on Health Care Reform: Congress Apparently Sweet on Soda Tax"

By TAXGIRL: Though the health care reform bill has officially been tabled until after the break, there is still work to do in Congress before a vote can be scheduled. At the top of the list? Find a way to pay for the bill...Yes, you guessed it. The so-called “soda tax” is now back in the picture.

The soda tax (which failed when proposed in New York) has been proposed in the House and Senate as a potential revenue generator to pay for health care reform. The tax would be a 3 cent surtax on soda, energy drinks and “other” sugary drinks (various proposals have included taxing, for example, certain kinds of juices).

Read complete post More on Health Care Reform: Congress Apparently Sweet on Soda Tax
Source: TAXGIRL Blog, 28 July 2009. © 2005-2009 Kelly Phillips Erb.

"Social Media: Just Get Plugged In Already"

By Liz Gold: It’s not about the technology, it’s about the relationships. This mantra comes from Tom Hood CPA and president of the Maryland Association of CPAs. Of course, he’s right – when talking about social media.

In a recent blog post, Hood relayed this message to the 25 participants in the AICPA’s Leadership Academy earlier in the month, noting that many young professionals feel that their firms don’t “get it” when it comes to social media and are blocking such sites in their organizations.

Read complete post Social Media: Just Get Plugged In Already
Source: Accounting Tomorrow, 15 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Managing Your Time During the CPA Exam"

By Roger CPA Review: You’ve gotten past the first four screens. Now, it all comes down to earning 75 points before the time runs out. No, it’s not a video game. It’s the CPA Exam, and it’s a balancing act between knowledge and time management. Are you ready?

Each section of the CPA Exam is broken up into mini-tests, or “testlets.” There are three multiple choice testlets per exam, with each testlet containing 30 questions.

Read complete post Managing Your Time During the CPA Exam
Source: CPA Exam Preparation Blog, 14 July 2009. Copyright © 2009 Roger CPA Review

"CPA as Client Trustee"

By Christopher D. Carico: The family CPA is often the best choice as successor trustee of the family trust.

As a group, CPAs are highly educated, detail oriented, tax-sensitive and cost conscious. Since a trustee’s duties include preparing an annual accounting, filing yearly tax returns, monitoring trust investments and determining distribution amounts to be given to beneficiaries, CPAs ordinarily possess all the needed skills. While it may make the most sense for the family members to select the CPA to act as successor trustee, the same may not be true for the CPA. Before saying “yes,” the CPA should have answers to the following questions:

Read complete article CPA as Client Trustee
Source: WebCPA, 28 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Financial Crisis Creates Fair Value Skeptics"

By WebCPA Staff: Turmoil in the financial markets has negated the value of fair value accounting, according to more than half the respondents to a new survey.

The survey of financial professionals’ views on fair value accounting by valuation-related service provider Valuation Research Corp. found that a majority of respondents indicated that they believed that market turmoil and the collapse of active markets for many assets caused implementation issues in fair value accounting.

Read complete article Financial Crisis Creates Fair Value Skeptics
Source: WebCPA, 13 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Getting Started in the World of Social Media"

By Brian Swanson: As a new or young accountant there are a number of responsibilities and challenges on your plate.

Much of your time is dedicated to training on regulations (such as GAAP, tax codes, etc), internal firm processes, the studying for the CPA exam, CPE courses if you are credentialed, not to mention the day-to-day tasks associated with client service and delivery.

And you still need to consider how you will develop your professional network.

Read complete article Getting Started in the World of Social Media
Source: Accounting Tomorrow, 28 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Accountants Loyal Now, but May Jump Ship When Economy Rebounds"

By AccountingWEB: The accounting profession, when compared to the rest of the U.S. job market, has held up well in terms of job losses, shedding less than 2% of jobs since June 2008. Perhaps as a result, accountants are loyal to their employers with 57% saying they plan to stay with their companies once the economy improves, according to a new survey by Ajilon Finance, a leading specialty finance and accounting recruitment firm, in conjunction with the Institute of Management Accountants' Inside Talk Webinar Series.

Read complete article Accountants Loyal Now, but May Jump Ship When Economy Rebounds
Source: AccountingWEB, 5 August 2009. A Sift Media publication © 2009 Sift Media Limited.

"Help wanted: Accounting PhDs"

Posted by Marge O’Reilly-Allen and David Wagaman: The accounting profession is facing yet another challenge: a severe shortage of doctorally qualified faculty to teach the next generation of accountants. A growing demand for accounting professors has resulted in an inadequate supply of accounting PhDs, and accounting programs are experiencing great difficulty recruiting new faculty members. The situation is growing worse, and will not improve unless both academia and the accounting profession work together to develop long-term solutions.

Read complete article Help wanted: Accounting PhDs
Source: AccountingWEB, 27 July 2009. a Sift Media publication © 2009 Sift Media Limited.

"Twitter 101 for Law Firms and Other Businesses: From Twitter"

By Kevin O'Keefe: Twitter reached out to the business community this past week with a Twitter 101 for businesses at business.twitter.com of all places. It's an excellent resource for lawyers and law firms.

Every day, millions of people use Twitter to create, discover and share ideas with others. Now, people are turning to Twitter as an effective way to reach out to businesses, too. From local stores to big brands, and from brick-and-mortar to internet-based or service sector, people are finding great value in the connections they make with businesses on Twitter.

Read complete post Twitter 101 for Law Firms and Other Businesses: From Twitter
Source: Real Lawyers Have Blogs, 25 July 2009. Copyright © 2009, LexBlog. All Rights Reserved.

"Despite Slowdown, Accounting Salaries Rising"

By A.E. Feldman: As many industries lose stability amid the economic crisis, the accounting profession is actually weathering the storm. That’s among the findings of a recent survey from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). The study shows that accounting salaries are on the rise and demand is growing for professionals with advanced certifications.

Executive search firm, A.E. Feldman, says that accounting firms are in growing demand to assist companies navigating the challenges and opportunities that the current financial environment creates.

Read complete post Despite Slowdown, Accounting Salaries Rising
Source: A.E. Feldman Blog, 13 July 2009. © Copyright A.E. Feldman - All Rights Reserved.

"More Stringent Accounting Ethics Code Released"

By WebCPA Staff: The International Federation of Accountants and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants have issued a revised Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants that strengthens the independence requirements of auditors.

The revised code, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2011, extends the independence requirements for audits of listed entities to all "public-interest entities," which are companies that are considered to be of significant public relevance.

Read complete article More Stringent Accounting Ethics Code Released
Source: WebCPA, 10 July 2009. © 2009 Accountants Media Group and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Bye, Bye Batch Processing"

By Trish McIntire: We know the drill. If the taxpayer hasn't received their tax refund by Tuesday, they won't get it until the next week. The IRS mails the checks on Friday because they batch process the returns. Noon on Thursdays the gates open and all the return that have been received since the prior Thursday are admitted to the processing queue. A return arriving at 2pm on Thursday will sit for a week. This system was in place when all returns were mailed and has continued with e-filed returns. In fact, the IRS publishes a chart each year, the Refund Cycle Chart, I use to tell clients when to expect their refund.

This will be changing next year with the introduction of Modernized e-File (MeF).

Read complete post Bye, Bye Batch Processing
Source: Our Taxing Times, 28 July 2009.

"Computerized CPA Exam Reaches One Million Mark"

By AccountingWEB: The computerized Uniform CPA Examination has achieved one million administrations, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and Prometric, the three parties in charge of the exam.

"The significance of the one millionth exam section transcends the milestone itself," said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. "More people are sitting for the CPA exam because the CPA profession has enjoyed unprecedented growth as an attractive career choice. Our research shows that colleges and universities are awarding more bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting than at any other time in history."

Read complete article Computerized CPA Exam Reaches One Million Mark
Source: AccountingWEB, 8 July 2009. Copyright © 2009 AccountingWEB, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Graduates Seek Security in Government Jobs"

By Accountancy Age: Aspiring accountants are looking to the public sector for job security as interest wanes in the troubled banking sector following the global financial crisis.

Graduates searching for work in the finance sector are increasingly enrolling in courses aimed at public sector positions, the Financial Times reports.

Enrollment in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's main award, which is sponsored mainly by public sector employers, is up 20% on the year.

Read complete article Graduates Seek Security in Government Jobs
Source: Accountancy Age, 1 July 2009. © Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited.

"Accounting Firms Merging to Add Talent and Territory"

By A.E. Feldman: The floundering economy has driven a growing number of accounting firms into each others’ arms, according to Long Island Business News. The report states, “Accounting firms are getting bigger, becoming regional and even national players as they not only advise others on mergers, but practice it themselves.”

Accounting firms are merging with the aim of adding talent and expanding their footprint as well as their areas of expertise.

Read complete post Accounting Firms Merging to Add Talent and Territory
Source: A.E. Feldman Blog, 7 July 2009. © Copyright A.E. Feldman - All Rights Reserved.