Accountants Round Up

"Web Syndication Using RSS"

By Yu Cong and Hui Du: Perhaps you are too busy to visit numerous Web sites to keep up with updates about your clients, your clients’ industries, general financial and business news, and your own profession. Thanks to a feature in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 that brings a relatively new technology into mainstream computing, all the updates can come to you in your inbox, where you can integrate and manage information from various Web sites as easily as you can read and manage your e-mails.

This feature draws its power from a technology that, prior to Microsoft seeing its value for its massive user base, was used primarily by techies and researchers.

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Source: Journal of Accountancy, June 2008. Copyright © 2008 AICPA. All rights reserved.

"Assisting Troubled Business Clients"

By William Y. Culbertson: Certain identifiable traits of financial distress are common to every troubled business, regardless of its industry or size. A thorough understanding of those traits is helpful in choosing a course of action. This article examines the anatomy of a turnaround from the perspective of practicing CPAs and explains why a privately held midsize company has the best chance of surviving when its outside CPAs actively participate in the solutions to its problems, even if the CPAs need to abandon their independence.

Often, when a Fortune 500 company gets into trouble and its stock price tanks, an investment banker is hired to “explore strategic alternatives,” the CEO is replaced, and the rest of the story is on public display.

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Source: Journal of Accountancy, March 2008. © 2008 AICPA. All rights reserved.

"IRS Launches E-Postcard for Small Tax-Exempts"

By SmartPros: The Internal Revenue Service has launched an electronic filing system that small tax-exempt organizations may use to comply with a new law requiring them to file an annual return.

In the past, small tax-exempt organizations generally were not required to file Forms 990 or 990-EZ, the annual information returns for tax-exempt organizations. 

Read complete article IRS Launches E-Postcard for Small Tax-Exempts
Source: SmartPros, 26 February 2008. © 2008 SmartPros Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Most Accountants Unable to Help Clients Take Advantage of Technology Opportunities"

By John Stokdyk: Results of a survey conducted by our sister site, AccountingWEB co.uk, and the British National B2B Centre conducted in the autumn of 2007 show that more than three-quarters of respondents held positive views of e-business, but only 8 percent of them advised clients on e-business strategies. Another 9 percent had invested time and effort, but were disappointed with the returns and 8 percent said e-business was not core to their activities.

While in spirit accountants might like to get involved with e-business, the reality of their current knowledge and workload means that only a small minority are able to help clients take advantage of new technology opportunities.

Read complete article Most Accountants Unable to Help Clients Take Advantage of Technology Opportunities
Source: AccountingWEB, 21 February 2008. Copyright © 2008 AccountingWEB, Inc. All rights reserved.

"MACPA's Blog: Secret Weapon to Stopping Sales Tax on Accounting Services"

By SmartPros: When Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley engineered a special legislative session to deal with the state's projected $1.5 billion shortfall, the Maryland Association of CPAs had to mobilize its members at a moment's notice. Higher corporate taxes and a tax on professional services stood high on the lawmakers' agenda.

Luckily, MACPA could draw on its new blog Legislative Insider -- along with listserves, e-mail and town hall meetings -- to communicate the fast-moving updates over the three-week General Assembly session.

Read complete article MACPA's Blog: Secret Weapon to Stopping Sales Tax on Accounting Services
Source: SmartPros, 29 November 2007. © Copyright 2007 SmartPros Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

"Microsoft Releases Office Accounting 2008"

By AccountingWEB: Microsoft Office Accounting 2008, an enhanced version of the well-received 2007 financial management software for small businesses, is now available. In addition to new features and tools, Office Accounting 2008 has expanded its market distribution to include a bilingual Spanish-English version for the U.S.-based Hispanic market as well as a new product for the United Kingdom.

To meet the financial management needs of small businesses of all sizes, from sole proprietors to businesses with up to 25 employees, Office Accounting is currently available in two editions: Office Accounting Professional, ERP $199.95 (U.S.),* for established small businesses, and Office Accounting Express, free, for startups and home-based businesses.

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Source: AccountingWEB, 15 November 2007. Copyright © 2007 AccountingWEB, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Blogging for Dollars"

By WebCPA: Gina Gwozdz realized just how valuable blogging can be when, as a sole practitioner vying for clients with three other CPA firms in the small town of Bullard, Texas, she started looking to expand her reach beyond writing articles and columns in her local newspaper.

Research led her to find a blogging community within the accounting and tax profession, and there she discovered that she could jumpstart her new practice by taking the plunge. She decided to go online and start Gina's Tax Articles at http://glgcpa.blogspot.com.

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Source: WebCPA, 20 August 2007. © 2007 WebCPA and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"New Online Governmental Accounting Certificate Program Addresses Demand for Financial Workers"

By AccountingWEB: A new online Governmental Accounting certificate program was developed collaboratively by the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The program was created to address the growing demand and shortage of financial workers.

The "demand for accountants has exploded," according to Charles Ingersoll, principal at Korn/Ferry International, a recruiting and staffing firm in a recent Washington Post article.

Read complete article New Online Governmental Accounting Certificate Program Addresses Demand for Financial Workers
Source: AccountingWEB, 13 August 2007. 2006 Copyright © 2007 AccountingWEB, Inc. All rights reserved.

"IT Investments in 2007"

By L. Gary Boomer: As firms begin to plan for 2007-2008, they should be wary of relying on previous strategies for technology. Technology will remain an important tool as the accounting profession transforms; but remember, it must be employed with vision, leadership and strategy. Technology can't fix problems associated with poor leadership, management and the inability to attract quality people.

The profession has been stuck in "me too" mode in terms of technology.  

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Source: WebCPA, 9 July 2007. © 2007 WebCPA and SourceMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Security Update: Microsoft Issues Critical Vista Patches"

By AccountingWEB: Just before Easter, Microsoft broke from its usual security alert program to issue a bulletin and patches for a vulnerability that could allow malformed Windows animated cursor files to give hackers remote control over infected PCs. A second critical alert was issued as part of the normal reporting routine on April 10.

Microsoft security bulletin MS07-17 addresses a "zero day" vulnerability, so called because attacks have already taken place that exploit the weakness - including, according to some reports, the website of the Dolphin Stadium in Miami, which hosted this year's Super Bowl.

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Source: AccountingWEB, 17 April 2007. Copyright © 2007 AccountingWEB, Inc. All Rights Reserved.