CPA Association News
Register today: SEC & PCAOB Conference, Dec. 7 to 9, offers sessions by top regulators and experts
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 20, 2009
The AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments, Dec. 7 to 9, presents myriad sessions by regulators and practitioners designed to give attendees the latest and most comprehensive information from the SEC, PCAOB, FASB and IASB, as well as practical insights from practitioners. Speakers include SEC Commissioner Elisse B. Walter; Daniel Goelzer, acting chairman, PCAOB; Patrick Finnegan and James Leisenring, IASB; Robert Herz, chairman, FASB; and Billy M. Atkinson Jr., NASBA board chairman. Panel discussions will be populated by practitioners from GE, PricewaterhouseCoopers, American Express, Eli Lilly, Chevron and more. The live conference will be held in Washington, D.C., with four simulcast locations: New York City, Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago. Register now.
RSS feeds available for CPA Letter Daily, monthly AICPA e-newsletters
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 19, 2009
Put more news on your Web sites. RSS headline feeds for the AICPA's family of e-brief products are available. Work with your information technology team to allocate space and design the area so it has the look and feel of your home page. The headlines of the e-newsletter automatically will feed onto your site with each issue. Use these links to get the RSS headline feeds: CPA Letter Daily, IFRS Report, InfoTech Update, Financial Planning Digest and Forensic & Valuation Reporter. Other than the Daily, the publications are monthlies. The Daily also has a widget you can place on your site. Go to www.aicpa.org, locate the CPA Letter Daily box in the upper-right corner and use its "Grab this!" function. The widget will replicate on the Web page you designate.
Get the latest on CPA pipeline issues: Student enrollment, 150-hour requirement, doctoral-level professors
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 18, 2009
Phil Reckers, professor of accountancy at Arizona State University, addresses the current enrollment of accounting students as well as the 150-hour requirement for CPAs in this video. Doyle Williams, CPA, executive director of the Accounting Doctoral Scholars program, discusses how CPAs with public accounting, tax and auditing experience can make a tremendous difference in the lives of students and to accounting education.
AICPA chairman discusses accounting for sustainability
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 17, 2009
CPAs are taking a leading role in accounting for sustainability, the practice of considering the environmental and social aspects of doing business to inform a "triple bottom line." In this video, AICPA Chairman of the Board Robert R. Harris, CPA.CFF, discusses financial reporting in this new paradigm. Learn how you can help your employer or clients meet their goals while keeping sustainability in mind.
Register today: Free audio infocast on recovery preparation and plans -- Nov. 19
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 17, 2009
Find out what you should be considering in your recovery preparation, including reinstatement of base salary/incentives, renewed hiring plans, adjusting to a revised competitive landscape, understanding revised customer needs/demands and restarting your innovation efforts, and much, much more. Thursday, Nov. 19; 2 to 3 p.m. ET. Free without optional CPE. Register today.
Find AICPA on social networks; follow AICPA chairman on Twitter
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 16, 2009
Engage with the AICPA and professional colleagues through social-media networks to build your contacts and keep in touch with like-minded professionals and friends. Find the AICPA on Twitter (AICPA News, Journal of Accountancy, CPA Letter Daily, IFRS.com), Facebook and LinkedIn. In addition, CPA Financial Literacy volunteers can share their outreach efforts and receive updates on new volunteer and consumer resources by following 360CPAVolunteer on Twitter. Members also can follow the new AICPA chairman of the board of directors, Robert Harris.
Register today: Free webcast on business intelligence, Nov. 19
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 16, 2009
Business Intelligence encompasses the technologies, applications and processes for collecting and delivering crucial information for making decisions. Learn how to assess your organization's capacity to support a BI initiative and develop a successful strategy by joining a free (without optional CPE) live audio infocast, "Business Intelligence: Driving Value by Turning Data into Decisions." Thursday, Nov. 19, noon to 1:15 p.m. ET. Click here to register.
Illustrative example released on accountant's report regarding entity's SIPC transitional assessment reconciliation
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 13, 2009
SEC Rule 17a-5(e)(4) requires a registered broker-dealer to file, along with its annual audited financials, a supplemental report, covered by an independent accountants' report, which includes procedures related to the broker-dealer's SIPC annual general assessment reconciliation or exclusion from membership forms. The AICPA Stockbrokerage and Investment Banking Expert Panel recently revised an example of an illustrative independent accountants' report on applying agreed-upon procedures related to the entity's SIPC transitional assessment reconciliation (for transitional year only). The illustrative report is available on the AICPA Web site.
AICPA files lawsuit challenging FTC's "Red Flags" rule for CPAs
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 12, 2009
On Nov. 10, the AICPA filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking an injunction barring the Federal Trade Commission from applying its "Red Flags" rule, which would impose onerous and unnecessary requirements on its members. The FTC's "Red Flags" rule was designed to help prevent identity theft and was promulgated under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. "We do not believe there is any reasonably foreseeable risk of identity theft when CPA clients are billed for services rendered," said AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA. "As trusted advisors, CPAs are personally acquainted with their clients and already adhere to strict privacy requirements governing identifying information." Enforcement of the rule has been delayed several times, most recently from Nov. 1, 2009, to June 1, 2010. Read the AICPA complaint and news release.
Register today: Nov. 16 Web seminar on expanding a CPA wealth-advisory practice
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 12, 2009
Join John Bowen, CEO of CEG Worldwide, for a discussion on the opportunities afforded to CPA wealth advisers during this turbulent market environment. As the second in a series of three seminars, this presentation will provide the key actions that CPA wealth advisers must take now to enhance or build their practice. Click here to learn more and register now. AICPA PFP Section members can attend for free without optional CPE (CPE is available for a nominal fee to all). Monday, Nov. 16, 1 to 2 p.m. ET.
AICPA to release IFRS Accounting Trends & Techniques; order now for pre-publication discount
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 11, 2009
IFRS Accounting Trends & Techniques provides a close look at the reporting practices of international companies that have already tackled the conversion to IFRS. Like other titles in the best-selling Accounting Trends & Techniques series, this international version captures today's prevailing financial reporting practices with illustrative examples from the actual financial statements of 100 publicly traded companies from around the world. IFRS Accounting Trends & Techniques is available for pre-order. Order now and get a special pre-publication 10% discount. Use coupon code SLR.
Do you think Europe will become the next world superpower?
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 11, 2009
Register today: Live webcast gives updates on compilation and review engagements
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 10, 2009
Now is the time to make sure your staff and firm are aware of any special issues related to your upcoming compilation and review engagements. Take away tips and guidance on what should be top of mind for this year's engagements. Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2 to 4 p.m. ET. Register today.
AICPA annual report for 2008-2009 available online and in video
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 10, 2009
The AICPA's annual report for the fiscal year Aug. 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009, has been posted to our Web site (PDF 1MB). "Forward" tells how the AICPA and CPAs helped the nation navigate the financial crisis and discusses the year's important initiatives in advocacy, financial reporting, international convergence of standards, new programs to assist CPA firms in serving clients and filling the CPA pipeline for the future. Financial statements are included as well. Download the annual report now. Watch a video highlighting the year's most significant developments and their effects on CPAs.
Reader survey: Have you been keeping up with FASB Accounting Standards Updates?
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 09, 2009
Did you know that since the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ was launched on July 1, the FASB has issued more than a dozen Accounting Standards Updates? Five of these updates make changes to the FASB ASC topics of Revenue Recognition, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, and Income Taxes. Please take a 5-question survey to help the AICPA assess CPAs' awareness and understanding of these recent accounting changes. Click here.
Practice alert to help auditors plan more effective use of external confirmations released by IAASB
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 06, 2009
External confirmation procedures can be a compelling tool in obtaining relevant and reliable evidence for audits of financial statements only when auditors pay particular attention to circumstances that may affect the planned use of confirmations, including the risk of fraud and the adequacy of evidence. To raise awareness of potential issues and to help auditors use external confirmation procedures more effectively, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has released a new audit practice alert. Titled Emerging Practice Issues Regarding the Use of External Confirmations in an Audit of Financial Statements, the alert highlights areas within the International Standards on Auditing that are particularly relevant when deciding to request external confirmations, designing and carrying out confirmation procedures, and evaluating responses received. Download the alert.
Register today: Nov. 9 webcast focuses on technology in fraud and forensics
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 06, 2009
Attend a live audio infocast on Monday, Nov. 9 (2 to 3:30 p.m. ET), The Influence of Technology in the Fraud and Forensics Arena. Ron Durkin and five panelists will address the ways in which technology has changed CPAs' role in the fraud and forensics arena, and offer insight about the forensics environment. They also will discuss key requirements -- from specialization to the proper skill sets -- for remaining viable in today's competitive landscape. Register today (discounts available for AICPA IT and FVS section members and CITP, CFF, ABV credential holders).
New COSO paper will help senior executives deal with companies' top risks
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 05, 2009
A new thought paper by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, of which the AICPA is a member, helps senior executives evaluate and manage the top risks facing their businesses and work with their boards of directors on risk oversight. The paper, Strengthening Enterprise Risk Management for Strategic Advantage, outlines four areas of focus. The other member organizations of COSO are the American Accounting Association, Financial Executives International, the Institute of Management Accountants and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Download the paper now.
Discover how the Net Generation will challenge business as future CPAs begin employment
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 04, 2009
Future CPAs will be coming from the Net Generation, challenging business practices and communications methods. This short video uses factoids and images to enlighten current employers about the issues they will need to act on as new CPAs begin to enter the profession. For example, did you know that in three years 87% of recruitment will be through social media or that 83% of young people trust companies more if the company contributes to society? Watch what's on the horizon that the AICPA's Start Here, Go Places Web site is addressing now.
Volunteers needed to develop questions on IFRS for Uniform CPA Examination
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 03, 2009
The AICPA Examinations Team is seeking professionals with solid skills and knowledge in International Financial Reporting Standards to develop questions ("items") on IFRS for the Uniform CPA Examination. To qualify, volunteers must have a current CPA license or comparable internationally recognized credential, a minimum of three years of experience as a licensed professional, and expertise in the application of IFRS. Volunteers may not be affiliated with any Uniform CPA Examination review course. Workshops conducted via Web conference (approximately 90 minutes) will provide instruction on item development. Volunteers then will submit a few items to AICPA Examinations Team staff for review and feedback, so that they can independently develop a minimum of 15 items in prescribed areas. If interested, send a resume or curriculum vitae to rwarias@aicpa.org.
$2,000 sponsorships offered for AICPA financial planning credential program
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 03, 2009
If you are a tax practitioner who wants to build your service offerings and strengthen your knowledge in the areas of estate, tax, retirement, investment and risk-management planning, consider attending the 2009 Personal Financial Specialist Credential program in Dallas on Dec. 7 through 10. Day one kicks off with an exam, and days two through four comprise a case study that will help you put financial planning solutions to work as well as articulate the suggested planning methods to your clients. Exam self-study materials and registration to the exam and case study are available for purchase through the AICPA store. Apply for a $2,000 sponsorship to cover the registration fee and some of your travel costs by Nov. 15 (AICPA and Personal Financial Planning section membership required).
Free Nov. 5 webcast on preparing for changes to Form 5500
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 02, 2009
The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration will host a free webcast on Nov. 5 to help employers, plan administrators and service providers prepare for changes to the Form 5500 and electronic filing requirement that begin with the 2009 plan year filings. An important part of the discussion will focus on the Schedule C and the impact on 403(b) plans. In addition, EBSA staff will discuss the new ERISA Filing Acceptance System -- known as EFAST2. Visit EBSA's Web site and click on "Getting Ready for 2009 Form 5500 and Electronic Filing, Part III Webcast" under Compliance Workshops and Webcasts. Registration is required.
Federal Trade Commission delays "Red Flags" rule until June 1, 2010
CPA Letter Daily | Nov 02, 2009
On Oct. 30, the Federal Trade Commission announced it was delaying enforcement of its "Red Flags" rule until June 1, 2010, for financial institutions and creditors subject to the FTC. The action was in response to a request from Congress, which was encouraged to pursue the delay by numerous organizations, including the AICPA and many state CPA societies. The AICPA is continuing to seek an exemption for CPAs and CPA firms before the rule takes effect next year. The "Red Flags" rule requires "creditors" or "financial institutions" with covered accounts to have programs to assist in identifying a potential identity theft. Enforcement of the rule was scheduled to have become effective on Sunday, Nov. 1.
AICPA PFP Center offers free estate-planning resources
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 30, 2009
The AICPA PFP Center and the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils sponsored Web seminars in September and October to arm CPAs, attorneys and their clients with advice and materials to draw attention to the important need to update estate and financial plans sooner rather than later. The first of the two seminars, led by Sidney Kess with a panel of experts from around the country, was positioned to practitioners and the second was tailored to clients and consumers. Click here to access the outlines, client templates and related Web seminar recordings.
CPA firm identity theft prevention program guidance released
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 29, 2009
With the Federal Trade Commission's "Red Flags" rule becoming effective on Nov. 1, the AICPA's Information Technology Center recently published a free guide for members on developing and maintaining a CPA Firm Identity Theft Prevention Program. The "Red Flags" rule requires "creditors" or "financial institutions" with covered accounts to have programs to assist in identifying a potential identity theft. Read the guide.
CFPA legislation recognizes CPAs' advice and counsel on financial issues
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 28, 2009
The House Financial Services Committee chaired by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., last week approved financial regulatory reform legislation that could have affected CPAs and CPAs who do financial planning. The Consumer Financial Protection Act (H.R. 3126) was approved by the committee by a 39-29 vote. The AICPA's Congressional Affairs Team successfully advocated on behalf of all CPAs and won House lawmakers' recognition of the valuable advice and counsel that CPAs give Americans on financial issues. The committee bill, which now goes to the full House of Representatives for a likely vote this fall, provides a specific exclusion for CPAs. "The AICPA supports the general goal of improving consumer financial protections in the wake of the subprime crisis," said AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon, CPA. "We are pleased the legislation includes a clear recognition by Congress that CPAs are already appropriately regulated in the public interest and that subjecting CPAs to regulation under the proposed agency would be unnecessary." A summary is available on the committee's Web site.
Free Web seminar for AICPA members: The CPA's Role in Planning for Roth IRA Conversions in 2009
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 27, 2009
Although the $100,000 modified adjusted gross income limitation will be lifted for Roth IRA conversions in 2010, tax professionals should consider advising clients to take action before the end of 2009. The expiration of the Bush administration tax cuts, coupled with the possibility of a health care surtax, may result in a significant increase in federal income tax rates. Such rate increases would make it costlier to convert in subsequent years, creating a critical and time-sensitive opportunity for taxpayers to strategize to meet adjusted gross income requirements and convert in 2009. Register now for this Web seminar on Nov. 4, 1 to 2:30 p.m. ET. AICPA members attend for free without optional CPE (discounted CPE available to PFP/PFS members).
Client Advisory Board tool kit released for small, regional CPA firms
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 27, 2009
Interested in improving your client service? The Private Companies Practice Section can help small and regional firms increase client retention, cross-sell services and land new clients all at the same time. The Client Advisory Board tool kit allows PCPS member firms to gain feedback directly from clients about how to fulfill client expectations. To learn more and browse a preview of the tool kit, click here. PCPS member firms can access the tool kit now.
Registration for AICPA's 2009 ABV exam ends Oct. 31; review with self-study course
CPA Letter Daily | Oct 26, 2009
This year's exam window for the AICPA's Accredited in Business Valuation Credential is scheduled for Nov. 9 through Dec. 12. Registration for new registrants is $400 and is open until Oct. 31. To register online, click here. Prepare for the ABV Exam with the new, convenient self-study option. E-mail questions to abv@aicpa.org or call 888-777-7077, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
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