Use Big Data to Improve Performance Using big data to inform business decisions can give organizations an edge over their competitors, IBM Vice President Paul Zikopoulos said Tuesday at the AICPA's spring council meeting.  Ken Tysiac, JofA editorial director, describes how to start integrating data analytics into your plans. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: IBM Big Data Expert ...

Data Analysis Skills Lacking Among Finance Teams Better training and better hiring practices can help organizations make up for a skills gap related to data analysis.  Keeping pace with rapid changes in technology is a cause of concern amongst CFOs.  So, too, is talent management—finding good talent, keeping it, and nurturing it.  Neil Amato, CGMA Magazine senior editor, explains. To read the full article i ...

CPA Firms Evolving in a Changing Marketplace Technology, specialization, succession issues, and other factors are combining to change the marketplace for CPA firms.  Ken Tysiac, JofA editorial director, explains how focusing on culture, talent, and clients can help firms evolve along with the changes. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: How CPA Firms can Evolve for Continued Success. ...

(Part I of VII) FRE 702 is the law that federal judge’s must abide by when assessing expert testimony for admissibility. This article gives brief overview of the three leading Supreme Court cases that ultimately influenced the amendment to FRE 702. ...

Could that Opinion Survive a Daubert Challenge? (Part II) This is the second article of a three-part article. Part I provided background for this thought exercise and identified the size of the hole that the 76ers had to climb out of to make the playoffs. Part II addresses the path an expert might take to arrive at his or her opinion. This part of the article has two objectives. First, it attempts to use a ...

Fed Bolsters its Focus on Financial Stability The Federal Reserve has expanded its financial-policy office to include the Division of Financial Stability in an attempt to spot vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system.  "The change reflects the growth in responsibilities and staffing associated with the board's commitment to identifying and analyzing risks to financial stability and to developing and eva ...

PCAOB Proposes Revised Changes to Auditor's Reporting Model The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board voted Wednesday to propose revised changes to a standard that would modify the auditor's reporting model to give investors more information.  Ken Tysiac, JofA editorial director, discusses that the proposal comes in response to comments from the public. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy ...

Dell Inc. engaged in a management buyout (“MBO”) in October 2013 that effectively took the Company private, leaving Michael Dell in control (75% of its stock) with a financial sponsor (25% of its stock).  This week, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Court of Chancery filed an opinion in In Re: Appraisal of Dell Inc. determining the fair value of the dissenters’ shares.  This post looks to see ...

Part 1: The Income Tax Treatment of Personal Economic Damages Awards Financial experts are frequently asked about the tax impact of damage awards, both paid and received. The complexities of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) and judicial interpretations thereof make determining the taxability of receipts or payments difficult. The same is true when dealing with the taxability of economic damages awarded to ...

Could that Opinion Survive a Daubert Challenge? (Part I) This article is comprised of three parts. Part I provides background for this thought exercise and identifies the size of the hole the 76ers had to climb out of to make the playoffs. Part II will address the path an expert might take to arrive at his or her opinion. Part III will address the implications of this thought exercise on valuation-related D ...

Don't Let Clients Fall into This Social Security Tax Trap Social Security recipients may face disproportionately high tax rates because of the way the IRS calculates income with respect to Social Security.  So-called combined income includes adjusted gross income as well as tax-free income, half of Social Security income and some add-ons.  Paul Norr, certified financial planner with Bucks County Financial P ...

U.S. Dollar's Dominance Seen Compounding Global Debt Problem The biggest-ever burden of peacetime debt worldwide, paired with the U.S. dollar's sustained role as the dominant currency, is raising concern about what will happen when interest rates finally rise.  Mike Dolan explains that the main problem is that the dollar denominates that debt pile. To read the full article in Reuters, click: Why Being the K ...

Using Crowdsourcing to Perfect a Business Idea Some startup businesses are using crowdsourcing services to gather input from a large number of people and test their ideas and business strategies.  This can be a wise strategy, as the best ideas may come from outsiders, said Elizabeth Gerber of Northwestern University. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: Crowdsourcing to Get Ideas, and Perh ...

While observers appear to be increasingly worried about the proliferating use of non-GAAP measures, a useful debate on non-GAAP measures would probably focus on the nature of their presentation within various disclosures rather than whether or not they should be outlawed altogether.  Sujan Rajbhandary, vice president, senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, explains. To read t ...

Tips for Expert Witnesses (and Legal Counsel) from a Litigation Strategist Expert witnesses need to prepare, but what other factors may help the expert win-over the jury? Wendy Pearson, a seasoned litigation strategist, shares her views on this subject. ...

Studies in the Closely Held Company Valuation (Part II of II) In the first part of this two-part discussion, the author identified six transaction risk factors attempting to sell a controlling (including 100 percent) interest in a closely held company. Those included: 1) an uncertain time horizon to complete the offering or sale; 2) “Make ready” accounting, legal, and other costs to prepare for and execute ...

Why Clients Need to Discuss End-of-Life Care Baby boomers are at the forefront of the conversation around end-of-life planning, which should include discussing end-of-life treatments with family members and physicians, and designating health care proxies.  Elizabeth O’Brien, retirement reporter, also suggests reviewing elder planning tools and resources, which includes a free consumer End of Life Guide. To ...

Rate Hike Pause is Good News for Leveraged Closed-End Funds The Federal Reserve held steady on interest rates last week, not long after Fed chief Janet Yellen indicated officials would "proceed cautiously."  This could benefit leveraged closed-end funds.  These funds tend to be more volatile than other financial products, Binyamin Appelbaum explains, but they may be a smart investment for people with a long ...

How to Prepare for the Lease Accounting Standard The new lease accounting standard could have a significant impact on companies' balance sheets after it takes effect.  Chris Hatten, CPA, and Nicole Riley, CPA, with PKF Texas discuss five things companies can do to prepare. To read the full article in the Houston Business Journal, click: 5 Things to Consider Under the New Lease Accounting Standards. ...

Estate of Morrissette v. Commissioner, 146 T.C. No. 11 (April 13, 2016) The Tax Court’s ruling in Morrissette is very important to the estate planning community, in that, intergenerational split-dollar life insurance arrangements have become much more popular since the IRS released its final split-dollar regulations in 2003. Yet, widespread use of this technique has been suppressed by uncertainty with respe ...