Zach Epstein shares the scoop at BGR: Samsung has accused Apple of calling expert witnesses that exhibit “slavish adoration” to the company during an ongoing patent trial between the two consumer electronics giants. As noted by patent expert Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, court documents filed by Samsung in California seek to exclude testimony made by a number of Apple’s expert witnesses on the grounds that they were biased. “Apple’s damages expert, Terry L. Musika, writes in his report that ‘Apple has built a considerable and at times a cult-like following to all things Apple,’ ” Samsung’s attorneys wrote in a court filing, according…
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New private company council includes FASB, but in reduced role, The Journal of Accountancy explains. “This announcement is excellent news for small businesses that have been concerned about the future of US GAAP particularly in relation to an international move toward IFRS,” adds Editor Gail Perry at AccountingWeb. Emily Chasan at the Wall Street Journal reports: The Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to establish a new Private Company Council that will create exceptions and modifications to U.S. accounting rules as they apply to private companies. The board, which oversees the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, said…
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The recession is over and entrepreneurs are looking for cash, but are banks willing to lend? The answer is a resounding yes, according to reports at OPEN Forum. OPEN Forum’s Katie Morell talks to lending and credit experts to get the tips you need to get that loan application approved. Here’s what she found out: Bankers emphasize that borrowers need to present a solid picture of their business and themselves. Here’s what they’re looking for in potential lendees. Your Posse Come into a lending meeting with your accountant or lawyer in tow to immediately establish a degree of credibility.…
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Investopedia weighs in on the pros and cons of varying approaches: Business valuation is never straightforward – for any company. For startups with little or no revenue or profits and less-than-certain futures, the job of assigning a valuation is particularly tricky. For mature, publicly listed businesses with steady revenues and earnings, normally it’s a matter of valuing them as a multiple of their earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), or based on other industry specific multiples. But it’s a lot harder to value a new venture that’s not publicly-listed and may be years away from sales. TUTORIAL: Valuing Employee Stock Options…
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You can’t hold back the demographic tide. In the U.S., another baby boomer turns 60 every eight seconds. This translates into a leadership change in the near future at many CPA firms. In an important article in the Journal of Accountancy last year, John F. Raspante, CPA, and Joseph A. Tarasco, CPA explain: Thousands of partners are at or reaching retirement age now and in the next five years, putting a tremendous strain on even the best succession plans. But age isn’t the only factor affecting the profession. Factors such as increased globalization and turmoil in the general economy causing greater competition have been analyzed…
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The AICPA’s 2011 Forensic and Valuation Services (FVS) Trend Survey finds growing demand for forensic accounting services. James Schiavone breaks it down:
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. . . or at least so opines Edi Osborne, of Mentor Plus, at CPA Trendlines. She throws in a third promise you’ve probably heard but we couldn’t fit on the subject line: “No Surprise Billing. Ever.” More: What do these three tag lines have in common? Predictability. Dominoes and Fed Ex built their entire business model on making (and keeping) an uncomplicated predictability promise to the customer. Dominoes and Fed Ex looked at their marketplace and asked one simple question, “What is your number-one frustration in dealing with pizza and package delivery?” Those frustrations were dissected and turned…
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The U.S. likely will fall back into recession if scheduled spending cuts take effect and Bush-era tax cuts are allowed to expire this year, the Congressional Budget Office said. If the U.S. falls off this “fiscal cliff,” the economy will probably contract 1.3% in the first half of 2013, the CBO said. CNN Financial Times / Alphaville New York Times NPR Reuters USA Today Wall Street Journal Yahoo! Finance Is there an upside? Depends if you like disco. Styx’s Tommy Shaw: “Around ’75 when the recession hit, club owners started going to disco because it was cheaper…
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From attempting to recast the public image of private equity to trying to forge a new investment firm, 10 individuals profiled in the June issue of Mergers & Acquisitions are making their marks on middle-market investing, Tamika Cody, Mary Kathleen Flynn and Danielle Fugazy report. From the intro: To highlight a few: Pam Hendrickson, chief operating officer of the Riverside Co. and a director of the global Association for Corporate Growth, has been spreading the word on Capitol Hill, and across the country, that private capital matters to the growth of the U.S. economy. Andrew Sheiner, a managing director…
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“With New Firepower, S.E.C. Tracks Bigger Game,” Ben Protess and Azam Ahmed report at the New York Times Dealbook. Embarrassed after missing the warning signs of the financial crisis and the Ponzi scheme of Bernard L. Madoff, the agency’s enforcement division has adopted several new — if somewhat unconventional — strategies to restore its credibility. The S.E.C. is taking its cue from criminal authorities, studying statistical formulas to trace connections, creating a powerful unit to cull tips and assign cases and even striking a deal with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to have agents embedded with the regulator. In one of the agency’s first efforts,…
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Far fewer small employers claimed the health insurance tax credit for small businesses in the health care reform law than were eligible, according to a new government report. So reports Michael Cohn at Accounting Today: The Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit was included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 as a way to help small businesses pay for the cost of health insurance. But the complexities of claiming the credit contributed to a relatively low popularity for the tax credit among both small businesses and their tax preparers. While 170,300 small employers claimed the…
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Payments an accounting firm characterized as consulting fees were really disguised dividends and should have been taxed as corporate income, the Seventh Circuit held on Thursday. The payments reduced the firm’s income to zero, and the court applied the “independent investor” test to recharacterize them as dividends paid to the firm’s owners. Alistair M. Nevius at the Journal of Accountancy, in the article Accounting firm payments to owners flunk independent investor test, reports: The Seventh Circuit held that an accounting and consulting firm organized as a C corporation could not deduct payments to related entities because they were dividends, not…
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Congressional Democrats have proposed financing student-loan legislation by expanding payroll taxes on subchapter S corporations and partnerships. The bill would levy Social Security and Medicare taxes on all business income if the firm is engaged in professional services, such as investment advice, or if 75% or more of the gross income of the firm is attributable to three or fewer shareholders. Investment News’ Mark Schoeff Jr. reports that in Washington parlance, the phrase “pay for” has become a noun, “payfor.” This term trends during the legislative process, as lawmakers seek “payfors” to offset spending or tax cuts contained in bills.…
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Over at OPENForum, Mike Periu, a Principal at EcoFin media writes: Using counterintuitive strategies in your business can be risky, but when they work the rewards can be enormous. Trying these methods can help you improve sales and profits: Preventing Theft Warehouse stores like Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s Club are very careful with their inventory management and go to great lengths to avoid shrinkage, which is a fancy way to refer to theft. One of the strategies they use is to have an employee cross check customers’ receipts with the items in their cart before they are permitted to leave the…
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Nerd’s Eye View, which provides commentary on financial planning news and developments, points out that a growing body of research shows our brains are not quite the logical, rational decision-making machines we think they are – or at least, wish they could be. Instead, our brains take shortcuts; we substitute easier questions for difficult ones, often without realizing it, and respond accordingly with our words and our actions. This can be especially problematic in the world of financial planning, where we often ask clients to make difficult decisions with limited information. As a result, questions like “what is…
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At TLNT: The Business of HR, John Hollon reports on a new nationwide survey of 174 employers by OI Partners, an organization that describes itself as “a global talent management company, renowned for its highly personalized services … (specializing) in mid-level, executive and group outplacement; executive coaching; leadership development and workforce solutions.” Being a team player (selected by 71 percent of surveyed companies): “Being part of a team has taken on a higher priority since many companies are still operating with leaner work forces and there is a greater need to accomplish goals through others” said Ford. Fully focused on satisfying customers (chosen by 68…
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The company culture you build has a major impact on how successful the business will be as it grows, writes Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert, at American Express OPENForum, a small business media hub. One of the biggest trends in the past few years is workplace flexibility. A new study by the Families and Work Institute shows that more than 75 percent of employers now offer some form of flex time. This number is up from two thirds in 2005. In addition, 63 percent of companies allow employees to work from home at least sometimes, which is up from 34 percent. Schawbel…
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Business valuation (BV) reports frequently include information presented in the form of financial statements. The reporting requirements for such financial statements have drawn increased attention as a result of the issuance of Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No. 19 (SSARS 19), Compilation and Review Engagements. The Journal of Accountancy reports: “When conforming the existing SSARSs Interpretations to SSARS 19, the Accounting and Review Services Committee decided to withdraw an interpretation related to financial information in BV reports. It has become evident, based on questions the AICPA has received, that the move sparked some confusion.” To resolve the issue,…
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Americans with employer-sponsored insurance had fewer hospital stays and visited outpatient clinics less frequently from 2009 to 2010, but prices for inpatient and outpatient care rose by about 10% or more, according to a Health Care Cost Institute analysis of more than 3 billion claims for medical care. The average price of generic drugs fell over the same period, but prices for brand-name drugs rose, the analysis found. The Washington Post opines that “Data Trove May Shed Light on Healthcare Uncertainties”: How much do hospitals and doctors actually charge insurers for their services? How much and which of those services…
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