Learn Best Practices, Changes in Schedule Cs and 1120s, How to Overcome Client Price-Sensitivity, Ways to Enhance Health and Energy, & More CPA Trendlines publishes its Top 10 most-read articles on tax season so far this year. More:
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Discovery should focus on the technologies storing data Karl Epps explains how technology has changed in the last year, and what impact those changes have had on current and future standards for digital evidence.
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Valuation Discounts, What the Interest Owners See, and What a Direct Owner Sees What sort of discounts apply to pass-through entities? Rand Curtiss helps clarify, looking at investment characteristics, investment profiles, and the interaction of these elements. He draws four conclusions. Find out what they are here.
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There Are Different Standards. They Have Different Places in Various Appraisals. Here’s Why. Jim Hitchner considers various responses to the query: “When valuing an operating company, is it necessary to mention USPAP in addition to SSVS 1 when talking about the standards adhered to?” Good question. There were lots of answers from various valuators in a recent discussion. Here’s Jim’s take on it all.
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A Growing Willingness to Adopt a Largely Untested Payment Model Amid Increased Pressure to Curb Spending Melanie Evans at Modern Physician reports that two large Texas health systems with Medicare accountable care contracts are among the latest to enter into commercial ACOs in deals that suggest a growing willingness to adopt the largely untested payment model amid increasing pressure on providers and payers to curb health spending. More:
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You Can Now Follow the IRS on Twitter, Like it on Facebook, View Updates on YouTube, and Connect on LinkedIn Michael Cohn at Accounting Today reports at the Internal Revenue Service has joined the popular microblogging service Tumblr, expanding the IRS’s array of social media networks.
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Many Physicians Find Personalized Service is Increasingly Popular Among Patients Elizabth O’Brien at CBS Marketwatch writes that plenty of baby boomers have done the math on so-called “concierge” medicine (also known as “boutique,” “personalized” or “private physician” practices) and deemed the investment worthy. In the typical concierge experience, a primary-care doctor accepts insurance for routine services but also charges a non-reimbursable fee that pays for amenities like 24/7 access to the doctor, same-day appointments, longer appointment times and a greater degree of personalized attention. The annual fee for such practices currently averages about $1,800. More:
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Tips Medical Professionals Can Use to Face the Public with Confidence Sue Jacques at Physicians Practice reports: Being a skilled medical professional doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re comfortable speaking in public, especially when it comes to talking to a group of peers. If the mere thought of addressing even a small audience causes your knees to knock, you’re not alone. This universal anxiety is provoked by a number of factors, including lack of experience, poor preparation, and discomfort being the center of attention. Effective verbal communication is essential for personal and professional success, yet getting your messages across clearly can…
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Considering Technology, Integration, and the Future Clint Boulton at the WSJ CIO Journal reports: Research in Motion Ltd. Wednesday [tomorrow] is introducing two smartphones based on its new BlackBerry 10 operating system software, giving CIOs yet another platform to consider supporting at a time when consumers are bringing in their own smartphones to use at work. CIOs are skeptical about the uncertainty surrounding RIM’s ability to continue to compete against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which, thanks in large part to the BYOD phenomenon, have eroded the Waterloo, Ontario-based smartphone maker’s share of the corporate market for mobile…
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The Wall Street Journal Recounts What the IRS Advises: Moves to Make as April Grows Near April deadlines may not be that far way, but some Americans still haven’t even rounded up their W2s, the Wall Street Journal noted in a (just-before-deadline) filing last year. Acknowledging the tax procrastination is a national pastime, the Internal Revenue Service issued some tips and a series of videos to help last-minute filers avoid the common blunders that could delay their returns. Here is a look at the most common errors:
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With Limited Resources, the SEC is Using a “Risk Analytics” Strategy to Target Areas of Concern, Explains Exec at Conference Recent examinations of newly SEC-registered private equity firms is helping regulators understand the complex world of private equity, according to delegates and speakers at PEI’s CFOs and COOs Forum 2013 in New York, writes Nicholas Donato at Private Equity Manager. More:
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Watch Out for Decreases in Communication, Respect, and Aspiration; Increases in Isolation, Negativity, Rifts. Good News? It Can Be Cured. Rosabeth Moss Kantor asks on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network: How do you know a team, company, or country is on the slippery slope of decline and needs a culture shift? She writes that she found nine universal warning signs of change-in-the-wrong direction in research for my book Confidence, which compared downward spirals with the momentum of success. Watching out for these behaviors is the first step toward building better habits:
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Deal Activity Will Likely See a Surge in 2013 if a Meaningful Deficit-Reduction Compromise Can Be Reached Wallace Witkowski at Marketwatch reported in mid-December that deal activity will likely see a surge in 2013 if a meaningful deficit-reduction compromise can be reached. Otherwise the market will remain stunted as it was in the past year. Democrats and Republicans didn’t come to a full agreement by year end, or even early January, but the fact that it’s still possible within weeks and months allows his prediction to stand:
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The Tax Court Speaks Loudly and Firmly on the Responsibilities of Business Appraisers Hempstead & Co. has published “Estate of Gallagher is a Valuation Tutorial.” The article emphasizes the importance of providing the court with a clear and convincing explanation of the assumptions and arguments you have employed in carrying out a business appraisal. It discusses the recent Tax Court Memorandum opinion in the Estate of Gallagher v. Commissioner, (TC Memo. 2011-148). The court’s valuation was closest to the value on the return as filed.
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The “Market” is Not Always Right When it Comes to Value, Especially in M&A Transactions The mergers and acquisitions market began a slow recovery this last year after a sharp downturn in 2009. Was the slowdown caused by banks reducing lending activity, cash hoarding by businesses, economic uncertainty, or the simple failure of buyers and seller to agree upon price? Michael Blake takes a look at how value is variously defined—“fair market value,” “fair value,” “investment value,” and “market value”—and offers an assessment of what may prove to be the primary market M&A activity drivers going forward.
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The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday struck down the IRS’s registered tax return preparer program and enjoined it from enforcing the regulations Alistair M. Nevius at the Journal of Accountancy reports that a federal district court has struck down the Internal Revenue Service’s registered tax return preparer program as exceeding the IRS’ statutory authority. The court granted summary judgment to three tax return preparers who had sued, claiming they would lose revenue and perhaps be forced out of business by the rules. The court enjoined the IRS from enforcing the regulations:
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Some Schools Cut Hours of Hard-Pressed Adjuncts to Avoid Rules on Insurance Mark Peters and Douglas Belkin at the Wall Street Journal report that the federal health-care overhaul is prompting some colleges and universities to cut the hours of adjunct professors, renewing a debate about the pay and benefits of these freelance instructors who handle a significant share of teaching at U.S. higher-education institutions:
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SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law — Top 10 Papers Downloaded Nov-January Include Pieces on Valuation Discounting, Tax-Deductible Conservation Easements, and More The Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog reports the top downloads from November 21, 2012 to January 20, 2013 from the SSRN Journal of Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law for all papers announced in the last 60 days. Here are the top four. Visit the blog to see the rest.
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Sweet Tax Deductions for Individuals That Often Get Forgotten With October 15 behind us and April 15 still comfortably far away, it’s a good time to start boning up on ways to save your clients money once things start getting serious. With that in mind, Bankrate.com identified 10 great deductions that individual taxpayers should use – but often forget. Accounting Today passes on the good news. Here’s the list:
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Rule Will Require a Second Appraisal in Situations Where a Home is Being Flipped for a Quick, Higher Resale A new rule passed Jan. 15 gives mortgage lenders an additional year to institute appraisal standards for higher-risk loans, Bloomberg reported, and Appraiser News Online highlighted. The extension is one of the revisions that regulators made to the Dodd-Frank Act to address concerns from financial firms. Appraiser News Online explains that: