Top Vote-Getters Include Fed Honchos, Private Sector Leaders, and Association Chief  Who’s the most important person in Accounting?  Is it Leslie Seidman (Chairman of the FASB), Hans Hoogervorst (Chairman of the IASB), or Douglas Shulman (Commissioner, IRS)?   Or instead, might it be James Doty (PCAOB Chair), Mary Shapiro (SEC), or even an as-yet-unnamed person—our next president?  Or someone else entirely? ...

Fraud's History is Impressive: From Over-the-Counter Cure-Alls to Florida Real Estate and Musical Talent Fraud The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners has built up a choice collection of fraud souvenirs under founder and chairman Dr. Joseph T. Wells. Visit the Accounting Today site to see  some of the most notable pieces, which include Bernie Madoff’s cigar box, an Enron stock certificate, a Nigerian F ...

Roger Russell recaps the decision at Accounting Today. The Tax Court, in a recent summary opinion, ruled that an individual did not have cancellation of debt income in the year that a collection agency issued him a Form 1099-C and stopped its automated collection efforts. The IRS determined a deficiency in David Stewart’s 2008 income tax of $2,138, based on a Form 1099-C issued by the collection agency. The ...

Ace Accounting Today reporter Danielle Lee may well have feared decadence, aggressive and overly-medicated groupies, atonal experimentation, psychedelics, and really bad rhyme.  But she braved the challenges and took on the story in any case, and it turned out to be pretty cool:  An all-CPA band rocked tax day, performing a long set of classic rock during their annual End of Season Tax Bash in a Connecticut ...

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 Boar ...

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. ...

Congress Could Pass Online Sales Tax Legislation This Year Are you used to buying stuff on Amazon.com and not paying tax?   Lots of business owners are doing it too. And that might change.  At Accounting Today,  Roger Russell offers an update: The impact of the economic downturn has been felt particularly hard at the state level, with many states operating under a deficit. Since taxes based on income don’t ...

Fraud and the Family Business: It’s Not So Unusual The dynamics of a family-owned business are like no other, writes Robert Rothbort at Accounting Today.   There's usually a great atmosphere of trust. But that can leave family businesses uniquely vulnerable to fraud.  Here are some common schemes: • “Ghost” employees. The family member overseeing payroll creates “ghost” employees that do not exist and arran ...

FASB Proposes Changes in Investment Accounting Michael Cohen reports at Accounting Today: The Financial Accounting Standards Board has released two proposed accounting standards updates to clarify the criteria for investment company accounting and develop guidance for investment property accounting. The proposed update for investment company accounting stems from the efforts of FASB and the International Ac ...

CPA Exam Launched at International Test Sites Michael Cohn at Accounting Today reports: The U.S. CPA Exam was successfully administered at four international test sites: Japan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. The American Institute of CPAs, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and Prometric said Monday that candidates took exams at the four locations abroad on Augus ...

Alphabet Soup AccountingToday's Danielle Lee writes that "A growing roster of professional designations fosters credential-mania," among CPAs, and devotes an article to surveying some of the most popular credentials today, including those from NACVA: The CVA. The National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts' CVA credential does require a CPA license, along with coursework and an exam. Establishe ...