PAPEROR PLASTIC?
Financial Responsibility and Consumer Debt
Plus
Tax Implications of ForecWatch out —
that next step is risky.
Are you prepared to take
the next step in your career?
You know how to identify
risks in your daily life.
Why haven’t you done
the samC ONTENTS
september 2008
22 Accounting & Auditing
? Accounting
Classifying Considerations Given by a Vendor to
a Customer: WhereAnnual Financial Planning Issue
PAPEROR PLASTIC?
Financial Responsibility and Consumer Debt
Plus
Tax Implications of Forec
Watch out —
that next step is risky.
Are you prepared to take
the next step in your career?
You know how to identify
risks in your daily life.
Why haven’t you done
the sam
C ONTENTS
september 2008
22 Accounting & Auditing
? Accounting
Classifying Considerations Given by a Vendor to
a Customer: Where
vol. LXXVIII/no. 9
6PERSPECTIVES
16INFOCUS
6 Perspectives
The New 401(k) Landscape:
How Plan Sponsors Can Adapt
P
Publisher
LOUIS GRUMET
Associate Publisher
JOANNE S. BARRY
Manager of Publications
DANIEL CHILLAK
Art Director
LARRY MATTHEWS
Senior Designer
ERNESTO LAR
P ERSPECTIVES
employee benefit plans
The New 401(k) Landscape:
How Plan Sponsors Can Adapt
By Frank Armstrong III
A
recent U.S. Supreme Court case held that
publisher's column
Let's Learn to Walk…
… Before Running to International Standards
Fepdeteirtaiolnofafnicdiaelcsohnaovmeicitgeldobgalolibzatlioconmas-
the impetus in the mo
(Continued from page 6) obligation, however, applies to more than
Costs. Because it is never advisable to just the plan sponsor. It extends all the way
waste ben
deals with an individual's right to sue, the
very broad language of the ruling helps
bolster any case citing fiduciary breach.
Today, word spreads at the speed of the
Internet. When an employee
announcement
CPE ON THE GO!
StJaurltyin,gAwugituhstt,haendthiSrdepqteumarbter oisfsu2e0s0,8i,nitpriisntposrsoibnleinteo, tehaern gCoPEto cwrewdwits.cwpahjeonurynoalu.croemadaTnhdefoCllPo
When Accounting
Finally Becomes
Global
By Jeffrey C. Thomson
W itnhginatnhedlfaisnta5n0cyeeaprso, ftheessaicocnouhnats-
essentially been reinvented. Advances in
technology hav
be helpful in reducing the complexity of
financial reporting.
Too often, the attention of regulators,
including FASB and the SEC, is focused
on the needs of large corporations that have
the re
SAVE THE DATE!
Investment Companies
Conference
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Offering in-depth coverage of the current issues
in the investment indu
book review
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a
Personal Financial Planner
By John P. Napolitano, CFP, CPA, PFS, MST
Published by Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group
(USA
Focus
In
16
Paper
or Plastic?
CPAs Can Educate College Students on Responsible Credit Card Use
By Michael J.R. Hoffman, Karen S. McKenzie, and Susan Paris
T he growing credit crisis in the United
with a large debt burden is an obvious
problem. Few students leave college with
a plan for paying off their debt. Many
students also do not realize that with a
bad credit rating, finding a job or
lucrative contracts have been used to fund
financial literacy/credit card education or
debt consolidation programs.” Manning
urged that efforts dedicated to marketing
credit cards on campus should
web-based information, as well as a wide
variety of financial seminars throughout the
state with its partners in business (see
www.wicpa.org/financialliteracy/
financialliteracy.htm). While the AI
The Pace MS in Taxation.
On your schedule.
Ideally suited for the
working professional.
5IF.BTUFSPG4DJFODFJO5BYBUJPO1SPHSBNBU1BDF6OJWFSTJUZµT-VCJO4DIPPMPG#VTJOFTT
PGGFS
A CCOUNTING & AUDITING
accounting
Classifying Considerations Given
by a Vendor to a Customer
Where Do They Be
Issues Task Force (EITF) has issued guid-
ance over the past few years that address-
es the income statement classification,
timing of recognition, and measurement
of the consideration in various
EXHIBIT 2
Illustrative Example: Expense Classification
SoRfetwseallrerCompanyC(R(eCs-eSlolefrt).sReellsevllaeriothuesnprsoedlluscthseisneitpsrosduuitectsoftosoeftnwda-
is either cash or “other than cash” is flawed
because it is form-based. In certain sce-
narios this could lead to transactions struc-
tured to gain a perceived advantageous
accounting treatment. F
A CCOUNTING & AUDITING
accounting
Valuation of Hedge Funds
Moving Toward Greater Standardization
By Harvey Poniachek
T he term hedge fund, as generally
defined,
different investment styles or strategies and
different assets. Ideally, valuation could be
done by valuing each specific asset (or lia-
bility) and then aggregating them to yield
the fund's total
third-party vendor pricing services to value
complex or illiquid assets, whereas rela-
tively few use either proprietary or pur-
chased pricing models (Deloitte Financial
Services, “Precautions Th
funds pursue and the inherent difficulty in
valuing complex, illiquid, or distressed
financial instruments for which market
quotes are unavailable.
In recognizing that hedge funds vary con-
s
A CCOUNTING & AUDITING
sec practice
Complying with the SEC's Compensation
Discussion and Analysis Requirements
By Gerry Grant
T
he latest SEC regulation fo
? Include discussions about how one ele-
ment of the compensation package relates
to other elements of the compensation
package.
? Identify material differences that exist in
compensation pol
be adjusted up or down to reflect addi-
tional quantitative and qualitative factors,
such as total shareholder return, employ-
ee satisfaction measures and strategic posi-
tioning relative to comp
T AXATION
tax planning
Tax Consequences of Home Sales
and Foreclosures
Making the Best of a Bad Situation
By Mark A. Segal, Bruce M. Bird, and
Barbara Leonard
I n many area
the last five years. It is not necessary for
the taxpayer's period of ownership and use
to be coextensive.
Example. Sam and Diane Miller are
married and file a joint return. As lessees,
they p
ferred to another city by his employer, and
the Smiths sold their principal residence
for $350,000.
The maximum exclusion that will be
allowed to the Smiths is $125,000, which
equals $500,000—
`Project Lifeline'
Recently, the U.S. Department of the
Treasury announced that six mortgage-ser-
vicers representing 50% of the mortgage
market will be participating in “Project
Lifeline.” Un
property is successful, the taxpayer's expens-
es will be deductible for adjusted gross
income (AGI).
Examples of deductible expenses include,
but are not limited to, depreciation, man-
ageme
WHEN YOUR CREDITS OUTWEIGH YOUR DEBITS,
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN.
You have a successful practice, stable clients, talented sta and CAMICO. You can look to the future because our
professional liabil
T AXATION
federal taxation
Tax Planning Rules for Ministers
By Ted D. Englebrecht and
Jonathan A. Cameron
Ministers are individuals who have
devoted their lives to teachi
1. The court's decision was in conflict
with the specific language of the regulations
because it required all five conditions to be
met. In 1989, the court refined its position
(Knight v. Comm'r,
long as the proper procedures discussed above
are followed. There may be some cases
where the housing allowance represents near-
ly all of a minister's compensation, especially
in areas where the
the full-time requirement, and the right of
the employer to discharge the minister.
Upon application of these tests, most min-
isters will be considered employees for fed-
eral tax purposes.
? The expenses must have a business con-
nection. These expenses must be incurred
by the minister while performing services
as an employee of the organization.
? The minister must provide adeq
by the IRS. Bennett's 2002 ministerial
income was not exempt from self-employ-
ment taxes.
Other Tax Snares to Avoid
Example: Tithing Expenses. Bradley
Pixley was an ordained Baptist ministe
T AXATION
estate planning
Life Insurance Is Now Taxable?
Pension Protection Act Adds IRC Section 101(j)
By David Weinstock
A
s a general rule, life insu
director, a highly compensated employ-
ee, or a highly compensated individual
(as defined).
? Beneficiary exceptions: intended to
exclude common arrangements where
someone other than
F INANCE
personal financial planning
Social Security Planning:
Emphasis on Married Couples
By Neal R. VanZante and
Ralph B. Fritzsch
T he United States currently has a
s
receiving benefits and that he will wait until
he is 70 (“Waiting on Social Security
Benefits Can Pay Dividends,” Chicago
Tribune, February 3, 2008). This reversal
is based on more recent studies
der. As a general rule, because the average
woman's life expectancy is longer than the
average man's life expectancy, women will
benefit more than men from delaying the
start of their Social Secur
added to the amount that must be returned,
however, and any federal income taxes
paid on the Social Security benefits over
the years are refundable. (See IRS
Publication 915 for details about how
M ANAGEMENT
practice management
Internal Control at Private
Companies and Nonprofits
Using SOX to Your Advantage
By Chris Jeffrey
S
hould the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
ket seemed to applaud those companies
that were “strengthening” their internal
controls. Conversely, financial restatements
due to breakdowns in internal controls rose
drastically, creating additi
ing. With the implementation of SASs
104–111 (commonly referred to as the risk
assessment standards), external auditors
will be placing more scrutiny on the
internal controls of all organizations,
AIG Elite Global PlusSM and AIG Elite Global SurvivorSM
Global Indexing,
revealed
The Evolution of Index Universal Life Insurance
AIG American General intro
M ANAGEMENT
management tools
The Importance of Listening Skills
in Tax Preparation
By Steven Golen and David H. Lynch
T
o a tax practitioner, the ab
Discussion
Recognition of these factors is the first
step toward improvement in the listening
process. The “preoccupied” factor
shows that tax practitioners tend to
focus their attention away
determine whether they have been accu-
rately understood. They could say some-
thing similar to this: “As I understand
it, this is what I think you are saying …”
Such a response could significantl
the recipients to determine if pertinent
data were excluded.
? Have staff listen to a speaker on video-
tape and identify words used to slant lis-
teners' attitudes.
? Have staff make a list
R ESPONSIBILITIES & LEADERSHIP
education
What Are Students Taught in
International Accounting Courses?
The Need for Global Education in U.S. Classrooms
By Bert J. Zarb and
cult to implement, because courses are
already packed with information and not all
textbooks cover international issues. Authors
have also stressed that it is more crucial to
determine what topics
in international accounting courses. Most
U.S. universities were integrating interna-
tional accounting in intermediate and
advanced courses. The topics identified as
important by accounting pract
causes of international differences, where
42% of respondents reported spending
more than an hour on this issue.
Accounting development in the global
economy and accounting measurements
and
information systems, international treasury cal methods employed by respondents
management, and business failure classifi- and the average class time devoted to each.
cation models. More tha
ing of international accounting were a lack
of emphasis on international accounting in
doctoral programs and a lack of faculty
expertise. Nearly all of the respondents have
PhDs, and all are appar
T ECHNOLOGY
the cpa and the computer
Using Automated Identity
and Access Management Controls
Protecting a Network Against Insider Attacks
By George R. Aldhizer III,
Pa
Automating business process controls,
including IAM, is critical, because organi-
zations produce vast amounts of data annu-
ally. While the amount of organizational data
doubles every 12 to 18
tion and cutting-edge physical security con-
trols can be applied. In the future, it can
be automatically tagged as it is created or
as it enters the database and is automati-
cally transferred to
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) for finan-
cial institutions, the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
for healthcare providers, and Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) enforcement
mated link between the centralized HR
system and the automated IAM system
on the date of termination. The automat-
ed IAM system leaves a complete “foot-
print” of all accounts created by appli-
One strategy is to only apply auto-
mated IAM controls to an organiza-
tion's most sensitive data, such as intel-
lectual property; personal information,
including customer and HR data; and cer
T ECHNOLOGY
what to bookmark
Website of the Month:
NewRetirement
By Susan B. Anders
N
ew Retirement LLC uses its web-
site www.newretiremen
tages and disadvantages. A substantial
section on retirement risks contains
thought-provoking discussions and
statistics.
The left side of the retirement news main
page provides an index of n
Classified PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITY l BUSINESS l TAX CONSULTANCY l LEGAL l MARKETING l EDUCATION
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E CONOMIC & MARKET D ATA
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Forté Capital's Selected Statistics
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E DITORIAL
a message from the editor-in-chief
“If You Find Yourself in a Hole …”
“… Stop Digging!”
T
he collapse of the subprime mort-
gage market in
Zmags improved online publishingThe CPA Journal - September 2008
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