A New Twist for Job Seekers

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Unemployed Individuals can increase their attractiveness to prospective employers by knowing about  certain tax breaks that employers can secure by hiring them. One group , National Tax Credit Group, LLC, is promoting this advantage by creating a “Tax Credit Card” which they issue to prospective employees after screening them for hiring credit eligibility. This article… Read more »

Bond Rating Under Fire

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Video Updates.

E-mails and other documents were presented as evidence at a hearing examining the causes of the financial crisis on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2010.  This hearing is part of an 18-month investigation by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Senator Carl Levin. Subcommittee assertions are that the rating agencies were well aware… Read more »

A Virtual Marketplace for Accountants

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Launched in late April 2010, CPAbidding.com provides a new way for individuals and businesses to find and retain CPA-related services. This new Web site is free to use and helps connect individuals and businesses with CPAs. The goal of the service is to provide a more efficient and less expensive option for finding and hiring… Read more »

Frequent Flyer Miles

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If the merger is approved, United Airlines and Continental Airlines will also be merging their frequent flyer programs.  But what is their track record in terms of rewarding the miles versus actual requests?  Consulting group, IdeaWorks Company, said Continental awarded free tickets 71 percent of the time in response to requests, and United 69 percent… Read more »

If You Are Planning to Work for Grant Thornton in Hawaii, Think Again.

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, Advanced Accounting, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton is leaving the Hawaiian market this summer after more than 50 years, and selling its practice to two of the firm’s audit partners from the Honolulu office.  Several  established Big Four firms have preceded Grant Thornton in this exodus, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, who left in 2006 after 55 years. Questions: 1. What… Read more »

FASB Sued for Intellectual Property Infringement

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Joel Jameson, the founder of Silicon Economics, Inc. is suing the FASB.  He filed for a patent for his invention called “EarningsPower Accounting,” and claims that the FASB has infringed upon the patent.  Jameson claims that his invention is a patented method developed by the company to improve the accuracy, validity, and usefulness of financial… Read more »

Tighter Regulations on Swipe Fees

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On May 13, 2010, retailers won a victory over the fees they pay to banks for credit cards. An amendment by Sen. Richard J. Durbin is just one more element of the financial regulation overhaul currently underway the Senate.  The measure allows stores to give customers discounts for paying with cash or using cards with cheaper… Read more »

Reform Bill Targets Credit Raters

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Intermediate Accounting, Uncategorized, Video Updates.

On Thursday, May 13, 2010, the U.S. Senate  took steps to overhaul the credit-rating agency business, which is widely maligned for its role in the 2007-2009 financial crisis.  An amendment by Democratic Senator Al Franken passed for a government clearinghouse to be set up to assign debt rating duties to agencies, with federal regulators developing… Read more »

The Costs and Benefits of Simultaneous Audits for Multinational Companies

Posted by & filed under Accounting Principles, All Articles, Auditing, Cost Accounting, Financial Accounting, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Financial Statement Analysis, Fraud Accounting, IFRS, Intermediate Accounting, International Accounting, Managerial Accounting.

Simultaneous audits mean two separate exams, conducted by different governments, in which those governments share with each other some of the taxpayer’s information.  Even though you may not have heard of them, they have existed since the 1970s, but are becoming more common today as government tax agencies race to match the level of global… Read more »

Sarbanes-Oxley Benefits without Cost

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Many have debated the cost of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) versus its benefits, given the recent accounting scandals that continue to “pile on”. However, according to Harvard Business School professor, Francois Brochet, the little discussed 2002 provision known as Section 403 is actually making a difference for investors and small companies (and with little cost, unlike some… Read more »