DEXTER, MI (Thomson Corp.) – Thomson Tax & Accounting, a business segment of The Thomson Corporation, is launching the new Client Management module—an add-on module to the company’s practice management application, Practice CS. The most significant enhancement to Practice CS this year, the Client Management module enables firms to track client communications at a detailed level.
The Client Management module extends the practice management capabilities of Practice CS. Using the module, firms can record every detail of client activity so they always have the most updated information. The Client Management module enables firms to logically organize, store, and access all client interactions to support all areas of client activity—including work-in-process, billing, prospecting, and cross-selling. READ MORE →
The global accountancy market generated total revenues of $203.2 billion in 2005, this representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3% for the five-year period spanning 2001-2005, according to a new study from Datamonitor market research.
Audit proved the most lucrative segment for the global market in 2005, generating total revenues of $89.1 billion, equivalent to 43.8% of the market’s overall value.
Looking forward, the performance of the global accountancy market is forecast to accelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 4.9%, for the five-year period 2005-2010 expected to drive the market to a value of $258.1 billion by the end of 2010. READ MORE →
Targeting of Correspondence Audits Improves
from TRAC
IRS revenue agents are now spending substantially more of their time on corporate audits that produce no revenue for the government than they did in the recent past, according to agency data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).
The year-to-year growth in nonproductive audit time — defined by the IRS as face-to-face examination hours that produced what it calls “no change” results — occurred for corporations in every asset class.
The 40% increase in the number of corporate audit hours that bore no fruit is troubling primarily because the misdirection of the agency’s enforcement resources ultimately could weaken the long term interest of corporations in paying their taxes.
But IRS data raise more focused concerns. One key finding was that the relative growth in these unproductive hours tended to rise as the size of the corporations increased. In the last five years, for example, the nonproductive audit time for the largest corporations — those with assets of $250 million or above — has more than doubled.
The agency data showing the growth in non-productive corporate audit hours is worrisome on a number of grounds.
1. The poor targeting suggested by these increases indicates the IRS is wasting more and more of the time of its revenue agents during a period when, because of limited resources, the agency is auditing many fewer corporate returns than it did only a decade ago. In fact, the overall corporate audit rate in 2006 (1.2%) was only half what it was in 1996 (2.4%).
2. In addition to documenting the growing number of missed opportunities to identity corporations who are not abiding by the tax laws, however, poor targeting also means that more and more taxpayers are unnecessarily burdened with the expense and bother of unneeded audits.
3. And, to the extent that superficial audits don’t find errors, the core purpose of the overall program to deter corporate misreporting is undermined.
Get the details at TRAC…
READ MORE →
‘I don’t know how I survived before it.’
from BlackBerry
Linda de Marlor is the dynamic President and Founder of Tax Masters, Inc., a 25- person tax and accounting firm that prides itself on giving clients the personal touch. With 2,000 clients spread across 50 countries, a busy speaking schedule and her role as The Tax Lady on TV’s C-SPAN network, Linda is often stretched thin.
Number one on her list is giving clients one-on-one attention. That means being able to answer their emails and calls, when they happen. It also means having all the answers at her fingertips, which is tough for any expert. Her BlackBerry® smartphone has become a way to manage the load, keep her clients happy and call for help when she needs it.
More at BlackBerry… READ MORE →
…Except “Sin Taxes†Or Cutting Major Programs
If spending must be cut, the space program, welfare and defense top the list of preferred cuts
ROCHESTER, N.Y. [Harris Poll] – Many economists worry about the size of the Federal Government’s budget deficit, but a new Harris Poll underlines the difficulty facing any political leaders who want to reduce it.
There is very strong resistance to raising any taxes and almost no support for cutting the major entitlement programs which account for a big share of Federal Government spending. For example, only 15 percent of all U.S. adults think that taxes should be increased to reduce the budget deficit. And, if taxes have to be increased, there is overwhelming opposition to increasing the estate tax, gas taxes, income taxes, the Social Security tax or the Medicare tax.
READ MORE →
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Significant Points
– Most jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field.
– Overall job opportunities should be favorable; jobseekers who obtain professional recognition through certification or licensure, a master’s degree, proficiency in accounting and auditing computer software, or specialized expertise will have the best opportunities.
– An increase in the number of businesses, changing financial laws and regulations, and greater scrutiny of company finances will drive faster-than-average growth of accountants and auditors.
Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation’s firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They perform these vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and accounting services, including public, management, and government accounting, as well as internal auditing, to their clients. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation—preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients—many accountants now are required to possess a wide range of knowledge and skills. Accountants and auditors are broadening the services they offer to include budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services.
READ MORE →
It depends. Ask a client.
by Rick Telberg
At Large
Where does the universe come from? What is the purpose of life? Will tax season ever end? And what do clients really want? The only thing we know for sure is that Tax Season 2007 ends next week. Hooray! The rest is fairly murky, especially when considering the question: “What do clients really want?†READ MORE →
