How worried are your clients?

31% see prolonged recession.

And they all have an opinion to deal with.

CPA Exam Myths: Blogger has Questions, Gets Answers

Blogger Jeff Elliott at another71 put a few questions to the AICPA and got some answers.

Questions like…

  • Is the exam graded on a  curve?
  • Why can’t test-takers get their scores at the test center immediately?
  • Can I apply for a re-score?
  • Why are some scores released fast than others?

Get all the answers at another71.com

12 Questions to Test Your Competitive Fact-Finding Skills

How good are you at obtaining competitive intelligence and applying it to business development?

Wolosky

Wolosky

By Howard Wolosky

“An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer®” is how an off-price clothing retailer positions itself.

Although not similarly copyrighted, as of late, I have come across a number of other businesses that live by that slogan with a single word change, “An Educated Consumer Is Our Worst Customer.” Unlike that off-price clothier, they don’t publicize the slogan that they actually live by, and, in fact, do their best to hide that fact. Here are two of them:

1. A vitamin chain offers a particular supplement for 10 dollars more than its online price. A clerk at their store refuses to match the price for a regular customer. The manager insists that the customer must go home and print out the proof even though the store has Internet access.
2. A bank automatically renews your two-year CD unless you come in. The rate is one percent, while if you came in, you could obtain a higher rate by renewing the CD for only seven months. Additionally the bank is offering those that open a two-year online CD a much higher rate of 2.85 percent.

Contrast those two examples with a national department store chain advertising that customers can check on computer terminals in their stores for cheaper prices available from competitors on the brand appliances its sells, and that it will match the competitor’s cheaper price.

Clients will be needing help adjusting and prospering in this brave new world where technological advances are overhauling and significantly transforming the rules of the game. Is your firm ready to help? And more importantly, how deep is the firm’s understanding and knowledge of the virtual and brick-and-mortar worlds and the possible interactions.

To find out, how about giving a 12-question test to firm members from every level of the firm–the managing partner, partners, staff accountants, marketers, technologists, and administrative support (if applicable)?

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What CPAs Need to Know about Swine Flu

Most companies have a disaster plan in place. This is the time to dust if off and see if you’re ready.

Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP, at InfoTech Partners North America Inc., offers some resources:

Ask yourself:

  1. Are your remote technologies in place, so people can work at home if they need to? Big companies may be using Windows Terminal server or Citrix. Small firms: XP Remote or GoToMyPC.
  2. Are your laptops and smartphones working well and can they connect to the office applications?
  3. Are your work-at-home and flextime policies up to date.
  4. Are all the personnel and client lists up to date and accessible?

SaaS and Solar Power: What a Combo!

NetSuite lands solar-panel manufacturer.

via Netsuite

The Americas Unit of Suntech Power Holdings, the World’s Largest Producer of Solar Panels, Chooses NetSuite to Help Manage its Growing Number of Suntech Authorized Dealers

NetSuite Inc., a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business management software suites, has announced that Suntech America, a unit of Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), a manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) modules, is the latest enterprise company to go live on NetSuite after a successful and on-time implementation.

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The AICPA’s Eight-Point Plan for Re-Regulating the Broken Financial System

Melancon cites “clear gaps” in the rules.

via the AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is recommending to Congress a series of specific measures to promote transparency and strengthen investor protections in the U.S. financial system by requiring tighter audit requirements, AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon said in a news release today.

“There are clear gaps in the existing regulation of the financial system,” AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon said. “As objective experts and trusted advisers, CPAs want to play an active and constructive role in improving the current system and providing policymakers with the benefit of our knowledge and experience.”

To begin this initiative, the AICPA is offering eight recommendations based on an AICPA analysis of proposals currently pending in Congress. Melancon announced the new effort at the spring meeting of the AICPA’s governing Council in Washington, D.C. today. More than 350 CPA leaders from all 50 states are convening in the nation’s capital for three days and will be making these recommendations in personal visits with members of Congress.

The AICPA supports and recommends:

  1. The continued registration and regulation of broker-dealers by the Securities and Exchange Commission and professional self-regulatory organizations. The AICPA believes that auditors of public broker-dealers, as well as non-public broker-dealers that perform clearing or custodial functions should be subject to registration, inspection and enforcement by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. (PCAOB.)
  2. Regulation and registration of hedge funds by the Securities and Exchange Commission, assuming the term “hedge fund” is more clearly defined and with exemptions for small investment vehicles, such as investment clubs. Any such regulation should be carefully crafted not to impede beneficial, private capital-raising activities.
  3. A requirement that these newly registered hedge funds obtain annual audits by independent certified public accountants.
  4. Investment advisers that are currently subject to registration with the SEC should continue to be regulated under the Advisers Act.
  5. Repeal of the present “private advisor exemption,” a change that would subject hedge fund advisers to SEC regulation.
  6. The AICPA supports a proposal by SEC Chairman Mary Shapiro to require all investment advisers with custody of client assets to undergo “surprise” examinations to confirm safekeeping of assets.
  7. Requiring evaluations of controls over custodial functions. Every custodian should be required to retain an independent public accountant to review and report on the effectiveness of the custodian’s internal controls related to its custodial functions.
  8. Adequate funding for the SEC to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities.

Where are the regulators?

In January 2009 there were 129 new prosecutions for government regulatory matters, fewer than in any month since May 2000.

Counterfeiting and forgery cases accounted for 45% of these prosecutions, with the remaining cases falling under various categories including:

  • other regulatory offenses (27.9%),
  • customs and currency violations (7%),
  • money laundering (10.1%),
  • customs duty violations (3.1%),
  • trafficking in contraband cigarettes (2.3%) and
  • general export enforcement (2.3%).

For details, see the TRAC Report at:http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/bulletins/regulation/fil/

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