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Make Sure Your Voice Is
Heard
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is proposing changes in
international auditor independence standards that could significantly impact
U.S. CPAs. The IFAC’s exposure draft’s more restrictive revisions reveal why
input from U.S. CPAs is necessary. The draft extends the reach of IFAC’s
independence rules — which currently govern only auditors of listed
companies — to those who audit entities of significant public interest, such
as large regulated financial institutions and possibly large pension funds
and government agencies, as well as government-controlled and not-for-profit
entities. Additionally, small firms that audit listed entities would no
longer have flexibility and would be required to rotate partners on such
engagements. Moreover, regardless of size, all firms would be required to
rotate partners for audits of entities considered to be of significant
public interest. Comments should be sent to
Lisa Snyder, director of the AICPA’s
Professional Ethics Division, for consideration by the Professional Ethics
Executive Committee (PEEC), which will submit a comment letter to IFAC. The
draft may be accessed
online, and members should comment to the AICPA well before IFAC’s April
30, 2007 deadline.
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News from the IRS: ATIP,
Issues for Resolution, Schedule K-1 and More
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ATIP: The IRS has extended the 2007 deadline until June 30th for
restaurant or beverage businesses to elect to participate in the
Attributed Tip Income Program.
The extension is in response to requests from restaurant and beverage
industry members and is only applicable for the 2007 calendar year.
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Industry Issue Resolution Program: Business taxpayers, associations
and other interested parties are invited to submit to the Industry Issue
Resolution (IIR) Program topics for resolution involving a controversy,
a dispute or an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. Though submissions can
be made at anytime for consideration in the IIR program, submitted
issues received by March 31, 2007, will also be considered for the
2007-2008 Treasury and IRS Guidance Priority List
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Schedule K-1: A recent study found that many unnecessary notices
issued to taxpayers could have been avoided if Schedule K-1 entity
information was accurate when the forms were filed, as well as offsets
against income reported on Schedule K-1 were reported correctly.
Businesses, individuals and return preparers can avoid unnecessary
questions and correspondence by following clarifications issued by the
IRS.
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E-File Stats: Taxpayers are continuing to file their tax returns
electronically from home computers at a record pace, up almost seven
percent compared to this time last year. Overall, e-file has increased
by nearly four percent since last year, including a two percent jump in
e-filed returns from tax professionals.
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State Launches New
Web Site to Assist Displaced Workers
A new web site –
www.michigan.gov/nwlb
– launched by the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth aims to
make it easier for displaced workers to get trained for new careers. The
site's key components include:
- Employment and training assistance
offered through Michigan Works! agencies;
- Access to the Michigan Talent Bank to post
a resume and view job postings free of charge;
- In-demand occupations by region,
including wages and certification and licensure requirements;
- A directory of short term, accelerated
training programs and courses offered through Michigan's 28 community
colleges for in-demand and emerging industry occupations;
- Financial assistance programs to help
pay for schooling, such as the Career Transition Program offering low
interest educational loans to credit union members;
- Access to important resources for starting
your own business.
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How to Profit From VoIP
At many small firms, co-workers and customers have a difficult time reaching the person they want to talk to on the first try, mainly because they have no way of knowing whether to call the office phone or cell phone or send an email, fax, or
instant message. Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology aims to change
this by providing a single system for speech recognition, voice mail,
interactive voice response, and call center and web-based management
applications. To read this
article in its entirety and learn much more about developments in technology,
access
Technology and
Productivity Weekly, the MACPA's electronic technology newsletter for
industry professionals, sponsored by Information, Inc.
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