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IRS Issues Redesigned
Allowable Living Expense Standards
The IRS recently issued the
2007 allowable living expense standards. Also known as collection
financial standards, allowable living expense standards are used to
determine the ability of a taxpayer to pay a delinquent tax liability. For
purposes of federal tax administration the standards were effective Oct. 1,
2007. Key updates include a new category for out-of-pocket health care
expenses; an expanded number of household categories for housing and
utilities; an allowance for cell phone costs in housing and utilities; equal
allowances for first and second vehicles under transportation expenses; and
more.
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E-filed Corporate Tax
Returns Hits Record High
As of October 4, more than 800,000 of the nation’s small businesses and
large corporations had
electronically filed their tax returns, a 60 percent increase from last
year, according to the IRS. Even though they have no electronic filing
requirement, more than 780,000 small businesses have opted to e-file their
tax returns this year, up more than 50 percent from last year. Many large
corporations are voluntarily e-filing as well. The more than 42,000 large
corporations that e-filed far exceeded the approximately 22,000 that were
required to file by the Sept. 17 deadline.
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GAO Releases Financial
Audit Manual Exposure Draft
Last week, the Government Accountability Office released exposure drafts of
Volume 1
and Volume
2 of the GAO/PCIE Financial Audit Manual (FAM). The FAM provides
guidance for performing financial statement audits of federal entities.
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U.S. Treasury Names
AICPA’s Barry Melancon to Auditing Advisory Panel
Barry Melancon, president and CEO of the AICPA, was appointed last week to
the U.S. Treasury Department’s new
Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession.
Treasury Secretary Henry
Paulson, Jr. created the panel after convening top U.S. business leaders
in March of 2007, including Melancon, in Washington to address issues facing U.S.
financial markets. The committee will examine auditing industry
concentration, financial soundness, audit quality, employee recruitment and
retention, in addition to other topics. Treasury expects the committee to
produce findings and recommendations by early summer 2008. The Audit
Profession panel will be co-chaired by former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt,
Jr. and former SEC Chief Accountant Donald Nicolaisen. The panel’s meetings
are public.
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Does Insurance
Contract Accounting Merit a FASB Project?
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is asking for comments on
whether there is a need for a project on
accounting
for insurance contracts. The invitation for comment also asks whether
the FASB should undertake this project jointly with the IASB. If the FASB
were to take on this joint project, its objective would be to develop a
common, high quality standard to address recognition, measurement,
presentation, and disclosure requirements for insurance contacts. The
project would provide accounting and reporting guidance for both the issuer
and the holder of an insurance contract. The IASB is currently working on a
project that addresses these issues. In May 2007, it issued a Discussion
Paper, Preliminary Views on Insurance Contracts, describing the main
components of a proposed accounting model for insurance contracts. The Board
is seeking written comments on the proposal by November 16, 2007.
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GASB Seeks Input on
Derivatives Proposals
On November 1, 2007, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will
hold a public hearing as part of the public review of proposed standards for
how state and local governments should report their involvement in
derivative instruments. The proposal is contained in an Exposure Draft,
Accounting and Financial Reporting for Derivative Instruments. On the same
day, the GASB also will conduct a roundtable discussion for users of
governmental financial reports. Read GASB’s
press release
for more information on participating or submitting comments.
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The ABC’s of Business –
Advance, Build and Connect for Success
Attorneys, Bankers and CPAs this is your opportunity to advance you career,
build business referral networks and connect with valuable partners at the
ABC’s Professional Connections Networking Event. The MACPA is partnering
with the Brighton Bar
Association,
Detroit
Metropolitan Bar Association and
Washtenaw County Bar
Association to bring you this unique event. Please join us at the Westin
Southfield Detroit Hotel, Southfield, on October 25, 2007 for the
opportunity to network and make important connections for your business.
Plus, learn the Power of Positive Focus from guest speaker Michael Wickett,
as he gives you the skills to overcome obstacles and create higher levels of
productivity & profitability.
Register online today for this one-of-a-kind networking event. Please
contact Susan Queen at
squeen@michcpa.org or 248.267.3700 with any questions, or if you would like more
information.
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Teleconferencing as Plan
A, With Flying as a Backup
Corporate travel managers expect to see a deceleration in business travel
over the next year due to rising travel costs and widespread flight delays.
Susan Gurley of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives notes
companies are growing more selective about which business processes merit a
trip.
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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