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2007 PCPS Map Top Issues
Survey: Technical Complexity and Staffing Dominate
Dealing with technical complexity, as well as finding and retaining qualified
staff are among the top practice management issues facing CPAs in smaller
firms, based on the 2007 PCPS Top MAP Issues Survey. For the first time this
year, PCPS is not issuing one overall Top MAP Issues list because it was
determined that averaging the answers from many different types of firms
does not necessarily accurately mirror the concerns of each segment.
Instead, PCPS is releasing five separate Top MAP Issues lists that reflect
the views of CPAs who are sole practitioners and those in firms with two to
five professionals, six to ten professionals, 11 to 20 professionals and
more than 21 professionals. Click
here to see the 2007 PCPS Top MAP issues by firm size.
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FASB Issues Statement No.
161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities
The Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) today issued
FASB
Statement No. 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and
Hedging Activities. The new standard is intended to improve financial
reporting about derivative instruments and hedging activities by requiring
enhanced disclosures to enable investors to better understand their effects
on an entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows. It
is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim
periods beginning after November 15, 2008 with early application
encouraged. The new standard also improves transparency about the location
and amounts of derivative instruments in an entity’s financial statements;
how derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for under
Statement 133; and how derivative instruments and related hedged items
affect its financial position, financial performance and cash flows.
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FASB Issues Proposed
FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 132(R)-a, Employers’ Disclosures about
Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued
FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 132(R)-a, Employers’ Disclosures about
Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets. The purpose of the proposed FSP is to obtain feedback from
constituents on proposed guidance intended to improve the quality of
financial reporting by increasing disclosures about the types of assets held
in postretirement benefit plans. This proposed FSP would amend FASB
Statement No. 132 (revised 2003), Employers’ Disclosures about Pensions
and Other Postretirement Benefits, to improve public and nonpublic
employer’s disclosures about postretirement benefit plan assets.
Additionally, this proposed FSP includes a technical amendment to Statement
132(R) that would require a nonpublic entity to disclose net periodic
benefit cost. Respondents have until May 2, 2008 to provide comment.
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Combat Pay Can Count
Toward Economic Stimulus Payment Eligibility
Military personnel serving in combat zones have the option of including
their nontaxable combat pay on their 2007 or 2008 income tax returns if it
helps their eligibility for the 2008 economic stimulus payments. To receive
the stimulus payment this year, combat zone personnel or their spouses must
file a 2007 income tax return by October 15. Otherwise, they can claim the
economic stimulus payment on next year’s income tax return. Read more
here.
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Use of Free File Growing
in 2008
The continued growth of
Free File shows taxpayers are taking advantage of the program’s
benefits, which include free electronic return preparation and filing of tax
returns, as well as quicker refunds with direct deposit. It is intended to
provide taxpayers earning $54,000 or less with a free, safe and quick way to
prepare and file their taxes. The number of tax returns filed via Free File
as of the end of February has jumped more than 12 percent compared with the
same period last year, the Internal Revenue Service said. Over 22 million
taxpayers have used Free File since its inception.
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Spring Members Advisory
Forum: Register Today!
The premier event to learn about major issues affecting the CPA profession,
including CPA license mobility,
is just around the corner. The MACPA brings together a host of local and
national leaders to speak at the Spring Members Advisory Forum. The keynote speaker is AICPA
President and CEO Barry Melancon. With more than 25 years in the CPA
profession, Barry will share what is happening nationally and the role
Michigan is playing in this landscape. Join us on May 13, 2008 at the
Lansing Center in Lansing. The cost to attend this event is $129 for MACPA
members and $229 for non-members. Please contact the MACPA CPE department at
248.267.3700 to register or for more information.
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Fast, Free Smartphone
Phone Internet Access With Wi-Fi
When linking to a WLAN with Wi-Fi-equipped smartphones employing the Windows
Mobile 5/6 operating systems, the initial step to activating Wi-Fi on a
Windows Mobile gadget is to find and initiate the Comm Manager function,
which is usually situated on the Start Menu. The Wi-Fi icon has the
appearance of an antenna, and will probably have an "x" that is grayed out.
Highlight and choose the Wi-Fi icon, and then choose the desired network and
move through the wizard to enter the encryption kind and key. To read this
article in its entirety and 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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