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Are You Going into Your
Fifth/Graduate Year? Apply for the MAF Scholarship Today!
Each Year, the Michigan Accountancy Foundation (MAF) awards Fifth/Graduate Year
Scholarships to deserving accounting students. This year it could be you!
The scholarship is intended for students who plan on taking the CPA exam.
The MAF Scholarship
application is available
online. When you apply, please fill out the application, provide
your official transcripts, include a cover letter (500 words or less)
and two letters of recommendation. The deadline for submissions is
January 31, 2008. If you have any questions please contact
David Johnson at 248.267.3700.
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Service Tax is
Eliminated!
After weeks of
political haggling, the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Jennifer Granholm
came to an agreement on the elimination and replacement of the expanded
Michigan Use Tax to services, roughly 17 hours after it went into
effect.
House Bill 5408 levies a 21.99 percent surcharge on MBT liability
with a $6 million dollar cap in total exposure and a sunset based on
personal income growth. The Legislature also passed
Senate Bill 845, granting amnesty for all taxpayers for the few
hours the tax was actually in effect. For a detailed account of this
weekend’s activity, including more information on the legislation,
please visit the MACPA’s
Michigan Use Tax Expansion web page.
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MBT Frequently Asked
Questions Added
Several more Frequently Asked Questions have
been posted to the Michigan Treasury
MBT site, the
sixth addition to the FAQ list since the site was activated in August. The
Department continues to receive new questions from the business community
and will continue to issue responses and other guidance. The MBT site also
provides an overview of the tax, as well as details on different elements of
the MBT such as Nexus, Unitary Filing, and Apportionment. Recent MBT
presentations, including two webinars, can be downloaded from the site. An
MBT Estimator is available for businesses to estimate their future MBT
liability.
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U.S. Senate Bill Would
Ban Tax Strategy Patents; AICPA Supports
The AICPA commended last week the introduction of a bill by Senate Finance
Committee leaders, Chairman Sen. Max Baucus of Montana and ranking-minority
member Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, to prohibit patents on tax planning
methods. S. 2369 would halt the granting of tax strategy patents by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office. The AICPA is urging the Senate to pass the
bill, which is similar to the ban in the broad patent reform bill passed by
House earlier this year. “Taxpayers should not have to worry about
infringing patents when preparing their tax returns,” said Barry C. Melancon,
AICPA president and CEO. “Neither should the tax professionals who prepare
millions of tax returns each year. Tax patents are an obstacle to equal
application of the tax laws.” For more, read the AICPA’s
press release.
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Skipping the Mall for
Holiday Shopping? Stay On Guard When You Are Online
Experts are predicting that consumers will spend more online this holiday
season than ever. While you can easily avoid crowds by shopping online, if
you’re not careful you may run into hackers, identity thieves and other
spammers. The Federal Trade Commission, together with the National Cyber
Security Alliance, offers these tips for safer and smarter online shopping
this holiday season: check out the seller; read return policies; know what
you’re getting; don’t fall for a false email or pop-up; look for signs a
site is safe; secure your computer; consider how you’ll pay; know the full
price, and check out incentives; keep a paper trail; and, finally, turn your
computer off when you’re finished shopping. For more details on these tips,
click
here.
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Advice From a
Professional
Janelle Saylor, Senior Accountant, CPA
UHY Advisors MI, Inc.
Saginaw Valley State University, Bachelor of Professional Accountancy
Years In Profession: 7
Why Janelle became a CPA
I had always been interested in careers involving business and finance,
and becoming a CPA allows you the freedom to take many different career
paths.
A brief description of her current
position.
I am a Senior Accountant and CPA in the tax department. As a Senior, I no
longer draft (prepare) many tax returns, rather I check or review the
returns. I often communicate directly with clients and maintain a
relationship with them, as I am in charge of a select group of accounts.
What she feels are the benefits of
working as a CPA or accounting professional.
You have the choice to take your career wherever you'd like. You can stay in
public accounting, move to private accounting if that better suits you, or
if you'd rather be your own boss, you have a great start at knowing what it
takes to make a business thrive.
Why Janelle felt her degree to be valuable in her pursuit of CPA
licensure.
Yes, many of the things I learned in my college classes were covered in the
CPA exam. However, I personally learned much more quickly with the
application of what I had learned once I started my career.
Her recommendations for students
studying to be CPAs.
Put forth a good effort in studying immediately when you start your career.
Studying for the exam is something that can take up a great deal of your
time, but you will pass it more quickly and be able to advance in your
career if you are disciplined about studying.
Why Janelle recommends that accounting
students pursue their CPA license.
Many firms require it, and it allows you the flexibility in your career to
go into private accounting or even start your own business. A professor of
mine once said that every business owner should be a CPA, so that they
understand the financial impact of day-to-day decisions.
What do you like most about your
current position?
In any given week, I have the opportunity to do something different
everyday, depending on the type of client I am working on and their specific
needs.
Please describe the path a student would
have to take to find themselves in the position you currently have.
I began my career in public accounting right before graduating from college
and soon focused on taking/passing the CPA exam. I have stayed in public
accounting, because it is what I enjoy doing. It gives me a variety in my
daily tasks that keeps me interested and focused.
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Do's and
Don'ts of Handling Interview Silence
You're at a meeting or job interview. You've just answered a difficult
question or made an important point and are met with an unmovable silence.
You wait, growing a bit uneasy, but the room remains deafeningly still. What
would you do? According to executive coach Mary Kay Scarafile, most
candidates rush in to fill the void by talking a blue streak. "Most people
are so intimidated by the silence that they slip into the role of someone
who has goofed and is trying to recover." To read this article in its entirety please go to
CareerBuilder.com.
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