January 2004 - Journal of Accountancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT HAS HAD a far-reaching impact on CPA firms, whether large, midsize or small. Firms that audit public companies have been working out strategies for coping successfully in their internal operations as well as in their relations with clients and prospects. THE STEPPED UP INTERNAL AUDIT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE UNIFORMED SERVICES EMPLOYMENT AND Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) gives employees who take a leave of absence for active military service certain statutory rights—not only to reemployment but to specific coverage for retirement and wellness benefits. THE LAW APPLIES TO ALL EMPLOYERS in the United States,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE is providing new client-service opportunities for CPA firms because clients need just as much help as ever, with basic installation and weekly bookkeeping to higher-value accounting, financial reporting and management consulting. THE MARKET FOE ENTRY-LEVEL ACCOUNTING software is large because there are so many

S. Scott Voynich, CPA, became chairman of the AICPA board of directors in October 2003. This article is adapted from his acceptance speech, delivered at the Institute’s annual meeting. A JofA interview with him appeared in the November issue (see “ The Profession’s Roots ,” page 57). have worked in

he vast majority of the nation’s investable wealth is in the hands of fiduciaries—more than five million men and women responsible for managing others’ money. While corporate malfeasance has cost shareholders billions in losses, such damage may be far smaller than that resulting from investment advisers’ and trustees’ failure to

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FACILITATORS SHOULD ENJOY BEING IN FRONT of a group. Emotional maturity and the ability to think quickly on their feet are essential attributes of good facilitators. The major prerequisite for the job, though, is an ability to interact well with others. TO START OUT IN THIS NICHE, CPAs

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ISSUES TAKE ON INCREASED importance in the value of a stock, CPAs should take the opportunity to get ahead of the curve and help clients monitor such issues. There is general agreement that the quality of corporate governance and the effectiveness of a board of

ould you like to be able to gather spreadsheet data from people throughout your organization, automatically producing detailed reports or summaries that then can be shared with colleagues? Or would you like a team of users to be able to work on a spreadsheet report simultaneously, sharing information and coordinating