Accounting education

NewRiver Inc. has introduced FundPoint Desktop for 529 Plans, a desktop software product designed to manage multi-layered 529 college-savings plan information.

Touro College’s Graduate School of Business intends to offer for the first time a Master of Science degree in accounting this September.

The American Institute of CPAs has presented its Elijah Watt Sells Awards to the top performers on the CPA Exam.

Accountant training materials provider Universal Accounting reported growth in revenue this year.

One million sections of the computerized Uniform CPA Examination have now been administered, according to the organizations in charge of the exam.

The Obama administration is introducing a shorter and simpler Free Application for Federal Student Aid form that takes advantage of information from the IRS to streamline the application process for college financial aid.

CCH has signed a deal to market and distribute CPAexcel, a Web-based CPA Exam review program from Efficient Learning Systems, to CPA candidates.

Americans today are being forced to review their retirement planning goals with greater scrutiny. No one knows that more than Robert Fishbein, vice president and corporate counsel with Prudential Financial, Inc. He has now offered tips on how to get through this economic turmoil.

Barry Melancon, president and chief executive of the American Institute of CPAs, welcomed more than 350 AICPA Council members to the nation’s capital and told the state delegations to get ready to meet with legislators on pressing issues in the profession.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has started TaxWatch University, a tax staff-training program that combines the company’s AuditWatch University multi-level curriculum design with the in-depth taxation knowledge of the experts in the company’s PPC division.

Each year, approximately 140 students graduate with a Ph.D in accounting - not nearly enough to sustain the demand estimated at 500, according to research by David Leslie, chancellor professor of education at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.The Ph.D pipeline, it seems, is producing only a trickle.

The Internal Revenue Service now has a new interest in sports and entertainment - and not just as a spectator.

With the repeal of the federal estate tax set for 2010 and its reinstatement scheduled just one year later, estate tax planning has become more complicated than ever. Wealthy clients need to incorporate flexibility into their current plans while taking advantage of favorable planning opportunities.

Given the current economic situation, conducting a financial planning practice isn't getting easier. With the financial uncertainty of the past several years, investors have become uncomfortable with the "business as usual" planning approach.To some extent, this is good news for planners, as it provides the opportunity to perform more in-depth planning for many clients, as well as providing clients with a more proactive approach to investing and planning. With investor goals undergoing frequent revisions, and the means to achieve those goals also increasingly unstable, clients are increasingly willing to allow you to play a more active part in monitoring their investments on an ongoing basis and suggesting changes when appropriate, not just at an annual or bi-annual planning session.

Gen X and Y may reap some big benefits from the bear market, and advisors who target those generations could profit from helping them.

More than half of affluent 60-year-olds are revamping their retirement plans, according to Bell Investment Advisors’ fourth annual Affluent Boomers at 60 Survey of 500 high net-worth 60-year-olds. This represents double the number who reported making such changes a year ago, Of those who have altered their retirement plans in the last six months, two out of three are delaying their retirement, with 34 percent of these planning to work an additional five or more years. Almost 75 percent have reduced spending, and nearly half have changed their investments. The survey shows that some 57 percent of respondents say they feel more financially stressed than they were six months ago. In fact, 76 percent claim they feel less wealthy and 35 percent note they do not have enough money on which to retire. The survey also reveals a loss of confidence in America’s financial system. These boomers indicate they’ve lost the most confidence in government regulators (34 percent) and banks and financial institutions (30 percent). “It is critical for investors to realize that there is no bailout package for retirement,” points out Jim Bell, CFP®, founder and president of Bell Investment Advisors. “The current economic situation is a wake-up call for investors at 60 to have a clear retirement plan that incorporates a sound investment strategy.” Of investors surveyed, 54 percent estimate they will need $1 to $3 million at retirement, but 42 percent have invested or saved less than $1 million. Among respondents who plan to reduce their spending this year, 46 percent are doing so in order to rebuild their retirement savings. More than half (55 percent) of those boomers who have decided to delay their retirement cite the same reason for adding more working years to their plans. When it comes to investing, the majority (56 percent) think the stock market is too risky for people their age. Even more, (61 percent) of those surveyed, plan to make a change in their investment strategy this year, with one-third of them intending to invest more in fixed income investments. Half of those investors who plan to change are taking a “wait and see” attitude about which direction they will go. “Merely increasing savings and working longer will not fill the gap for most Boomers approaching retirement,” says Bell. “Recent stock market volatility has many Boomers reconsidering risk, but it’s critical to keep in mind that when you reduce investment risk you also reduce the upside potential to rebuild wealth. Boomers who choose to wait for a market recovery to decide when to reinvest will miss early gains.” Despite the radical changes this group of boomers is making to their retirement plans, the market downturn of 2008 has not altered their core positive feeling about their lives. Almost all (97 percent) claim they feel great about their lives, as they have in the prior four years Bell has sponsored this survey. Looking forward, 73 percent say they expect the stock market to finish 2009 higher than it started, and 43 percent feel 2009 will be a year where they increase their wealth. Bell Investment Advisors offers investment management, comprehensive financial planning, and career/life planning services to help investors plan and achieve their personal and retirement goals. The firm manages more than $360 million for its more than 600 clients. To learn more, visit www.bellinvest.com.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance to clarify the COBRA benefits offered under the recently passed stimulus bill.

Tax evaders beware. Pittsburg State University students are coming to get you.

The Center for Audit Quality plans to award $200,000 in research grant funds to academics working on topics related to auditing and accounting.

American families are said to have a newfound commitment to cutting household expenses and saving money, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index that was just released. Results indicate that these families are shaving down costs in a number of areas. Fifty-four percent of respondents said they are spending less on leisure activities, 48 percent are cutting their utility bills, 40 percent are increasing their use of coupons, 46 percent are shopping at discount stores, 39 percent are buying generic products, and 38 percent canceled or postponed the purchase of high-ticket items. As they trim expenses, consumers are putting more money into savings. Short-term savings for the typical family totaled $883 in January, up 13 percent from $783 in December. And long-term savings totaled $335 in January, up 83 percent from $183 in December. These behaviors are consistent with the increased intention to save more in 2009 that consumers expressed in December; the Intentions sub-index jumped 25 points in December to 105--an eight-month high, and the increased savings behaviors followed in step this January. American families are continuing to feel the impact of current economic conditions. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they lost money in their retirement accounts and 47 percent lost money in stocks. On a promising note, seven percent said they have reacted to the economic turmoil by opting to work with a financial planner. One of the continuing trends revealed by the Index is that people who have a financial plan through a financial planner report greater confidence in their ability to retire comfortably, greater financial security on a day-to-day basis and they report feeling less financially stretched than those without a plan. In fact, as the economy deteriorated in late 2008, households with a financial plan actually reported an increase in feelings of financial security. In December more than 53 percent of respondents with a financial plan said they did not feel financially stretched, up from 48 percent in September. “The proactive financial behaviors revealed in the First Command Financial Behaviors Index appear to reflect a growing commitment to fiscal responsibility in middle-class America,” says Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command. “Consumers are concerned about their own economic situations, and they are taking concrete steps to improve their family finances.” (Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes, and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. For more information, visit www.firstcommand.com/research.)