Accounting education

Beard Miller Co. LLP will sell its Financial Outsourcing Solutions practice to McKonly & Asbury LLP in a deal effective Jan. 1.

Thomson Tax & Accounting has joined the Strategic Partners Program of Financial Executives International.

Michael Haubrich, is a certified financial planner with more than 20 years experience. He is the owner of Financial Service Group a fee-only firm in Racine, Wisconsin, with some 100 million dollars in assets under management.He tells a tale that recently he met with a new client who experienced “free financial planning.” According to Michael, the client’s free planning started with a free dinner meeting, followed by a free financial consultation, and then a free financial plan that ultimately ended with an annuity sale resulting in $9,000 in commission to that financial “consultant.”

A lack of practical implementation guidance and the incomplete nature of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations’ 1992 framework -- in assessing effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting -- are two of the key cost drivers for public companies complying with Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 (SOX) requirements, according to a new study.

With the close of 2006 approaching, we asked industry leaders to share their ideas of what the accounting profession will look like in five years: What will be its major concerns? Challenges? Hot new service areas? What will shape will the firm landscape have taken?

The continuing business boom has generated a demand for accountants in every sphere that will make seasonal staffing during tax time more difficult than ever, say industry observers."If you're looking for tax people, they're not easy to get, and whoever you do get will be a lot more expensive," said Mike Hurley, vice president of tax for Tampa, Fla.-based Kforce Inc. "Either employees have a good deal where they're at, or they're burned out. Those that have good tax people are making sure they can hold on to them, while others are just getting out of the game. It's hard to find experienced tax people."

NASD FINES METLIFE UNITS $5M: The National Association of Securities Dealers imposed a $5 million fine against three MetLife Inc. units - MetLife Securities Inc. of New York, New England Securities Inc. of Boston, and Walnut Street Securities Inc. of St. Louis.In response to an inquiry that it sent in September 2003 centering on the late trading of mutual funds, the NASD said that the MetLife trio provided inaccurate and misleading responses. The MetLife firms neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of the NASD's findings.

The Tax Policy Center has released a series of data tables taking a look at the effect of the major tax changes enacted since 2001.

Earlier this year, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act of 2006.Included in that legislation are some features that encourage preparation and spending for long-term care. In particular, the act allows the transfer of excess pension benefits to fund estimated retiree medical costs, and it permits annuity and life insurance contracts to expand their coverage to include long-term-care costs, including skilled care from medical professionals and custodial care (such as assistance with bathing, eating, dressing, walking, etc.).

Planning to pass a business to the next generation, or to non-family members, involves a combination of complex issues requiring legal, tax, financial and management planning.Too often, a business owner devotes her entire career to building the enterprise, but fails to plan for the future of the business. When a thorough succession plan is in place, however, the business owner can anticipate and effectively manage change. The process must involve family members, professional advisors, shareholders, partners and key employees. A successful plan will address many issues, the more common of which are: the decision to pass the business to family, or sell the business to outsiders; the death, disability or retirement of the owner or co-owner; tax and estate planning; and the retention of key employees.

For contributions, bequests, and gifts made after Aug. 17, 2006, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 limits deductions for charitable contributions of fractional interests in tangible personal property. It also provides rules for valuing the donor's additional fractional interest contributions, and provides for recapture of the charitable deduction.In calculating deductions, the PPA requires consistent valuation of all the fractional interests in the same item (or collection of items) of property that has appreciated in value since the initial contribution.

The American Institute of CPAs has rolled out a new associate membership category for all college and university accounting faculty who are not holding or pursuing the CPA designation.The category will be most similar to the institute’s already existing non-CPA section associates -- instead of working for an accounting firm, applicants have to be teaching accounting at a college or university. Dues are set at $185 a year

I went to Central High School of Philadelphia. I hear it now. Big whoop! Actually, it is. It is the oldest public high school in the country (founded 1836), the second oldest high school in the U.S. (Boston Latin is first), and was originally called Centre College, as part of the University of Pennsylvania. It had only boys and you needed to pass an entrance exam to get in. If you graduated at a certain level, you would be granted a Bachelor of Arts degree as set by the state. And, my other claim to fame is that Bill Cosby and I were classmates.

With the close of 2006 approaching, we asked industry leaders to share their ideas of what the accounting profession will look like in five years: What will be its major concerns? Its challenges? The hot new service areas? What shape will the firm landscape have taken?Throughout November, WebCPA will post new comment collections each week.

H&R Block Inc. said that it will provide better and more transparent notification to customers detailing all the costs tied to its refund anticipation loans.

My first visit to Las Vegas 30 years ago, consisted of a two-night stay at a long-since razed flophouse called “The Lone Palm Motel,” and the $1.99 dinner buffet at Circus Circus -- which I’m told still exists in some form.

According to the American Society of Appraisers, many chief executives and company presidents simply don’t know what their own company is worth and, as a result, they are making corporate decisions from an unenviable position.So, the society is now offering specific tips to understand why every company needs to have a current business valuation.

As a study from the American Institute of CPAs put it, Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 “are caught between a Baby Boomer rock and a fiscal hard place.”The institute recently commissioned the study to examine the spending and saving habits of the so-called Generation Y. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 40 million Americans in the demographic.

As an extension of its ongoing 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort, the American Institute of CPAs and the non-profit Ad Council have partnered on a campaign designed to encourage savings among 25-to-34 year olds -- a demographic, which encompasses roughly 40 million Americans.Titled, “Feed the Pig,” in a reference to the piggy bank, the multi-pronged media effort will include television, radio, print, banner ads and text messaging designed to help emphasize the importance of savings.

I always believed that New York had a deserved reputation of aggressively going after individuals regarding whether they have New York residency with regard to collection of its income and estate taxes.