Accounting education

The Employee Benefits Security Administration, part of the Labor Department, is seeking comment on its plans to update guidance on the independence of accountants who audit employee benefit plans.

H&R Block Inc., best known for its tax-preparation services, is expanding into banking.

Larry Swedroe is a first-rate analyst. He is the director of research and a principal of both Buckingham Asset Management and BAM Advisor Services in St. Louis. He is also a prolific writer of many, many books and articles on investment strategies and although he adds a disclaimer to everything he writes that his opinions and comments are his own and not of his two companies, his work is so well received that hardly anybody can find fault with it.

Now that hedge funds are getting crowded with institutions and smaller investors, the ultra-wealthy are getting crowded out.Not only have funds emerged that have initial investments as low as $25,000, but two of those new funds successfully raised initial capital through public sales of stock in early 2006.

DELOITTE SURVEY FINDS GOVERNMENTS NEED TO CLOSE LOOPHOLES ON UNDERFUNDED PENSIONS: As the number of underfunded public pension funds has risen dramatically over the past five years, state and local governments need to close loopholes, adjust the level of employee contributions and rethink overall fund management, or risk a crisis, according to a Deloitte Research study.The report, titled "Paying for Tomorrow,"' also warned that the pending crisis could be aggravated by the coming wave of Baby Boomer retirees tapping into their pension accounts, unless fund managers move quickly to adopt a solution. Among the areas of greatest concern cited are:

Many profitable small-business owners would like to have a retirement plan that can provide more than $50,000 of deductible contributions to the owners and other key employees.A defined-benefit plan is perhaps the only tax-qualified retirement plan that can achieve this. However, in traditional DB plans, the worker benefit costs are too high to make them practical. A cash-balance plan is the solution (see box).

A worker's Social Security benefits are reduced for each month that the worker starts getting the benefit before reaching full Social Security retirement age. The reduction is five-ninths of 1 percent of the primary insurance amount of that worker for each of the first 36 months before full Social Security retirement age, and five-twelfths of 1 percent for each additional month.Thus, if a worker retires exactly 36 months before reaching full Social Security retirement age, his benefit will be reduced by 20 percent (36 x 5/9 of 1 percent) of the PIA. If a worker retires 48 months before reaching full retirement age, the benefit will be reduced by 25 percent (36 x 5/9 of 1 percent plus 12 x 5/12 of 1 percent).

"The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator. This means that he should be able to justify every purchase he makes and each price he pays by impersonal, objective reasoning that satisfies him that he is getting more than his money's worth for his purchase."

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, announced that its acquisition of the assets of ATX/Kleinrock has been completed.

BNA announced that it will launch a new Accounting Policy & Practice Series for the accounting, legal and financial professions on Sept. 5.

After nine years, a federal report says that college tuition tax credits aren't necessarily providing the boon originally intended for poorer families.

The New York State Society of Public Accountants, the oldest state accounting association, representing approximately 30,000 CPAs, has offered certain suggestions regarding pending legislation in Congress affecting estate planning-- specifically emphasizing the pressing need for certainty and ease of administration with respect to the transfer tax.

In a continuing effort to assist victims of last year's hurricanes, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a new publication summarizing the tax incentives to rebuild the Gulf Coast, which are valued at almost $9 billion.

After spending most of 2006 talking to users and revamping its QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program, Intuit is looking to add another 15,000 accountants and small business consultants to the program over the course of the next year.

The International Federation of Accountants' Professional Accountants in Business Committee has released a publication summarizing key internal control frameworks, highlighting recent legislative and other initiatives, and discussing the role of internal control in enhancing corporate governance.

The International Federation of Accountants' education standards board has proposed new guidance outlining the skills accountants need to perform competently in a variety of information technology roles.

NAPFA LAUNCHES PSA CAMPAIGN: The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, a 1,300-member association of fee-only financial advisors, has launched a consumer-oriented public service campaign aimed at educating Americans about the need for financial professionals to hold themselves to a fiduciary standard. The campaign is titled "Focus on Fiduciary."NAPFA said that the strategy behind the campaign is to highlight the issues surrounding fiduciary standards in the financial industry while helping consumers ask the right questions of their financial advisors. To support the campaign, NAPFA has developed a number of resources available to the industry and consumers alike, including:

Some 50 percent of Baby Boomers ages 50 to 59, with anywhere from six to 15 years before retirement, indicated in a recent survey that they don't know how much money they'll need when they finally stop working.Furthering their financial dilemma, 60 percent of those polled said that they intend to save more than they do, but don't always get around to it.

Most people who work for a living, either as employees or as self-employed persons, are covered by Social Security's old age, survivors and disability insurance program.As a retirement program, Social Security pays a monthly cash benefit to workers who have the equivalent of at least 40 months of work under Social Security, and who are at least 62 years old. The amount of the benefit is based on the worker's primary insurance amount. The PIA depends on how long he worked under Social Security and the amount of his Social Security wages. Social Security benefits may also be paid to a retired worker's qualifying dependents, such as a spouse, a widow or widower, and certain children. The benefits of a worker's dependents also are based on the worker's PIA.

Members of the military serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones can now put money into individual retirement accounts, even if they received tax-free combat pay, according to the Internal Revenue Service.