Associations

Louis Matherne, one of the early proponents and pioneers of the Extensible Business Reporting Language format, is leaving his role as the director of the American Institute of CPAs' XBRL program effective April 10.Matherne has accepted a position with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and its affiliate, the IT Governance Institute. ISACA is a 50,000-member global group dedicated to information technology governance, security and control procedures.

Legal Web site Daubert Tracker will offer discounted access to members of the Business Valuation and Forensic & Litigation Services Section of the American Institute of CPAs.

In the latest turf battle to come to light between the two groups, the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy recently squabbled over NASBA's interest in the details of public company audit inspection reports.

The American Institute of CPAs and the American Association of Attorney-CPAs have partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to offer free tax return preparation assistance to some taxpayers impacted by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Louis Matherne is leaving his role as the director of the American Institute of CPAs' Extensible Business Reporting Language program. Matherne has accepted a position with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and the IT Governance Institute , effective April 10.

The Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of CPAs has approved eight new statements on auditing standards, collectively referred to as the risk assessment standards.

About 60 of the American Institute of CPAs' employees have agreed to relocate from Jersey City, N.J., to Durham, N.C., in a cost savings move the institute announced in October.

A new study says that women are increasingly attaining leadership positions in public accounting firms, and more accountants are taking advantage of the alternative career paths offered by an increasing number of firms.

A task force of the American Institute of CPAs released a set of recommendations to enhance the transparency of the institute's peer review system for the industry's public accounting sector.

If your firm is anything like Ilene Eisen's Monterey, Calif.-based firm, ie Solutions, there have been some major upgrades in security around your office this year.Eisen, a CPA and Certified Information Technology Professional, has started using an online back-up for her files, so that they cannot be physically lifted away during a robbery; implemented password-protected USB drives; and changed the password on her PC. She has also made her wireless network secure in her office, and has started running spyware as well as patch updates for her computer applications.

The American Institute of CPAs has released two new standards, one on auditing professional requirements, which includes a section on attestation engagements, and a second dealing with audit documentation.

Most CPAs who serve as chief executives, chief financial officers and in other corporate decision-making positions, are optimistic about the U.S. economy, according to the latest Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey conducted by the American Institute of CPAs.

CPAs holding the Certified Information Systems Auditor credential from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association are now automatically eligible to receive the Certified Information Technology Professional designation from the American Institute of CPAs, if they are members of the institute.

The American Institute of CPAs' Auditing Standards Board has reissued its exposure draft containing a proposed statement on standards for attestation engagements.

Edward Knauf didn't take long to get to work after rising to the chairmanship of the American Institute of CPAs' Technical Issues Committee. Within a month of his appointment, he met with the three organizations of most concern to the small and midsized accounting firms that comprise the TIC's constituents.All three - the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing Standards Board, and the AICPA's Professional Ethics Executive Committee - are, in the diligent pursuit of their respective missions, putting increased pressure on auditors, who are already stretched in one direction by the demands put upon them and in another by the scarcity of human resources available to satisfy those demands.

Preparations are underway as the American Institute of CPAs begins relocating nearly 400 positions about 500 miles south - from Jersey City, N.J., to Durham, N.C.Within a month of the Governing Council approving the move at its Fall Meeting of Council, institute employees considering relocation will begin to visit the Durham area.

Rivet Software announced a marketing deal with the American Institute of CPAs to promote Rivet's Dragon Tag and Dragon View applications as the software of choice for accounting and finance professionals. The applications both implement the Extensible Business Reporting Language.

Leslie Murphy assumed the post of chairwoman of the American Institute of CPAs at the group's fall Governing Council meeting. A partner with the Midwest regional firm Plante & Moran, Murphy has been a vocal advocate for firms providing better work/life balance for their employees and find creative solutions to staffing shortages.

The American Institute of CPAs received a citation of excellence from the Internal Revenue Service for its work with the agency in assisting small business taxpayers.

The American Institute of CPAs will ask its Governing Council to consider relocating more than 400 of the trade association's employees from their Jersey City, N.J., offices to Durham, N.C. Relocation could begin as soon as August 2006, and would be completed by the middle of 2007.AICPA executives said that the move would come with a first-year loss of about $49 million, but should provide the AICPA with a net present-value savings of approximately $100 million over the next 15 years. The AICPA Board has already secured a loan commitment to cover costs for the first year, which is expected to be paid back within five years.