Wealth management

Protected Tomorrows Inc. has introduced a new program to help financial professionals such as CPAs deal with families who have a loved one with special needs such as autism, bipolar disorder or Alzheimer’s disease.

XBRL US has launched the XBRL Challenge, a contest to uncover the first generation of open source analytic tools that will mine financial data in ways never before possible.

IMGCAP(1)]Equity compensation is more of a minefield than it once was.

Husbands and wives need to talk more about retirement planning and how to achieve their retirement goals, according to a new study.

MORE DELAY RETIREMENT

We think of risks associated with the audit and attest side of the business every time we place our signature on a financial statement. We think of investment risk every time we meet with a client who is nervous about market losses while counting on those investments to provide income or security in future years. But when it comes to traditional risks, many of which can be protected against or avoided, we are only scratching the surface of what CPA financial planners could or should be doing.

H.D. Vest, an investment advisory firm that partners with many tax practitioners, will be sold by its corporate parent Wells Fargo to Parthenon Capital Partners, a private equity firm.

Three out of four middle-income Baby Boomers say their financial situation, not age, is now the key trigger for when to retire, according to a recent study.

The majority of Americans say they want and need income replacement projections for financing their retirement, but most do not have access to the data nor an understanding of how to translate their 401(k) savings into a stream of retirement income, according to new research.

Emerging Information Systems Inc., developer of NaviPlan and Profiles needs analysis and financial planning software, has become the newest affinity provider for the Financial Planning Association’s Member Advantage Program.

The Financial Planning Coalition has sent a letter.to the Securities and Exchange Commission, accompanied by a petition signed by more than 5,200 financial planners, urging the SEC to apply a uniform fiduciary standard to anyone providing personalized investment advice to retail clients.

Only 51 percent of Americans believe they will have enough money to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

Capital markets executives at leading investment banks predict continued growth in the number and size of initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges during the remainder of 2011, according to a new study by BDO USA LLP.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has concluded that certain individuals who invested money through the Stanford Group Company—a U.S. broker-dealer owned and used by Allen Stanford to perpetrate a massive Ponzi scheme—are entitled to the protections of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970.

While many people continue to experience the after-effects of the recession, a majority of older Americans say they are confident in their retirement preparedness, according to a survey by Charles Schwab.

New statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service showed that the number and percentage of taxpayers earning over $200,000 a year who owed no U.S. income taxes nearly doubled from 2007 to 2008.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington is co-sponsoring legislation and demanding an independent probe to stop the government and a trustee from suing innocent victims who invested in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

The Texas Society of CPAs has some tips for clients on how to keep a lid on budgets and expenses.

Despite their wealth, nearly half of the rich wish they had better self-control over their financial behavior.

Check out the digital edition of the June 2011 issue of Accounting Today.