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| January 7, 2010 |
| Featured Sponsors |
| Federal Tax Update - Attend Twice Weekly Audio Seminars and Earn CPE Credit |
| Make Your New Year Very Prosperous |
| Join Your Colleagues in the Cloud - Use the Force! |
| Publisher's Note |
Who wants to be a Watchdog? There are a lot of people in the public eye who are screwing
up their financial situations. Year in, year out, this remains constant. Whenever you read about someone who falls in a financial barrel of monkeys, along the lines of the articles on our Watchdog section, fire those notes over to me. Every worthy submission will warrant a special AccountingWEB treat. Be sure to include
your mailing address in your e-mail to me.You are now an AccountingWEB Watchdog! Do you accept the mission? Rob Nance Publisher publisher@accountingweb.com |
| Top News |
| IRS rulings provide Section 7216 guidance for tax return preparers |
 Last week the IRS issued two Section 7216 rulings (Rev. Rul. 2010-4 and Rev. Rul. 2010-5) providing guidance to tax return preparers. Each of these rulings covered three issues relating to situations in which preparers will not be liable for criminal or civil penalties under IRC sections 7216 and 6713. |
| Section 7216 Regulations on disclosure and use of tax information |
| If your firm shares a client’s return with any party other than the IRS (including certain filing services) you need to disclose those practices and obtain the client’s consent. |
| IRS to regulate tax preparers |
| The Internal Revenue Service kicked off the 2010 tax filing season today by issuing the results of a landmark six-month study that proposes new registration, testing, and continuing education of tax return preparers. |
| IRS outlines ambitious plan to regulate paid tax preparers |
| The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in a report published on Monday announced that it will require all paid tax return preparers to register with the Service using a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). Preparers will be subject to ethical standards and disciplinary action and monetary penalties of Treasury Department Circular 230. They must also demonstrate competency by passing a test and must meet minimum continuing professional education requirements. |
| Federal Tax Update – Twice Weekly Audio Seminars Plus CPE Credit from CCH | |
CCH Audio Seminars will cover Federal Tax Updates on a variety of topics through January. One low price for your entire staff, support materials and CPE credit available. All from the experts at CCH. Learn More. |
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| Featured Articles |
| Keeping illegal immigration issues on ICE: U.S. immigration and customs enforcement shifts focus to employers |
  The images tend to be memorable and camera-friendly – federal agents stage a well-publicized bust on a manufacturing or meat-packing plant and cart off hundreds of undocumented workers. But that was then, under a different presidential administration. Nowadays, ICE, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has shifted its focus away from undocumented workers and is targeting the employers who hire them. |
| The “Just One” approach to strategic planning |
| Lay’s potato chips had it right when they said, “Nobody can eat just one.” Unfortunately, accounting firms often confuse their planning efforts with eating potato chips when they take on too many strategic initiatives at one time. |
| Roth IRA conversions post-2009 |
| According to a recent study by USAA, 9% of Baby Boomers with AGIs of $100,000 or more are planning to do a Roth IRA conversion in 2010, and more than half (57%) are not aware that the income limits on conversions are eliminated in 2010. |
| Accounting Cloud Solution That Costs Less and Does a Lot More | |
| The Accountant-Centric Accounting solution from AccountantsWorld does what no other cloud computing accounting solution can: • Protect your most precious business asset • Eliminate client errors • Gain time But that's not all. You can get all this power at a surprisingly low price. Click here to learn more. |
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| Firm/State/People News |
| CCR LLP Acquires Orlando CPA and Consulting Firm |
 CCR LLP announced that it has combined operations with Geller, Ragans, James, Oppenheimer & Creel, a full-service CPA and consulting firm based in Orlando, FL. The firm will operate in Central Florida. |
| CPA Firm Roth Murphy Sanford Merges with Carr, Riggs & Ingram |
| New Orleans CPA firm Roth Murphy Sanford L.L.P. (RMS) has merged with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC (CRI), the fourth largest accounting firm in the Southeast – a move that expands CRI’s footprint to six states while enhancing public accounting and management consulting services throughout Southeast Louisiana. |
| Sacramento-based MGO announces merger with Bernstein Fox |
| Sacramento, California-based Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP (MGO) has announced a merger with Bernstein, Fox, Whitman, Goldman & Baumblatt LLP (Bernstein Fox), a Century City-based public accounting and business management services firm. |
| ATTENTION ACCOUNTANTS: |  |
AccountingWEB's US Business Forums is primarily for your business clients. Give them this gift and get yet another feather in your cap! Click here to send the USBF link and introductory note to your clients.  |
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| Blogs! What do you have to say today? |
| IRS Issues Proposed Regulations Adjusting Use of Some Taxpayer Information |
| IRS has been busy this week, with announcements about testing tax preparers and tax tips, and proposed regulations. Note the word ‘proposed’. That means you have the opportunity to speak up and let IRS know if you have objections to their proposed regs – or suggestions for improvements. |
| What are your marketing priorities for 2010? |
| A quick search on Google indicates that surveys about business-to-business (B2B) marketing priorities tend to concentrate on tactics--rather than strategy. They also tend to focus on investments in various types of promotional activities... |
| Subsequent Events Proposal Issued by FASB; Final ASUs Incorp. FAS 166, 167 Into Codification |
| A few days prior to year-end, FASB released a Proposed Accounting Standards Update—Subsequent Events (Topic 855): Amendments to Certain Recognition and Disclosure Requirements. |
| Are You Addressing Your Clients' Most Crucial Needs? |
| At the close of 2009 our firm conducted a survey through our web site for business owners, asking them to share predictions for their company's growth in 2010. We also asked them to rank their greatest concerns for the coming year. From this exercise we learned that most of the respondents are cautiously optimistic about the coming year and we also earned that one of their key issues is in regards to having an exit strategy in place. |
| Kaplan Weekly Quiz |
 Are you prepared for the CPA exam? Test your knowledge and keep your skills sharp by taking the weekly CPA Exam Quiz, brought to you by Kaplan Schweser CPA Review and AccountingWEB Education & Careers Zone. New questions will be posted for each section weekly. Take this week's quiz. |
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| Successful online lead generation campaigns depend on some tried and true principles of advertising…the right frequency and consistency of your message to the right target. We guarantee a successful online campaign. Contact us today! Diane Williams, Sales Manager, 866-688-1678 x 17 dwilliams@accountingweb.com Kathy Costa, Account Executive, 866-688-1678 x 13 kcosta@accountingweb.com |
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