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| October 28, 2010 |
| Publisher's Note |
  I might be going out on a limb with this statement, but accountants, generally speaking, are numbers people. Call me crazy. For those of you who enjoy a good math challenge such as the baseball one from last year, here’s a whopper for you. The first person who can post the correct answer (you’ll have to prove how you arrived at the answer and the assumptions you made) will receive the glorious honor of being the Big Brain. We’ll also send you a fantastic massive box of chocolates!Here’s the stumper: A family in Rockford, Michigan, recently had a third child. This one was born on October 10, which is 10/10/10. Their previous two children were born on 9/9/09 and 8/8/08, respectively. If they had set out to attempt to make this happen, having one child per each year, what were the odds of these birthdates hitting for all three children? This couple induced labor to hit these birth targets, but for the sake of arithmetic and maternity fun, please ignore that fact and look at this case simply from the view of pure chance. Let the calculations begin! Rob Nance Publisher publisher@accountingweb.com |
| Top News |
| Exclusive: IRS commissioner announces interim relief from tax preparer testing requirement |
 Speaking at this week's National Tax Conference in Washington, D.C., IRS Commissioner Mark Schulman addressed concerns about the new tax preparer identification guidelines that are about to take effect. Managing Editor Gail Perry reports. |
| FTC rule prohibits debt-relief companies from collecting up-front fees |
| Starting this week, for-profit companies marketing debt-relief services over the telephone are prohibited from charging a fee before they settle or reduce a customer’s debt to the Internal Revenue Service, credit card company, or other unsecured debt. |
| Exclusive: National Tax Conference kicks off in D.C. |
| Approximately 600 CPAs are gathered in Washington, D.C., this week to get the latest on tax reforms and the potential impact of the mid-term elections at the 35th annual National Tax Conference sponsored by the AICPA. Managing Editor Gail Perry reports. |
| Free Webcasts from Thomson Reuters: Conquer Tax Season with Automated Tax Workflow | |
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| CONQUER THIS TAX SEASON. Join us for one or both of our free 90-minute webcasts and take your productivity to new heights by streamlining your 1040 and 1120 workflow with UltraTax CS™. Discover the tools you need to take action and free your tax professionals from administrative tasks. Learn more and register. | |
| Featured Articles |
| Do Millennials lack empathy? |
 Recently I was asked by a reporter to comment on some research studies concluding that Gen Y/Millennials (people approximately 31 and younger now) are much less empathetic to others than the generations coming before them. |
| Job seekers: Five tough interview questions |
| You’re getting ready for a job interview today and you’re nervous as ever. What would make the experience worse are tough interview questions that leave you feeling tongue-tied. Here are some tips for answering five common interview questions. |
| More accounting and finance workers confident in ability to find new job |
| The Accounting and Finance Employee Confidence Index increased 0.6 points to 53.9 in the third quarter of 2010, according to a recent survey. The index is a measure of overall confidence among U.S. accounting and finance workers. |
| Deadline approaching for elimination of paper coupon deposits |
| Companies currently making their federal payroll tax deposits by taking them directly to an authorized bank will no longer be able to use paper coupons as of January 1, 2011. |
| Tax Talk Today Launches New 2011 CPE Plan – 15 CPE Credits, $187.50 | |
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| Take advantage of our Pre-Season Offer: 8 interactive webcasts featuring experts from the IRS in lively panel discussions with tax professionals about current and complex tax issues. For a limited time, you can earn 15 CPE credits during 2011 for only $187.50. Tax Talk Today is brought to you by the NAEA, Tax Analysts and Tax.com. | |
| Firm/State/People News |
| Colleen Black honored for promoting work/life balance |
 Colleen Black, of Billings, MT-based Colleen Black & Company P.C., recently received the Local Balance Award by the American Society of Women Accountants for her firm’s support of staff balancing life and work. |
| Peterson Sullivan acquires Seattle office of Anderson ZurMuehlen |
| Seattle-based CPA firm Peterson Sullivan LLP this week announced it will combine with the Seattle office of Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. PS, an accounting and business advisory firm based in Montana. The two Seattle firms will operate as Peterson Sullivan LLP effective November 1. |
| Ahlbeck & Company joins SS&G |
| CPA and business advisory firm SS&G recently announced the completion of a merger with Chicago-based Ahlbeck & Company. The merger adds 22 staff members to SS&G's roster of more than 400 employees. |
| Thomas R. Haggerty CPA merges with Lewis & Knopf |
| Accounting firms Thomas R. Haggerty CPA, PC, and Lewis & Knopf CPAs, P.C., recently announced a merger. |
| Imagine Growing Your Firm...Let AMM Show You How |
 The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) Celebrates Membership Day, Wednesday, November 3. The purpose of AAM is to enhance the accounting marketing and practice growth profession through member education, networking and thought leadership. By becoming an AAM member, you’ll have direct access to leaders in the industry along with an impressive, dynamic list of benefits. Check it out! Become a member today and see what AAM has to offer. |
| Blogs! What do you have to say today? |
| Did the $787 billion stimulus package create jobs? |
| It was 20 months ago that Congress “speed rushed” the $787 billion stimulus package through Congress with a goal of creating jobs. How effectively was the money spent? |
| How can a client acceptance form save time on audits? |
| There can be significant time-saving benefits when the information on a properly designed form is integrated into our audit planning. |
| Too much testosterone in tax court? |
| If you ever want to know exactly how to behave at audits and in tax court, do yourself a favor and start reading tax court decisions. The judges are as meticulous, polite, and gracious as they can be. But sometimes they are hilarious. |
| Life without social media? |
| What if access to social media outlets was blocked for a week? What if everyone had to put down the status updates, tweets, and IMs? The answer might surprise you. |
| 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. |
| Partners |
| Latest industry news |
 Click the link above to find out what's going on among our advertising partners — or check out the stories below: |
| SWK Technologies offers library of Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 extended solutions |
| PPC’s Guide to Compilation and Review Engagements revised for SSARS 19 |
| Cougar Mountain Software releases Cougar Dtails, A Sales Dashboard for Denali |
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