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JANUARY 3, 2008

Features

Tax preparers face stricter standards of conduct
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued Notice 2008-13 that implements a May 2007 law that expanded the tax return preparer penalty and heightened the standards of conduct that must be met by tax return preparers in order to avoid that penalty.

Center for Audit Quality issues SOX 404 alert
With the effective date of management's implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404(a) for non-accelerated filers (smaller public companies) fast approaching, the AICPA-affiliated Center for Audit Quality has issued an alert to provide information to auditors of those companies on items to consider during the upcoming audit season.

IRS announces delay of tax return processing
The IRS expects to begin processing returns for the vast majority of taxpayers in mid-January. However, as many as 13.5 million taxpayers using five forms related to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) legislation will have to wait to file tax returns until the IRS completes the reprogramming of its systems for the new law. The IRS has targeted Feb. 11, as the potential starting date.

Blogs!

What have you got to say today?

Allan Boress, CPA: Truth Be Told About Business Development Blog

Your New Year's Marketing Resolutions

With 2008 here, now is the perfect time for you to set your goals for how you will change and improve in the New Year. What kind of objectives do you have in mind for yourself - and your practice?

* To lose weight?
* To spend more time with your family?
* To build your practice with more quality clients?
* What are you planning to do about customer and client service? Let's face it -- you're primarily in business to do one thing: to serve your clients and referral sources. The most important asset you have is the quality of your personal relationships with these people.

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express your views!
http://www.accountingweb.com/questions_advice/
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Firm/State News

Deloitte agrees to $38 million settlement in Delphi case
The law firms representing the Lead Plaintiffs in the securities class action litigation involving Delphi Corp., the U.S. auto parts maker now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, have announced that an agreement in principle has been reached with Delphi's former outside auditor, Deloitte & Touche LLP, to settle claims against the auditing firm for $38,250,000 in cash.

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Publisher's Note

Accountants are lifelong students. The constant need and desire to remain "on top of your game" separates ours from so many professions. It's healthy for us all to see what firms in other parts of the country and their people are doing. We now have a repository for firm news on AccountingWEB. Submit Your Firm's News!

In the spirit of being lifelong accounting students, plus this "healthy" activity mentioned above, I give you the "Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Universities," courtesy of Food Management magazine. If you're a graduate or accounting professor from one of these schools, e-mail me please. You'll be glad you did.

1.   Northwestern University
2.   Yale University
3.   The University of California-Berkeley
4.   Humboldt State University (where the heck is that?!?)
5.   The University of Puget Sound
6.   Brown University
7.   Indiana University
8.   Boston University
9.   Georgetown University
10.  The University of Florida

My alma mater of Ball State University? Unranked, much like their sports teams ....

Rob Nance
Publisher
publisher@accountingweb.com


Latest News


Student News

Students are reminded to prepare FAFSA in January
January 1 is the first day that students planning to attend college next fall may submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and begin the financial aid application process. Sallie Mae, the nation's leading saving- and paying- for-college company, advises students and families to submit their FAFSA early to reduce the amount they spend out of pocket to pay for college.

Tech News

Tutorial: Import data from MYOB into Excel. By David Carter.
It is very easy to get nominal transactions out of MYOB and into Excel, although it's a bit of a rocky ride to get them out in the format you want. In this first of two tutorials David Carter shows how to get nominal transactions out of MYOB and into Excel via Excel's Data - Import External Data command.

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