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FEBRUARY 28, 2008

Features

Financial Accounting Foundation announces major changes to FAF, FASB, and GASB
The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation have announced that it has voted to approve major changes to the oversight, structure, and operations of the FAF and its two standard-setting Boards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

Economy looks bleak to CEOs of fasting growing companies
Optimism in the U.S. economy among CEOs of the nation's fastest-growing private companies has fallen nearly 59 percent in the last year to 29 percent, hitting its lowest point in the 16 years since PricewaterhouseCoopers launched its Trendsetter Barometer.

IRS, Nicolas Cage tangle over personal expenses
Actor Nicolas Cage is the latest celebrity to be caught up in a dispute with the IRS. The IRS contends that Cage, the star of "National Treasure," wrongly wrote off $3.3 million in personal expenses, reports Forbes.com.

Blogs!

What have you got to say today?

David Tate, CPA, Esq.:
The Legal & Accounting Blog
The $100,000 per foot wheelchair ramp

Perhaps only in San Francisco. It is reported in the San Francisco Chronicle (Matier & Ross) that the cost to construct a wheelchair ramp to make the Board of Supervisors President's podium wheelchair accessible may now cost $100,000 per foot, for a 10-foot long ramp. Total cost: as much as $1,000,000. It gets worse. The planning and actual work (which hasn't begun) have now taken four years. The disability compliant project should have been done in the 1990s, and the Supervisors may not be able to use the Board room for months after the actual work begins. Go figure....

The K2 Team
Accounting Technology Talk and More!
Serious Security Issues for Accountants, Part 3 - Keeping the Bad Guys Out of Your Online Data

And yes, almost all of it is online. True, the personal information stored in your phone, PDA, and laptop is not always online. We do turn these devices off when we're requested to (well, most of the time). But as for the corporate data (including customer, vendor, and employee data) in our primary data storage location - yes, that hardware is typically and continually connected to the Web. If your service techs, employees, or consultants can get to it without being on-site, then it is online....

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Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big

It's an axiom of business that great companies grow their revenues and profits year after year. Yet quietly, under the radar, a small number of companies have rejected the pressure of endless growth to focus on more satisfying business goals. Goals like being great at what they do . . . creating a great place to work . . . providing great customer service . . . making great contributions to their communities . . . and finding great ways to lead their lives.

Publisher's Note

I live in a state where it's illegal to smoke in restaurants and other public places, so when I encounter someone smoking it is quite noticeable to me. It's amazing to realize that what once blended in now stands out like a sore thumb since I am only around smoking when traveling out-of-state.

Let's twist this a bit and apply it to the business development side of an accounting practice. No, I'm not advocating that you pass out cigarettes emblazoned with your firm's or company's logo. Instead, ask yourself this question: "What commonly accepted marketing tactics of the past have drifted away?" Perhaps it's time to re-examine old efforts that worked, but no one ever uses now. Maybe they will cut through that marketing clutter and be successful now! Think about it and let me know your ideas.

Rob Nance
Publisher
publisher@accountingweb.com


Latest News


Student News

Beta Alpha Psi launches national case competition
Beta Alpha Psi, the national honorary fraternity for accounting, IT, and finance students, has launched a new national competition for its members.

Lite News

Test your financial reporting skills on the Revenue Recognition Challenge game
Congratulations! You've just been hired as the new CFO of Worldwide Faulty Enterprises where Murphy's Law is a corporate value. Only you can save the company and resuscitate its stock price.

Firm/State News

Two Oregon accounting firms merge
The Eugene, Oregon-based accounting firms of Mueller Yuva & Osterman and Larson and Associates have merged their practices.

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