I have a couple of questions: 1. How to record and pay an employee for job expenses he paid with his own money for the company. 2. I own a construction contracting company and was wondering if all job materials purchased need to be entered one bill at a time or if it is acceptable to group expenses in a month for the same vendor (eg. Home Depot) and record it as a whole once? Thanks
1. Write a check to the employee. 2. I think it’s pretty much up to you and your accountant. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a couple of questions: 1. How to record and pay an employee for job expenses he paid with his own money for the company. 2. I own a construction contracting company and was wondering if all job materials purchased need to be entered one bill at a time or if it is acceptable to group expenses in a month for the same vendor (eg. Home Depot) and record it as a whole once? Thanks
I have a couple of questions: 1. How to record and pay an employee for job expenses he paid with his own money for the company.
Write a check to him, and Debit your materials account. I usually note "expense reimbursement" in the memo field, but that’s just me. 2. I own a construction contracting company and was wondering if all job materials purchased need to be entered one bill at a time or if it is acceptable to group expenses in a month for the same vendor (eg. Home Depot) and record it as a whole once?
I think this would be ok if you only have one job at a time in process. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be hard to tell how much was spent on each job? Angela, just a bookkeeper
2. I own a construction contracting company and was wondering if all job materials purchased need to be entered one bill at a time or if it is acceptable to group expenses in a month for the same vendor (eg. Home Depot) and record it as a whole once? I think this would be ok if you only have one job at a time in process. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be hard to tell how much was spent on each job?
Multiple jobs on one bill is ok, if the accounting system permits. QB should. Logistics is to make a little spreadsheet or pencil the rubric on the bill to reflect the coding of the bill and post according to the spreadsheet. I have done it all ways, posting by the invoice, posting by the statement, and posting the balance of the statement (ie, the invoices you haven’t already posted through the month). Whatever way works, so long as you adequately support. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Angela, just a bookkeeper
Sales tax is one issue on how you record the bills. Another is profitability. Call backs can turn what looks like a profitable job into a big loss. I believe that QB allows assigning line items on a PO to a specific job. If it doesn’t switch to a package that does like Peachtree. Programs like ACCPAC and Cougar Mountain have job costing modules that handle this. They are more work but you know if your making money. Bad bookkeeping tends to show up at the worst times. Bill Couture
If the bill is for more than job it is probably a bad idea. This is assuming you are entering a bill and later making a Bill Payment. When the payment is made towards the bill, QB would prorate the amount across each line of the bill, so you would not be able to choose certain jobs listed on the bill as paid and leaving other jobs unpaid. If this factor does not pertain to you, it would probably be fine to do the single entry.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – 2. I own a construction contracting company and was wondering if all job materials purchased need to be entered one bill at a time or if it is acceptable to group expenses in a month for the same vendor (eg. Home Depot) and record it as a whole once? I think this would be ok if you only have one job at a time in process. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be hard to tell how much was spent on each job? Multiple jobs on one bill is ok, if the accounting system permits. QB should. Logistics is to make a little spreadsheet or pencil the rubric on the bill to reflect the coding of the bill and post according to the spreadsheet. I have done it all ways, posting by the invoice, posting by the statement, and posting the balance of the statement (ie, the invoices you haven’t already posted through the month). Whatever way works, so long as you adequately support. Angela, just a bookkeeper
Thanks for the tip Drum. Lucky for me it will be my only class this term. On the other hand I do have a 4 year old, a 1 year old, a house, and a 37 year old 
to take care of as well. *sigh* I try to be the Little Engine That Could…I think I can…I THINK I can… I really enjoy accounting. After reading a previous post on forensic accounting, I am checking into it. Call me strange, but I LOVE doing research in accounting. If I had a head for human science I would have become a forensic scientist. JD
Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets.
Just think of IA as an aptitude test give to see if you have the aptitude for accounting. If you don’t pass it, your not accounting material and should choose something else. Boycott list: Belgium, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, PRC, Iran, Syria, Hollywood, San Francisco, Massachusetts, New York City, Sierra Club, ACLU, Movies of the first blacklist, Turner, Madonna, S. Crowe, Dixie Chicks, Cher, U2, rapp, Trudeau, W.Miller, Disney, ABC news, CBS news, NBC news, CNN, PBS, Sometimes the only influence you have is to say, "No, I’m not buying."
Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets. —
The worst thing I recall about Intermediate (around 1990) was the text by Keiso and Weygandt. Many in our class were utterly mystified by critical passages so badly written it was scarcely better than random gibberish. I find it difficult to believe this text is still widely used. Perhaps later editions were massively revised.
Ahh, I remember Theory I and II as if it were yesterday. On the first day of class, our professor got up (didn’t even introduce herself) and said "40% of you won’t be here by the end of the semester", and she was right. One of my buddies warned me that they try to weed people out in Intermediate Theory. The advice here so far has been excellent, and here are a few of my own: 1) Plan ahead as far as possible and work ahead if you can. Usually I do the reading and homework that the upcoming exam will cover in order to give myself as much time to study for the exam as possible. 2) As mentioned above, do the homework problems over as many times as possible. The exams will likely be 90% problem-based and the nuts and bolts of the problems need to be ingrained as much as possible. Infact, re-doing homework problems was the best way for me to study. 3) I also read the chapters three times total – 1st I read it straight through like a novel, 2nd I read it with highlighter and pen in hand, and 3rd I took notes on the readings. This may be overkill to some people, but it worked for me. If someone like me can make it through it so can you. I remember that I flunked my first exam in Theory I and still got a B in the class, and if you’re asking questions like these then you’re already way ahead of your classmates. Jim
Good advice, Marisa. Where were you when I was taking those classes?
I think with almost every college that teaches Intermediate, there are horror stories. In fact, my professor had actually had the previous semester’s class write up tips to give the new incoming students about what they thought about the course and how to succeed in it. You should have read some of these things! The only advice I can give you is that you should be prepared to spend more time on this course (and Intermediate II) than you have for any other course. They call Intermediate I, the "make or break" course. Those left standing at the end are the ones that will be continuing on and making a career in accounting. Case in point. My Intermediate I class started out with 24 students and ended up with 11 at the end of the semester! I offer the following tips: 1.. Don’t get behind! Much like paying bills, it’s harder to catch up than not to get behind in the first place! 2.. Trim the fat where you can as far as methods of study. There may be times where you have to skim the chapter, go straight to the problems and see what they are looking for, then go to the applicable section and really spend some time there to reinforce the points needed to solve the problem. Intermediate Accounting texts’ are notorious with being more information-laden than "normal" textbooks. Many topics are bundled in to a single chapter. Using the technique above, you "trim the fat" and focus on what’s needed (at least for the course anyway). 3.. When working with problems and you have one successfully completed problem where the solution is verified, rework the problem in a "rote" fashion. Do the problem 4 or 5 times in a row. What you’re trying to build here is the repetition of learning the steps needed to solve the problem (not just getting the "answer"). One skill that you absolutely need other than getting the correct final answer is a thorough knowledge of the PROCESS of how answers are derived. Nothing is more worse than taking an exam and reading a problem with the sudden realization that you have absolutely no clue where to begin! 4.. When you are copying down calculations done on the board by the teacher, just don’t copy down the numbers. Use arrows or some other means to "label" the numbers so you know where they came from and how they pertain the to the topic at hand. If you don’t do this, you’ll spend WAY too much time "rediscovering" how the calculations came about. Completely avoid this my labeling your calculations taken down in class. 5.. You’re going to spend a lot of time studying. Take a break and go for a short walk. You WILL need to do this to get a fresh start/perspective during those long study sessions. Hope the info given helps! Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets.
Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough.
Oooooooooo Half a chapter a day, and weekends off. Where do I sign up? — Paul A. Thomas, CPA Athens, Georgia
JD- Intermediate is the class that will prepare you for the CPA exam (if you decide that you want to take it). So you are about to take on of the most important courses in your college career! This may help…..I suggest coming home and rewriting or typing your notes. This will: – Allow you to put things in your own words – Will guarantee that you revisit the lecture at least once -Will act as a study guide at test time (and even for the exam) And don’t be afraid to ask questions- don’t spin your wheels. Chances are if you are confused, so are most people in the class. Good luck! Marisa
Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets.
Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets.
I am not really sure how different/heavy the Intermediate Accounting courses are up in the US compared to Canada. But up here in Ontario the course(s) are tough! It isnt your basic accounting/bookkeeping courses where you are basically walked through each subject. These courses are tough, and the only way to succeed in them is to do your work. I have already weeded through 2 intermediate courses (obtained a B+ for both so far), so heres some of my tips: – Manage your time. Spend a good amount of time studying everything in each chapter. You will need to know everything in each chapter. I normally spent about 4 hours per chapter, reading it over and studyign the examples to make sure I understand them fully before jumping into the homework. – Give some of the homework questions a shot without looking at the chapter/reviewing and flipping through again. If you dont know the answer, guess.. after giving the question(s) your best shot, check the solutions and then see what your problem area(s) are. – Dont fall behind in the readings. In my college, we basically covered one chapter a week (2 session per week, first session is where the teacher would walk us through the chapter highlighting to us and bringing certain things for discussion) 2nd session is for bringing up any concerns about the homework or chapter. – Study hard.. dont cram. it will be impossible trying to cram multiple chapters, especially when you get into Complex Secruities, Pensions (this stuff is hard), F/S Analysis (we arent just talking about memorzing formulas.) – Hopefully you have access to the homework solutions.. but do yourself a favor and DO NOT just skim through the solutions figuring you would do the same as the author would. Make the effort to do the homework. The Intermediate Courses here are tough. I know a few colleagues in my school still on the 1st Intermediate Course (they have tried 2 times.. both times failed/dropped out) simply because they dont/wont do the homeork properly. Good luck! -SA
Alright, I have heard several horror stories about intermediate financial accounting. How bad is this course? Lucky for me it will be the only course I will be studying this fall. Is it truly one of those hated classes that will make you or break you? I just finished fundamentals of corporate finance. Crammed 13 chapters into a 6 week period. THAT was rough. I ask how much harder can my next class be? Yes, I know this next class involves heavy analysis of balance sheets.
I have a question for all you accountant folk. We have a take home test with the question… If the beginning inventory is overestimated by 1000 on 1/1/2002, and the ending inventory is overestimated by 3000 at 12/31/2002, how will those errors affect the net income of 2003? I have no idea how to figure this out. Can anyone help me?
Try using a model by subtracting beginning inventory from ending inventory and see how it affects inventory usage for the year. — Ken Russell Sydney
| I have a question for all you accountant folk. We have a take home | test with the question… | If the beginning inventory is overestimated by 1000 on 1/1/2002, and | the ending inventory is overestimated by 3000 at 12/31/2002, how will | those errors affect the net income of 2003? | I have no idea how to figure this out. Can anyone help me? — Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Try using a model by subtracting beginning inventory from ending inventory and see how it affects inventory usage for the year.
I don’t know about Allan Rogers’ professor but when I give a take home test I specify that inquiries of other human beings are prohibited. That includes human beings who frequent Usenet news groups.
I don’t know about Allan Rogers’ professor but when I give a take home test I specify that inquiries of other human beings are prohibited. That includes human beings who frequent Usenet news groups.
I’ve never even had a take-home accounting exam. Our exams were always under very strict time constraints to "help prepare us for professional testing" like CPA, CMA, etc. — Todd Stephens
Let B=actual beginning inventory E= actual ending inventory CGS= cost of goods sold P= Purchases B + P – E = CGS if the over estimates are included, then (B+1000) + P – (E+3000) = CGS which reduces to B + P -E -2000 = CGS So, CGS should be B + P -E, but it has been recorded as B + P – E -2000. Therefore CGS is been recorded $2000 less than it should have. Sales – CGS = Income So income has been increased by $2000
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a question for all you accountant folk. We have a take home test with the question… If the beginning inventory is overestimated by 1000 on 1/1/2002, and the ending inventory is overestimated by 3000 at 12/31/2002, how will those errors affect the net income of 2003? I have no idea how to figure this out. Can anyone help me?
From my opion, the answer is $3000 if 2003 is corrected investory value. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a question for all you accountant folk. We have a take home test with the question… If the beginning inventory is overestimated by 1000 on 1/1/2002, and the ending inventory is overestimated by 3000 at 12/31/2002, how will those errors affect the net income of 2003? I have no idea how to figure this out. Can anyone help me?
The above calculation is for 2002 income. I just noticed the question was asking for the affect on 2003 income. Do the same thing over with the 2003 numbers and the net income is understated by $3000
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Let B=actual beginning inventory E= actual ending inventory CGS= cost of goods sold P= Purchases B + P – E = CGS if the over estimates are included, then (B+1000) + P – (E+3000) = CGS which reduces to B + P -E -2000 = CGS So, CGS should be B + P -E, but it has been recorded as B + P – E -2000. Therefore CGS is been recorded $2000 less than it should have. Sales – CGS = Income So income has been increased by $2000 I have a question for all you accountant folk. We have a take home test with the question… If the beginning inventory is overestimated by 1000 on 1/1/2002, and the ending inventory is overestimated by 3000 at 12/31/2002, how will those errors affect the net income of 2003? I have no idea how to figure this out. Can anyone help me?
I often talk to myself. So I’ll answer my own question in case anybody else is interested in the subject. Denver Tax Software got interested in the Bardahl formula and researched it sufficiently to write a program that applies it and watches over your shoulder for possible troubles. It will be on sale at their Web site shortly: http://www.denvertax.com In short, the Bardahl formula is for calculating necessary amounts of working capital and such in order to argue against, for example, the IRS claiming a corp. has excess earned income on the books (and related kinds of balance sheet entries). Franklynn Peterson, Editor CPA Computer Report newsletter http://www.cpacomputerreport.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – We’re looking for software or text that explains how to properly execute the Bardahl formula (named after a corporation that argued, successfully, that it did not have excess undistributed earnings). We’ve searched the Inet, book sites, accounting software and research services…. Thanks! Franklynn Peterson, Editor CPA Computer Report newsletter http://www.cpacomputerreport.com
We’re looking for software or text that explains how to properly execute the Bardahl formula (named after a corporation that argued, successfully, that it did not have excess undistributed earnings). We’ve searched the Inet, book sites, accounting software and research services…. Thanks! Franklynn Peterson, Editor CPA Computer Report newsletter http://www.cpacomputerreport.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for your reply. What you said is pretty much what I was thinking. There are a couple external forces that could possibly turn things around to some extent, but it will never again be the way it was 20 years ago. As the economy goes through down cycles and lenders realize they may not be able to rely on financial statements prepared by non-accountants in QuickBooks, the demand for attest services may increase. Also, the IRS audit rate will likely increase as the economy cycles down and Congress decides they "need" that extra revenue. This would result in more audit representation work and possibly more compliance work due to taxpayer fear of the IRS. In today’s environment, there is little incentive for small business to seek professional accounting services. They just enter their transactions into QuickBooks and TurboTax, then give the banker and the IRS whatever it spits out. The business owner and the banker don’t know or care whether its right and the IRS doesn’t have the resources to check.
Also, if they have questions they can post them on a forum and have the professionals answer them free of charge. No wonder our profession is dying. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – But enough about that, what I am really concerned with are where the opportunities are. In addition to providing QuickBooks support, what about training for QuickBooks and other popular software? Sort of a "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em" type approach. Would having training available to the general public lead to more support work? A former boss of mine has done quite well focusing on audit representation for state tax incentives and audits. Most of his work comes from other CPAs with the agreement that he will not take their clients away. He has asked me to come to work for him on several occasions, but the pay raise he offered was not enough to justify the move (relocation or a very long commute would be required). He also has no intention of taking on a partner, so that opportunity does not look very promising long term. My two cents… To answer your question, "YES" — the small CPA firm, as we have known it, is dying. HOWEVER, it is entirely possible to make a business out of Quickbooks support, if you do it correctly. Take advantage of the fact that 80, maybe 90% of CPAs haven’t a clue how to deal with QB. Instead of fighting it, trying to convince clients they can’t do the job with QB, tell them "Sure you can. You just need a little help along the way". This works, you provide a great service that few other CPAs are currently up to providing, and you have happy customers. I would avoid over-focusing on tax compliance work, because over the coming several years it will go away for the most part, except for the wealthy few. If you have some IT background, good. You should keep in mind, though, that serious IT consumers are going to look at you as a CPA with a little IT knowledge. I fought this battle for years until I figured out that holding out as a CPA was actually HURTING my IT practice — only after I quit holding out as a CPA did I start getting the kinds of work that my IT background warranted. Now, I do not disclose my history as a CPA until I’ve shown a prospective client my capability in the IT area. The reason for this is a good one: Most CPAs considering themselves as IT pros simply are not up to serious challenges (setting up a WAN, for example, or diagnosing network problems, and software development, for sure). MCSE probably helps in this area. CPAs have been awfully slow to recognize that the old business model simply will not work in the future. I think if one goes into it with an understanding that a new business model is in place, it can still be a really good business. But the idea that the traditional "accounting and tax" practice is going to survive long-term is very short-sighted. I think one by-product of this situation is that you will have less opportunity to sell your practice at a later date, simply because you will be more specialized. I started a practice once and sold it to get seed money to start another business. Even then (10 years ago) I was lucky to find a buyer in my area that had the money to make a really good up-front payment. Had I been more specialized at that time (for example, a heavy IT practice) I think it would have been more difficult to find a buyer. I’ve seen physicians close their doors without a buyer because they were too specialized to find a buyer in their locality. So, the liquidation value may well suffer… David I would like to have your opinion on the current status of the small CPA office. I hear lots of talk about it being a dying industry. Is it a dying industry? What I have been hearing is write-up is on the decline due to Quickbooks, lendors and other third parties rarely require audits anymore and IRS audits are virtually non-existant. What is the up side? Where are the opportunities? The reason I am asking is that I am a CPA woking for a state government agency. I would like to take the plunge and go back into public accounting after a 13 year absence. Before taking my current job 13 years ago (my first one out of college), I worked part time in a small accounting office that generated virtually all its revenue from write-up and tax compliance. I always planned to go back into public practice, but never did. There has to be an up side. My areas of greatest experience are tax and IT, working mostly with IT in recent years.
Also, if they have questions they can post them on a forum and have the professionals answer them free of charge. No wonder our profession is dying.
Not_ necessarily_ true – a month ago I posted a question two times (on 4 different newsgroups) and got NO useful reply! I asked five IRS employees the same question before I got an answer I could go with and it was a simple "like kind exchange" auto trade–in question useing Form 8824 Perhaps if I asked it AFTER tax time I would have gotten lots of replies. ??? 
– ____ _ | ____o____/_| | o’
I would like to have your opinion on the current status of the small CPA office. I hear lots of talk about it being a dying industry. Is it a dying industry? What I have been hearing is write-up is on the decline due to Quickbooks, lendors and other third parties rarely require audits anymore and IRS audits are virtually non-existant. What is the up side? Where are the opportunities? The reason I am asking is that I am a CPA woking for a state government agency. I would like to take the plunge and go back into public accounting after a 13 year absence. Before taking my current job 13 years ago (my first one out of college), I worked part time in a small accounting office that generated virtually all its revenue from write-up and tax compliance. I always planned to go back into public practice, but never did. There has to be an up side. My areas of greatest experience are tax and IT, working mostly with IT in recent years.
My two cents… To answer your question, "YES" — the small CPA firm, as we have known it, is dying. HOWEVER, it is entirely possible to make a business out of Quickbooks support, if you do it correctly. Take advantage of the fact that 80, maybe 90% of CPAs haven’t a clue how to deal with QB. Instead of fighting it, trying to convince clients they can’t do the job with QB, tell them "Sure you can. You just need a little help along the way". This works, you provide a great service that few other CPAs are currently up to providing, and you have happy customers. I would avoid over-focusing on tax compliance work, because over the coming several years it will go away for the most part, except for the wealthy few. If you have some IT background, good. You should keep in mind, though, that serious IT consumers are going to look at you as a CPA with a little IT knowledge. I fought this battle for years until I figured out that holding out as a CPA was actually HURTING my IT practice — only after I quit holding out as a CPA did I start getting the kinds of work that my IT background warranted. Now, I do not disclose my history as a CPA until I’ve shown a prospective client my capability in the IT area. The reason for this is a good one: Most CPAs considering themselves as IT pros simply are not up to serious challenges (setting up a WAN, for example, or diagnosing network problems, and software development, for sure). MCSE probably helps in this area. CPAs have been awfully slow to recognize that the old business model simply will not work in the future. I think if one goes into it with an understanding that a new business model is in place, it can still be a really good business. But the idea that the traditional "accounting and tax" practice is going to survive long-term is very short-sighted. I think one by-product of this situation is that you will have less opportunity to sell your practice at a later date, simply because you will be more specialized. I started a practice once and sold it to get seed money to start another business. Even then (10 years ago) I was lucky to find a buyer in my area that had the money to make a really good up-front payment. Had I been more specialized at that time (for example, a heavy IT practice) I think it would have been more difficult to find a buyer. I’ve seen physicians close their doors without a buyer because they were too specialized to find a buyer in their locality. So, the liquidation value may well suffer… David
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would like to have your opinion on the current status of the small CPA office. I hear lots of talk about it being a dying industry. Is it a dying industry? What I have been hearing is write-up is on the decline due to Quickbooks, lendors and other third parties rarely require audits anymore and IRS audits are virtually non-existant. What is the up side? Where are the opportunities? The reason I am asking is that I am a CPA woking for a state government agency. I would like to take the plunge and go back into public accounting after a 13 year absence. Before taking my current job 13 years ago (my first one out of college), I worked part time in a small accounting office that generated virtually all its revenue from write-up and tax compliance. I always planned to go back into public practice, but never did. There has to be an up side. My areas of greatest experience are tax and IT, working mostly with IT in recent years.
Thanks for your reply. What you said is pretty much what I was thinking. There are a couple external forces that could possibly turn things around to some extent, but it will never again be the way it was 20 years ago. As the economy goes through down cycles and lenders realize they may not be able to rely on financial statements prepared by non-accountants in QuickBooks, the demand for attest services may increase. Also, the IRS audit rate will likely increase as the economy cycles down and Congress decides they "need" that extra revenue. This would result in more audit representation work and possibly more compliance work due to taxpayer fear of the IRS. In today’s environment, there is little incentive for small business to seek professional accounting services. They just enter their transactions into QuickBooks and TurboTax, then give the banker and the IRS whatever it spits out. The business owner and the banker don’t know or care whether its right and the IRS doesn’t have the resources to check. But enough about that, what I am really concerned with are where the opportunities are. In addition to providing QuickBooks support, what about training for QuickBooks and other popular software? Sort of a "if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em" type approach. Would having training available to the general public lead to more support work? A former boss of mine has done quite well focusing on audit representation for state tax incentives and audits. Most of his work comes from other CPAs with the agreement that he will not take their clients away. He has asked me to come to work for him on several occasions, but the pay raise he offered was not enough to justify the move (relocation or a very long commute would be required). He also has no intention of taking on a partner, so that opportunity does not look very promising long term.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – My two cents… To answer your question, "YES" — the small CPA firm, as we have known it, is dying. HOWEVER, it is entirely possible to make a business out of Quickbooks support, if you do it correctly. Take advantage of the fact that 80, maybe 90% of CPAs haven’t a clue how to deal with QB. Instead of fighting it, trying to convince clients they can’t do the job with QB, tell them "Sure you can. You just need a little help along the way". This works, you provide a great service that few other CPAs are currently up to providing, and you have happy customers. I would avoid over-focusing on tax compliance work, because over the coming several years it will go away for the most part, except for the wealthy few. If you have some IT background, good. You should keep in mind, though, that serious IT consumers are going to look at you as a CPA with a little IT knowledge. I fought this battle for years until I figured out that holding out as a CPA was actually HURTING my IT practice — only after I quit holding out as a CPA did I start getting the kinds of work that my IT background warranted. Now, I do not disclose my history as a CPA until I’ve shown a prospective client my capability in the IT area. The reason for this is a good one: Most CPAs considering themselves as IT pros simply are not up to serious challenges (setting up a WAN, for example, or diagnosing network problems, and software development, for sure). MCSE probably helps in this area. CPAs have been awfully slow to recognize that the old business model simply will not work in the future. I think if one goes into it with an understanding that a new business model is in place, it can still be a really good business. But the idea that the traditional "accounting and tax" practice is going to survive long-term is very short-sighted. I think one by-product of this situation is that you will have less opportunity to sell your practice at a later date, simply because you will be more specialized. I started a practice once and sold it to get seed money to start another business. Even then (10 years ago) I was lucky to find a buyer in my area that had the money to make a really good up-front payment. Had I been more specialized at that time (for example, a heavy IT practice) I think it would have been more difficult to find a buyer. I’ve seen physicians close their doors without a buyer because they were too specialized to find a buyer in their locality. So, the liquidation value may well suffer… David I would like to have your opinion on the current status of the small CPA office. I hear lots of talk about it being a dying industry. Is it a dying industry? What I have been hearing is write-up is on the decline due to Quickbooks, lendors and other third parties rarely require audits anymore and IRS audits are virtually non-existant. What is the up side? Where are the opportunities? The reason I am asking is that I am a CPA woking for a state government agency. I would like to take the plunge and go back into public accounting after a 13 year absence. Before taking my current job 13 years ago (my first one out of college), I worked part time in a small accounting office that generated virtually all its revenue from write-up and tax compliance. I always planned to go back into public practice, but never did. There has to be an up side. My areas of greatest experience are tax and IT, working mostly with IT in recent years.
I would like to have your opinion on the current status of the small CPA office.
IMHO, just about like the farier, the year before Henry Ford started producing the model T. Today, the people who have horses still need them shod, but you can see the size of the market. — * Ronald Lee Todd M.B.A., C.P.A. * * * * Unemployed six years, and really beginning to enjoy it. * * From the Socialist People’s Republic of Kalifornia * * Ayn Rand was right *
I just received my undergrad in Accounting and would like some information on associations I might be eligible to join. I will be starting law school in the spring and afterward will be preparing for the CPA exam. Am I eligible to join an org. at this point? Thanks, Tiffany
I just received my undergrad in Accounting and would like some information on associations I might be eligible to join. I will be starting law school in the spring and afterward will be preparing for the CPA exam. Am I eligible to join an org. at this point? Thanks, Tiffany
The AICPA allows for student members www.aicpa.org My state CPA society also allows student members www.mncpa.org I would guess that many of the other state societies allow student members as well. The American Woman’s Society of CPA’s (AWSCPA) also allows student members and has a membership category for those who are no longer students but haven’t passed the CPA exam yet (although you must be working towards passing). Their address is www.awscpa.org. This organization also has local affiliates throughout the country. Their site has a place where you can find the affiliate nearest you. I belong to the Minnesota affiliate. I belong to all three of the organizations I listed above and serve on committees at the Minnesota Society of CPAs and the AWSCPA of Minnesota. The networking I have done with these groups has been tremendously helpful to me over the years. I have found that the easiest way to get to know other members is to help out on a committee or special project. I feel that I get at least as much out of my committee service as I put into it. Wendy Klager
If you won’t be around, dry storage will keep her from sinking while unattended for long periods. Not to mention growth, electrolices etc. Of course cost has a lot to do with it. Mike
In an ideal world, we’d find the perfect cruising boat two weeks before beginning our cruising lifestyle. This is the real world — ’nuff said. So if we buy a boat many months before we’re actually prepared to start using it, is it better to store it in or out of the water? Which would be likely to be less expensive? The place it would be kept would most likely be North Carolina, over the coming winter. It would probably be trucked there from Florida (I’m figuring that the truckage would be less than the FL sales tax.) Assume a 40-44 ft. boat.
In an ideal world, we’d find the perfect cruising boat two weeks before beginning our cruising lifestyle. This is the real world — ’nuff said. So if we buy a boat many months before we’re actually prepared to start using it, is it better to store it in or out of the water? Which would be likely to be less expensive? The place it would be kept would most likely be North Carolina, over the coming winter. It would probably be trucked there from Florida (I’m figuring that the truckage would be less than the FL sales tax.) Assume a 40-44 ft. boat.
If you are buying a used boat and don’t plan to sail it this summer, keep it out and work on bringing it up to your standards while it is nice and dry. It will give you the chance to do jobs like the bottom right without worrying about the launch date
If you are buying a used boat and don’t plan to sail it this summer, keep it out and work on bringing it up to your standards while it is nice and dry. It will give you the chance to do jobs like the bottom right without worrying about the launch date
Yeah, it would be a used boat, but we are not going to be working on it for most of the period while it’s stored. We are not going to be in the same state. We would be working on it eventually, though, so the suggestion still has merit.
So if we buy a boat many months before we’re actually prepared to start using it, is it better to store it in or out of the water? Which would be likely to be less expensive?
I’m not familiar with what is customary in North Carolina, but in our locale the cost of dry winter storage and wet winter storage (in a slip) are similar when not accounting for the rigging costs if it is a sailboat. Most contracts here are based on summer/winter storage combined and you have a choice whether to stay in or not. Given that your boat will be transported to the new location, it would seem logical to store it dry and handle all those fitting out tasks that are easier on land (bottom painting, hull waxing) before putting it in the water for cruising season.
I would be interested in knowing what experiences people have had using this software. My initial/recent experience has not been positive and I would like to know if others are having similar problems/frustrations. Thank you.
I would be interested in knowing what experiences people have had using this software. My initial/recent experience has not been positive and I would like to know if others are having similar problems/frustrations. Thank you.
Two questions: 1. Was the ACCPAC-certified Qualified Installer (QI) you used adequately experienced and knowledgable? 2. Have you visited http://www.accpaconline.com? Regards, Jon
I would be interested in knowing what experiences people have had using this software. My initial/recent experience has not been positive and I would like to know if others are having similar problems/frustrations. Thank you.
was ACCPAC bought by Computer Associates? http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/issues/1613/pcmg0087.htm
I am an accounting system consultant specializing in Accpac Plus (DOS product) and Accpac for Windows. Until version 3.0 of Accpac for Windows came out (late October – early November of last year), there was a number of bugs in the product. However, virtually all of them got resolved in the latest version. So, if you still use version 2.0, upgrade to 3.0 as soon as you can. If you use version 3.0, make sure you install the latest patches to the modules you are using (they are available on the Web). – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would be interested in knowing what experiences people have had using this software. My initial/recent experience has not been positive and I would like to know if others are having similar problems/frustrations. Thank you.
I was wandering how to account for the tax credit generated by my current losses. In particular I would like to eliminate the P&L effect of the benefit which reduces my current Net loss when in fact I should recognize the P&L benefit only the day I become profitable.
According to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) a potential future reduction of income tax otherwise payable arising from current or prior losses (which is what I think you are asking about) should be recognized in the accounts only when it is virtually certain that such amounts will be realized. In other words, as was indicated in another post, there is no "tax credit" involved, and no "P&L effeect" or "P&L benefit" when you have losses carried forward for income tax purposes. —
I was wandering how to account for the tax credit generated by my current losses. In particular I would like to eliminate the P&L effect of the benefit which reduces my current Net loss when in fact I should recognize the P&L benefit only the day I become profitable. Thanks. Fabrice.
I was wandering how to account for the tax credit generated by my current losses. In particular I would like to eliminate the P&L effect of the benefit which reduces my current Net loss when in fact I should recognize the P&L benefit only the day I become profitable. Thanks. Fabrice.
What tax credit are you speaking of? What losses, Capital, Trade/Business, Rental, what? What do you mean by the P&L effect? I’ve never heard this term used (& I’ve been doing tax work for 15 years). How does this "P&L" effect reduce your current Net Loss? Why do you think you should this gets recognized when you get profitable? I’d like to help, but franky, I can’t understand what you are asking for. E-mail me for a direct response. Gene
Just don’t record it. Is your software calculating a credit automaically? As I recall for GAAP you can record the anticipated credit if your have reasonable assurance that you are going to realize it and if not recorded it is an extraordinary item in the year realized. — Karl E. Irvin, CPA - Arlington, Texas
Just don’t record it. Is your software calculating a credit automaically? As I recall for GAAP you can record the anticipated credit if your have reasonable assurance that you are going to realize it and if not recorded it is an extraordinary item in the year realized.
be careful. I heard that if you don’t record the credit then it’s taken as meaning that you’ll never make profits again. Of course you could move to the UK where it’s nigh on impossible to establish a deferred tax asset. — andrew what law am i breaking now?
LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative If he could only learn to pay his taxes…….
I was under the impression that he was not directly involved in that nonsense and that, in fact, the case was just so much hot air. The way the charges were dropped, dismisses, or otherwise diminished in severity after Bush lost the election, in my mind, gives a lot of weight to the folks who were saying that LL was put in jail just to keep him out of the way of Bush and Co. (Some also said that Bush was directly responsible for LL’s incarceration; could this be true? any data points in this sector?) Anyway, I’m surprised that the Justice Department would go after LL when someone in the organization’s accounting department could really be at fault. I don’t have all of the details of the jailing (it was before I became a "political animal’ – , if anyone can point the way to a gopher or something, it would be greatly appreciated. Jamie Bass – The Ham Sandwich
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative If he could only learn to pay his taxes……. I was under the impression that he was not directly involved in that nonsense and that, in fact, the case was just so much hot air. The way the charges were dropped, dismisses, or otherwise diminished in severity after Bush lost the election, in my mind, gives a lot of weight to the folks who were saying that LL was put in jail just to keep him out of the way of Bush and Co. (Some also said that Bush was directly responsible for LL’s incarceration; could this be true? any data points in this sector?) Anyway, I’m surprised that the Justice Department would go after LL when someone in the organization’s accounting department could really be at fault. I don’t have all of the details of the jailing (it was before I became a "political animal’ – , if anyone can point the way to a gopher or something, it would be greatly appreciated. Jamie Bass – The Ham Sandwich
go back through the postings for John Covici’s stuff on LaRouche. at the end of his articles there is info on LaRouche archives. walter
LaRouche was thrown in Jail because not only did he fail to pay taxes, but his organization defrauds people out of money, through illegal credit-card schemes. He is a nut. And his followers are even nuttier. Lyndon LaRouche has no chance in hell of ever attaining the Highest Office. However, I will agree he is quite smart and is not completely without morals or good ideas. — Marc W. Asch "I hate people, people make me pro-nuclear"
Larouch babble deleted…
All this and an anti-semite, too! — Robb Shecter
Larouch babble deleted… All this and an anti-semite, too! — Robb Shecter
no, just anti-fuck up: – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – An organization called the Cult Awareness Network, or CAN, gained some public notoreity during the tragic days of the siege against the Mt. Carmel facility. Apparently it was much involved in the BATF’s original interest in the Davidians. Additionally it is said that CAN’s "experts" provided information to the FBI. I find it disturbing that our tax dollars are spent to pay [law enforcement agency] consulting fees to such an organization. Apparently CAN experts decide some group makes their "awareness" list and concurrently it makes the government’s black list. I just don’t like the idea of our government having any involvement with such an organization. Who are they to decide what does or does not constitute a legitimate belief structure? If private citizens want to spend their money on such folly, fine. But tax dollars? No way. I would like more information on this public menace. Perhaps someone out there could post some detailed information on CAN.
Below is an article about can. It is noteworthy that the original BATF interest in the B-D sect came from a report from Australia from a can related individual. Also, it was can experts and the ADL who advised the FBI on their ill-fated raid. Cult Awareness brainwashers, Galen Kelly exposed at last by Warren A.J. Hamerman Self-styled “cult deprogrammer” Galen Kelly, who is actually a professional kidnapper and brainwasher, was indicted on March 3, 1993 by a federal grand jury at the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia on a felony charge that he kidnapped Debra Dobkowski on May 5, 1992. The indictment comes just as Kelly and his cronies in the Cult Awareness Network (CAN) had geared up a propaganda campaign to present themselves as legitimate consultants on so-called cults in the aftermath of the Feb. 26 bombing of the New York World Trade Center (being blamed on Islamic radicals) and the Feb. 28 shootout between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Branch Davidian religious group in Waco, Texas. The kidnapping for which Kelly has been indicted is described in the prologue to a new book to be released this month by Executive Intelligence Review, entitled {Travesty–A True Crime Story.} Kelly is not just another thug; he is part of an international apparatus of Israeli, American, and British secret intelligence communities’ “wetworks” capability. Kelly is on the board of JINSA, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a liaison group between Israeli and American military establishments that is suspected of having been at the center of the Jonathan Pollard spy ring. Kelly is also the security henchman and a paid operative of CAN. Immediately after the Waco, Texas incident erupted, Kelly and one of his CAN deprogramming sidekicks named Rick Ross appeared on national media as experts to “explain” the events. According to various media reports the central “deprogramming” adviser to the ATF and FBI on the Branch Davidian sect is, in fact, the self-same Rick Ross. Along with Kelly, Ross is a leading deprogrammer for CAN. Ross is a convicted jewel thief. He was arrested in November 1975 and pled guilty to the crime of Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft Second Degree-Open End, according to a Phoenix Police Departmental Report. Ross was under criminal investigation in Washington state for a failed 1991 deprogramming attempt. Ross was publicly described by CAN Executive Director Cynthia Kisser as “among the half-dozen best deprogrammers in the country.” Priscilla Coates, the director of CAN in Los Angeles, said of Ross: “Rick has helped me with all kinds of questions. He has also competently counseled many parents and cult members.” Ross is a member of two national committees for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and an outspoken critic of Christian fundamentalist groups. He is past chairman of the Religious Advisory Committee to the Arizona Department of Corrections and of the International Coalition for Jewish Prisoner Services of the B’nai B’rith International, Washington, D.C. The victim of Kelly’s latest kidnap indictment is Debra Dobkowski, the roommate of the intended target, who was on her way home from work late at night when she was grabbed by two men and two women and forcibly taken to Leesburg, Virginia, some 40 miles northwest of Washington. On the way, she asked one of her abductors his name and he replied, “Galen Kelly,” according to court papers. A study of telephone records showed that the mother of Dobkowski’s roommate had placed calls to the Cult Awareness Network in Chicago three months before the abduction. Kelly is to be arraigned in U.S. Magistrates Court in Alexandria on March 15. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Leiser told the media that, if convicted, Kelly faces a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. Kelly, 45, was acquitted Dec. 31 of plotting to kidnap Lewis du Pont Smith. - What is CAN? – “We’re not a criminal organization, we don’t engage in kidnappings,” was the public comment of CAN’s Cynthia Kisser, upon hearing of the arrests last September of Galen Kelly, Don Moore, Newbold Smith, Bob Point, and Tony Russo for conspiracy to kidnap LaRouche associate Lewis du Pont Smith. Oh, but the lady doth protest too much. The evidence that has emerged from what has been called the “Kidnappers, Inc.” trial, only provides more confirmation that the Cult Awareness Network is exactly what Kisser says it is not. Originally called the Citizens Freedom Foundation, CAN was founded in 1974 by Henrietta Crampton and a small group of advocates of “deprogramming,” a euphemism for making someone change his or her beliefs by force, which is otherwise called “brainwashing.” Crampton described Ted Patrick as a prime force behind the formation of CFF. Patrick, a pioneer of “deprogramming” who has been convicted numerous times for violent crimes, wrote in his book {Let Our Children Go!} that deprogramming involves “kidnapping at the very least, quite often assault and battery, almost invariably conspiracy to commit a crime and illegal restraint.” Since its founding, CFF changed its name to CAN, obtained more prominent sponsors, and broadened its affiliations; but it has always remained the same–a clearinghouse and referral service for people who, for a fee, will do whatever it takes to break a targeted individual from his or her beliefs. Bucknell University religion professor Larry Shin told the {Philadelphia Inquirer} in 1992 that deprogramming is “the most destructive of the legacies of the great American cult scare…. CAN is much closer to a destructive cult than most of the groups they attack.” From the mid-1980s forward, CAN has functioned as the most active of a throng of so-called anti-cult organizations which sprang from the ravages of the counterculture. Such groups as the Jewish Community Relations Council’s (JCRC) Task Force on Missionaries and Cults, the American Family Foundation, the International Cult Education Project and the Interfaith Coalition of Concern about Cults, all share interlocking boards of directors and funding. They give each other awards and share referrals. Through these associations, CAN has enjoyed the support and protection of powerful elements of the eastern liberal financial establishment. It was through CAN that all the conspirators in Kidnappers, Inc. became associated. - `There’s money to be made’ – When E. Newbold Smith wanted a kidnapper/deprogrammer to go after his son, Lewis du Pont Smith, he called CAN, and they referred him to Galen Kelly, who in turn received payments from CAN. When Smith needed a psychiatrist who would testify to have his son Lewis declared mentally incompetent, Smith called CAN and they referred him to Dr. David Halperin, a board member of the American Family Foundation, CAN’s sister organization. Don Moore needed work after he was fired from the Loudoun County, Va., Sheriff’s Department for rummaging through department files. So, as he told another former sheriff’s deputy, Doug Poppa, after he sought to recruit Poppa to the “Kidnappers, Inc.” scheme, “I’m working for CAN.” Moore added, “There’s money to be made in the anti-cult work.” And when Moore and Kelly wanted legal cover for their kidnapping plans, lawyer Bob Point offered to provide that cover under the auspices of the work he does for CAN. Cynthia Kisser has gone to great lengths to deny CAN’s involvement in kidnappings and coercive deprogrammings, but there is ample evidence that points precisely to that. Estimates are that CAN maintains a network of 20 to 25 full-time deprogrammers, and 30 or so part-time deprogrammers. Each full-time deprogrammer handles approximately 25 deprogramming jobs per year, making a conservative estimate of over 500 deprogrammings per year. Of those deprogrammings, some 25% involve outright kidnapping. The rest involve “detaining” the victim against his or her will. It has been reported that at the 1992 CAN conference in Los Angeles, a CAN deprogrammer claimed that over 2,000 deprogrammings occurred in the United States in the last year. Occasionally, deprogrammers are arrested. Most frequently they plead guilty to lesser charges and spend little or no time in jail. Often they go scot-free. At CAN’s national conferences and local meetings, family members interested in having someone kidnapped or deprogrammed can meet professionals like Galen Kelly, whom they can hire. CAN claims to maintain files on over 1,000 organizations which it deems to be “destructive cults,” and it distributes hate literature on … read more »
thank you for posting this, John. please keep us up to date on any late breaking falllout from this long overdue visit. LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative originator of crucial ideas, to see his mind at work is beautiful) and with the benefit of a photographic memory for critical details. if his detractors and doubters had the opportunity to hear the man, there would be far less hysteric resistance to his presence on the world stage. walter
LaRouche is an absolutely compelling speaker, as you well know, able to hold forth for hours on a variety of economic, political, scientific and cultural topics from the standpoint of total mastery of the subject matter (as any creative
If he could only learn to pay his taxes……. FB — Fishin Buddy o << o | These opinions are offered by weight < < o <J provocative content may have occurred << << during shipping and handling.
LAROUCHE SIX DAYS IN MOSCOW LEESBURG, April 29 (EIRNS)–U.S. Democratic Party presidential pre-candidate Lyndon H.LaRouche, Jr. returned to Germany today following six days in Moscow, Russia. His visit had been by invitation of several Russian scientific organizations, including the Universal Ecological Academy, of which he is a member. During the visit, he addressed several bodies, including institutions of the Russia Academy of Sciences, on the subject of his original discoveries in the science of physical economy. The scheduled events began on Monday, April 25, with a lecture sponsored by the Academy of Economics of the Ministry of Economics of the Russian Federation, and concluded on Thursday evening, April 28, with a three-hour joint presentation by LaRouche and Professor Pobisk Kuznetsov on mathematical and related issues of physical economy. In each of the half-dozen lectures and seminars in which he participated during these days, there was examination of the relationship between the collapse of the Soviet system and the now ongoing collapse of the global financial and monetary system. LaRouche compared the present global financial collapse to a cancer in its terminal phase, and presented the argument for the conclusion that an early breakdown collapse of the global system is unstoppable. He emphasized the importance of preparing international cooperation for reconstuction of the global economy at the moment the inevitable collapse of the present, IMF- dominated system occurs, Throughout his presentations to the scientific bodies, LaRouche stressed the deadly incompetence of the work of John von Neumann and others. He emphasized that von Neumann’s view of mathematics itself suffers an underlying axiomatic quality of error against which Leibniz, Riemann, Weierstrass, Cantor, and Kurt Goedel have warned us. The application of von Neumann’s flawed work to economics is the principal distinguishing fixture of the current "global economic casino" form of financial and monetary bubble now in the process of collapse. Without the popularization of von Neumann’s incompetent economics dogmas and their application to modern computer devices, a bubble of the present character and magnitude could not have occurred. The concluding three-hour presentation by Professor Kuznetsov and LaRouche featured Professor Kuznetsov presenting the factor of power in physical economy, followed by LaRouche’s presentation of a modern view of Leibniz’s principle of technology. LaRouche showed the physical basis for the incompetence of the mathematics employed by Norbert Wiener’s application of his information theory to human communications and to living processes, and the related incompetence within von Neumann’s work. LaRouche concluded his presentation by describing the special methods of computation to be used in analyzing the impact of a space-research science-driver program upon a process of reconstructing an economy such as that of Russia today. 30-30-30 —- John Covici