Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello all, I was contacted today about a business venture that I had been considering and something made me think twice before signing any papers.  The person I spoke to on the phone told me that an online auction business run from one’s home is 100% tax deductible. Now, I’m only a first year accounting student, but be real.  I don’t believe anything profitable is 100% tax deductible. The opinions of you professionals would surely be appreciated. — Blessings, J. "Corabear" K. BFCorabear on YIM & AIM

You are right to be cautious!  This is not true with any stretch of the imagination.  Be careful, people will tell you anything to get your money. Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

Response:

I thought so!  Thank you. — Blessings, J. "Corabear" K. BFCorabear on YIM & AIM

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hello all, I was contacted today about a business venture that I had been considering and something made me think twice before signing any papers.  The person I spoke to on the phone told me that an online auction business run from one’s home is 100% tax deductible. Now, I’m only a first year accounting student, but be real.  I don’t believe anything profitable is 100% tax deductible. The opinions of you professionals would surely be appreciated. — Blessings, J. "Corabear" K. BFCorabear on YIM & AIM You are right to be cautious!  This is not true with any stretch of the imagination.  Be careful, people will tell you anything to get your money. Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

Response:

Hello all, I was contacted today about a business venture that I had been considering and something made me think twice before signing any papers.  The person I spoke to on the phone told me that an online auction business run from one’s home is 100% tax deductible. Now, I’m only a first year accounting student, but be real.  I don’t believe anything profitable is 100% tax deductible. The opinions of you professionals would surely be appreciated. — Blessings, J. "Corabear" K. BFCorabear on YIM & AIM

Response:

Question:

There are people on this ng who are working.

I was working as a computer systems administrator until last October. I had really serious hopes and so did my pdoc of getting back to that this year some time. It’s still likely I’ll try to work at the same company, but after a big reorg yesterday, I’m not sure what I’ll wind up doing, or whether it will suite me as well. But that’s close to working! — Manic depression befriends me, Hear his voice; Sanity now it’s beyond me, There’s no choice    -Ozzy Osbourne

Response:

You are not your roommate.  Some bipolar people work, some don’t. "Disabled", imo, is a legal term used to describe people who are unable to do a certain task or tasks.  It isn’t an all-purpose label.  Bipolarity is a "disability" to varying degrees, for different people. You can work if you believe you can and if you’re willing to try.  If you couldn’t work, you wouldn’t need to ask about working.  You’d know it. I’ve been diagnosed for 4 years, and was bipolar since I was a teenager. During that time I’ve earned a college degree, worked for the same company for 10 years, and gotten married.  It hasn’t always been easy, but I know myself.  I don’t think I’d do very well on disability – even during summer breaks when I was in college, I would "sink into my own bellybutton", sleeping odd hours, watching tv, reading, and getting more and more unfocused on life until I had the structure of classes to go back to.  I need outside structure.  I need the rewards associated with a challenging and rewarding job.  It’s sometimes stressful, but staying at home would be more stressful for me. Deal with it one day at a time, and you’ll learn to cope with lifes "ups and downs".  Good luck.  :-) Diane

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel a bit bummed in my situation because a roommate that I talked to, who told me that her pdoc recommended that she work (her BP is on the milder end), said that she didn’t agree with him. While I respect her choice it seemed that she was trying to get me to doubt my ability to be able to carry on my current choice (that is working at my current job). While I know that stress is something that causes problems with us, I also know that there’s a reason why we take meds. I know I am taking meds to overcome problems and hurdles to live a regular life. I don’t want to  be on disability because 1)it pays too little 2)want to give my daughters a good role model 3) I’m up for a challenge. Now that I’m at a store that the manager doesn’t make me stress out, I can handle the job I’m in. Even when stressed before, I wasn’t near a nervous breakdown in any way. I just made more mistakes that I haven’t made recently. I think what I’m trying to say is that I want validation that "I can do it", instead of being told how limited I am. I know that there may be times that I won’t be able to handle circumstances, but, by golly I want to put that off for as long as possible. Besides, in about a month or so, I can start getting medical insurance to get properly medicated. My BP is medicated, but not my ADHD. Since BP is taken care of, my ADHD seems to be mild, and even though I struggle a little bit, it’s not enough to be disabling (like before when I thought I just had ADHD – the extra problems attributed to ADHD wound up being due to BP). I think learning coping skills have helped in this area. So for as long as those meds help me, I will do whatever I can to overcome those day to day mood problems. MorphGrrl

Response:

I’d get bummed, too, if someone told me I couldn’t do what I felt I should do because of their interpretation of my condition.  Stick to your guns. Diane

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It’s okay  to post about individual experiences, but I get a little bummed when someone advises that I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing because I’m "disabled". MorphGrrl

Response:

I’m a working BPer, diagnosed 1984 and have carried on working full-time for most of the time since. Cool! What do you do for a living?

In 1984 I was an analyst/programmer.  I went on to be a systems analyst, and now I’m a business analyst, working as a contractor. I had my first two manic episodes (May 84, May 85) working for one company; they kept me on through month-long hospitalisation and 3-month post-bin depression.  I remember a senior guy saying he understood, he’d had a ‘mental breakdown’ himself.  Next two manic episodes (May 89, Jan 90) working for another company – they kept me on thru same drama.  I’m very impressed with their decency, looking back on it.  (I kept having episodes because I kept going off lithium – it took me a while to accept that I have to take it). Since then I’ve been stable on lithium.  I don’t tell many people about my Dx, certainly don’t mention it to prospective clients / employers.  I still have to take care of my mental health.  Too much playing on the computer late at night means I don’t sleep.  Too much physical exercise makes me high.  My husband tells me when I’m getting a bit manic. You’re the one who knows what you can do in your situation, with your brain, meds etc.  From your other posts I’ve seen, it sounds like you’re aware & sensible – go for it.  As we say in NZ, good on you!

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You are not your roommate.  Some bipolar people work, some don’t. "Disabled", imo, is a legal term used to describe people who are unable to do a certain task or tasks.  It isn’t an all-purpose label.  Bipolarity is a "disability" to varying degrees, for different people. You can work if you believe you can and if you’re willing to try.  If you couldn’t work, you wouldn’t need to ask about working.  You’d know it. I’ve been diagnosed for 4 years, and was bipolar since I was a teenager. During that time I’ve earned a college degree, worked for the same company for 10 years, and gotten married.  It hasn’t always been easy, but I know myself.  I don’t think I’d do very well on disability – even during summer breaks when I was in college, I would "sink into my own bellybutton", sleeping odd hours, watching tv, reading, and getting more and more unfocused on life until I had the structure of classes to go back to.  I need outside structure.  I need the rewards associated with a challenging and rewarding job.  It’s sometimes stressful, but staying at home would be more stressful for me.

It was for me as well. I need to feel "useful". I am currently working. I’ve thought about taking on another job. However I don’t know if I should. Let’s see if I can support myself just fine with this one. Deal with it one day at a time, and you’ll learn to cope with lifes "ups and downs".  Good luck.  :-) Diane

Thanks, Diane. MorphGrrl

Response:

You are more together than many "normal" people I know!  I like the way you think and it is sad that one person is undoing what you have accomplished. Ignore the neighbor–keep on working as long as you can.  I applaud your efforts and I think you will probably be able to work for a long time to come! Hugs, Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Thanks, Nancy and hugs back at ya MorphGrrl

Response:

I’d get bummed, too, if someone told me I couldn’t do what I felt I should do because of their interpretation of my condition.  Stick to your guns. Diane

Thanks Diane. I just replied to your other posts. It inspires me to see other people doing what I’m choosing to do. (and also doing). MorphGrrl

Response:

permanently into the ether: I don’t want to  be on disability because 1)it pays too little 2)want to give my daughters a good role model 3) I’m up for a challenge. You GO girlfriend! Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Thanks MorphGrrl

Response:

There are people on this ng who are working. I was working as a computer systems administrator until last October. I had really serious hopes and so did my pdoc of getting back to that this year some time. It’s still likely I’ll try to work at the same company, but after a big reorg yesterday, I’m not sure what I’ll wind up doing, or whether it will suite me as well. But that’s close to working!

I’d like to work in the computing field as well. MorphGrrl

Response:

I think you’re smart to hold off on the 2nd job.  I get the impression that you are in a new job ( you mentioned that you will get medical insurance in a month).  The first few months of a new job can be very stressful.  You don’t need to make your life more stressful than it is.  One step at a time. Good luck. Diane

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It was for me as well. I need to feel "useful". I am currently working. I’ve thought about taking on another job. However I don’t know if I should. Let’s see if I can support myself just fine with this one.

Response:

ether: I think you’re smart to hold off on the 2nd job.  I get the impression that you are in a new job ( you mentioned that you will get medical insurance in a month).  The first few months of a new job can be very stressful.  You don’t need to make your life more stressful than it is.  One step at a time. Good luck. Diane

You are so right Diane!  You reminded me that when I took and Organizational Development class, they taught us that it takes a minimum of six months to "belong" and fit in to a new job.  The more complex the job, the longer it takes to adjust. HTH, Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Response:

I think what I’m trying to say is that I want validation that "I can do it",

instead of being told how limited I am. I know that there may be times that I won’t be able to handle circumstances, but, by golly I want to put that off for as long as possible.

~~~~Here here! I too am Bipolar and I work.  I had, for quite a few years, worked out of my home but I was not making enough money to support my family.  So, we moved to a new city and I now have a very good job with great benefits and it is easy enough for me to deal with – plus my meds have ben working so that makes everything better.  I do get scared and wonder if I will ever have a mental meltdown at work.. I haven’t worked around people like this since the late 80’s (been at this recent job since Jan. 5th – but working since Nov. of 03) — and it is a challenge!  When i first moved to this new city I made an appt. with a councilor so I could get my case set up here (case manager and all) and she told me I would never make over 5 or 6 bucks an hour.  I quickly changed councilors and complained about her to the head honcho.  I am now making over 9 an hour – which is very good for my community.  I would like to march into her office and wave one of my paycheck stubs in her face!  I wonder how many people she says things like this too and they believe her and just give up hope? Grrrrrr! Anyway, stay strong.  There are others in your position, but as nancy said we just don’t have time to post.  I haven’t even read this NG for months due to the fact that I have been doing so well and I am so incredibly busy!  I am supporting my family and it feels good!  being out and around people feels good to! Take care! Aims If it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever. – David Letterman

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – ~~~~Here here! I too am Bipolar and I work.  I had, for quite a few years, worked out of my home but I was not making enough money to support my family.  So, we moved to a new city and I now have a very good job with great benefits and it is easy enough for me to deal with – plus my meds have ben working so that makes everything better.  I do get scared and wonder if I will ever have a mental meltdown at work.. I haven’t worked around people like this since the late 80’s (been at this recent job since Jan. 5th – but working since Nov. of 03) — and it is a challenge!  When i first moved to this new city I made an appt. with a councilor so I could get my case set up here (case manager and all) and she told me I would never make over 5 or 6 bucks an hour.  I quickly changed councilors and complained about her to the head honcho.  I am now making over 9 an hour – which is very good for my community.  I would like to march into her office and wave one of my paycheck stubs in her face!  I wonder how many people she says things like this too and they believe her and just give up hope? Grrrrrr!

That’s sad when people who are supposed to "help" others do that. Congrats on your decision. I’m a person who is "in your face" to prove someone wrong. Anyway, stay strong.  There are others in your position, but as nancy said we just don’t have time to post.  I haven’t even read this NG for months due to the fact that I have been doing so well and I am so incredibly busy!  I am supporting my family and it feels good!  being out and around people feels good to! Take care! Aims

Cool and thanks for the post. Sorry I just replied, been a bit busy lately. Also since I have ADHD as well so many things compete for my attention… Grr it’s hard to know what I need to prioritize to unless it’s a matter of life and death. I don’t have enough hours in the day, that’s for sure! Thanks for the support and you take care as well. MorphGrrl

Response:

I don’t work anymore.  I was an accountant with a decent working knowledge of all the popular accounting software and tax software.  I had 25+ yrs experience.  I was fired because I couldn’t balance a damned computerized check book.  I went to the emergency room 3x that year.  I had to go through 2 pdocs, 1 accused me of faking it, the second said I wasn’t bp, I borderline personality disorder.  My neighbor was a bper and I got started with her pdoc and medical things have improved considerably. I’m afraid to even consider going back to work.  We went to the movies, the movie required ticket stubs to get in.  I always save mine because I go to the bathroom during a movie.  I couldn’t find it and broke out into tears. I did finally find it. KG

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – etched permanently into the ether: Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area. MorphGrrl There are people on this ng who are working.  Those of us who aren’t working may have a bit more time to post-but there are many people here who do work. And some have their own "business" that they can do when things are going well. Tell us what concerns you.  We all have opinions, even if we don’t work now–most of us used to work. Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor)

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics… Taylor/5A8E5342BB5E178A48256915000BD5D3

Response:

Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area. Hi Morph Grrl, whereabouts do you live?  Are you looking for a RL support group, or an online one?

Either one. I know where there is one locally. The only problem is that they have night meetings and I work nights. The day that they have a day meeting, I have to work days (Sat). I’m a working BPer, diagnosed 1984 and have carried on working full-time for most of the time since.

Cool! What do you do for a living? MorphGrrl

Response:

I work full time.  I am BPsomething.  If you have any questions, I’m here. Of course, I may not have answers, but I’m willing to give it a shot if you’re willing to ignore me if I’m wrong. Diane

Ah, I can tolerate when someone else is wrong as long as I’m not disrespected as far as the person acts like they are never wrong. It’s no problem. My friend and I have argued but we apologize (we can both be so stubborn and even though she has told me I’m wrong – the fact that she cools off and either later apologizes for how she acted, or we agree to disagree (she will say the content of what I said I believe is right, but the way I said it was wrong, so let’s agree to disagree), or she will say, "okay you are right and I was wrong". I can handle that, even if there was a little fighting involved. Knowing that there’s respect underneath and we both validate each other by saying "despite our fighting we admire what each of us is doing and who we are, etc". Man how I wish that it would have happened in my now dissolved marriage (can’t remember the verb of dissolution). That divorce would have never happened. But it took a divorce for me to get to the point where I could start maturing as a person, so it couldn’t be as bad as I thought. Back to what I was saying before (hehehehhehehe, got off track), I guess I want validation and encouragement for my choice. It’s okay  to post about individual experiences, but I get a little bummed when someone advises that I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing because I’m "disabled". MorphGrrl

Response:

permanently into the ether: Ah, I can tolerate when someone else is wrong as long as I’m not disrespected as far as the person acts like they are never wrong. It’s no problem. My friend and I have argued but we apologize (we can both be so stubborn and even though she has told me I’m wrong – the fact that she cools off and either later apologizes for how she acted, or we agree to disagree (she will say the content of what I said I believe is right, but the way I said it was wrong, so let’s agree to disagree), or she will say, "okay you are right and I was wrong". I can handle that, even if there was a little fighting involved. Knowing that there’s respect underneath and we both validate each other by saying "despite our fighting we admire what each of us is doing and who we are, etc".

You are more together than many "normal" people I know!  I like the way you think and it is sad that one person is undoing what you have accomplished. Ignore the neighbor–keep on working as long as you can.  I applaud your efforts and I think you will probably be able to work for a long time to come! Hugs, Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Response:

permanently into the ether: I don’t want to  be on disability because 1)it pays too little 2)want to give my daughters a good role model 3) I’m up for a challenge.

You GO girlfriend! Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Response:

I work full time.  I am BPsomething.  If you have any questions, I’m here. Of course, I may not have answers, but I’m willing to give it a shot if you’re willing to ignore me if I’m wrong. Diane

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area. MorphGrrl

Response:

There are people on this ng who are working.  Those of us who aren’t working may have a bit more time to post-but there are many people here who do work.  And some have their own "business" that they can do when things are going well. Tell us what concerns you.  We all have opinions, even if we don’t work now–most of us used to work. Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I feel a bit bummed in my situation because a roommate that I talked to, who told me that her pdoc recommended that she work (her BP is on the milder end), said that she didn’t agree with him. While I respect her choice it seemed that she was trying to get me to doubt my ability to be able to carry on my current choice (that is working at my current job). While I know that stress is something that causes problems with us, I also know that there’s a reason why we take meds. I know I am taking meds to overcome problems and hurdles to live a regular life. I don’t want to  be on disability because 1)it pays too little 2)want to give my daughters a good role model 3) I’m up for a challenge. Now that I’m at a store that the manager doesn’t make me stress out, I can handle the job I’m in. Even when stressed before, I wasn’t near a nervous breakdown in any way. I just made more mistakes that I haven’t made recently. I think what I’m trying to say is that I want validation that "I can do it", instead of being told how limited I am. I know that there may be times that I won’t be able to handle circumstances, but, by golly I want to put that off for as long as possible. Besides, in about a month or so, I can start getting medical insurance to get properly medicated. My BP is medicated, but not my ADHD. Since BP is taken care of, my ADHD seems to be mild, and even though I struggle a little bit, it’s not enough to be disabling (like before when I thought I just had ADHD – the extra problems attributed to ADHD wound up being due to BP). I think learning coping skills have helped in this area. So for as long as those meds help me, I will do whatever I can to overcome those day to day mood problems. MorphGrrl

Response:

Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area. MorphGrrl

Response:

permanently into the ether: Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area. MorphGrrl

There are people on this ng who are working.  Those of us who aren’t working may have a bit more time to post-but there are many people here who do work.  And some have their own "business" that they can do when things are going well. Tell us what concerns you.  We all have opinions, even if we don’t work now–most of us used to work. Nancy Just knockin’ around the zoo. (James Taylor) http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Knocking-’Round-the-Zoo-lyrics…

Response:

Just wondering if there’s something out there for those Bpers that are working. Currently I feel a little bummed because I can’t find anybody I can relate to in the home I’m in. I guess I want to be able to talk to people who can support me in this area.

Hi Morph Grrl, whereabouts do you live?  Are you looking for a RL support group, or an online one? I’m a working BPer, diagnosed 1984 and have carried on working full-time for most of the time since.

Response:

Question:

On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

maybe because bank loans are figured on compound interest? ( the principal decreases every month ) but I haven’t worked it out!

Response:

Bob is right, this is a compounded interest problem. Start the problem off by dividing the APR (12%) by the number of months in the year. You should get 1%; multiply this by the number of months interest was accrued, which is 5 months, and then multiply that number (.05) by the borrowed amount ($20,000) and viola–you get $1000. Janice – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

Bob is right, this is a compounded interest problem. Start the problem off by dividing the APR (12%) by the number of months in the year. You should get 1%; multiply this by the number of months interest was accrued, which is 5 months, and then multiply that number (.05) by the borrowed amount ($20,000) and viola–you get $1000. Janice

I forgot one thing… Interest Expense        $1000       Interest Payable               $1000 assuming that the interest accrued for the year was not paid at this point. Janice

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Bob is right, this is a compounded interest problem. Start the problem off by dividing the APR (12%) by the number of months in the year. You should get 1%; multiply this by the number of months interest was accrued, which is 5 months, and then multiply that number (.05) by the borrowed amount ($20,000) and viola–you get $1000. Janice On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

I don’t think this is a compound interest problem, otherwise the amount of interest expense would be something like $1,020*.  I think where the OP erred is assuming the 12% was the total interest for a two year period,  Even though the wording is a little unclear, the interest rate in every problem I have ever seen is an annual rate. The (simple) interest in this problem is $2,400 per year, otr$1,000 for the 5 month period. best regards Bill *(20,000 *1.01 *1.01 *1.01 *1.01 *1.01)

Response:

I don’t think this is a compound interest problem, otherwise the amount of interest expense would be something like $1,020*.  I think where the OP erred is assuming the 12% was the total interest for a two year period,  Even though the wording is a little unclear, the interest rate in every problem I have ever seen is an annual rate. The (simple) interest in this problem is $2,400 per year, otr$1,000 for the 5 month period. best regards Bill

Bingo. Bill Lentz wins the three points. Good Job. Regards, Bill Brown P.S. I’ll bet both the professor and the textbook said all interest rates are annual unless otherwise stated.

Response:

My figure is correct on a 2 decimal place calculation. After reviewing and moving my decimal to 4 place I got $1,028 for 5 months of accrued interest. Thanks for the feedback I do my best to absorb all corrections for future uses. Janice – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I don’t think this is a compound interest problem, otherwise the amount of interest expense would be something like $1,020*.  I think where the OP erred is assuming the 12% was the total interest for a two year period,  Even though the wording is a little unclear, the interest rate in every problem I have ever seen is an annual rate. The (simple) interest in this problem is $2,400 per year, otr$1,000 for the 5 month period. best regards Bill Bingo. Bill Lentz wins the three points. Good Job. Regards, Bill Brown P.S. I’ll bet both the professor and the textbook said all interest rates are annual unless otherwise stated.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Interest is always calculated by the formula: Principal * Rate * Time In this case, it would be 20000*.12* (5/12) or $1,000. Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

Response:

snip P.S. I’ll bet both the professor and the textbook said all interest rates are annual unless otherwise stated.

I have no doubt that’s the case. Bill

Response:

Correct me if I am wrong, but one needs to calculate the future value of the 20,000 at 12% interest using either their financial calculator or a future value of an annuity due table. In that case we need to know how often the payments would be due (assuming once per month?) and how much the payments would be. This would allow you to calculate correctly the total amount of interest due over the course of 2 years. Right now I have neither my calculator, the tables, nor the correct FV formula in front of me…. — Stephanie Serba, AICIA Partner, Accounting & Technology Durham Business Outsource www.dbo.ca

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight? maybe because bank loans are figured on compound interest? ( the principal decreases every month ) but I haven’t worked it out!

Response:

Ok, I know accountants rely on calculators, but come on…. think about the question and answer… it’s not a compunding question, it’s simple interest and it’s easy to answer. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000.

12% x $20,000 = $2,400 ANNUALLY!!!!  Not over two years! $2,400 divided by 12 months = $200!!!  5 months x $200 = $1,000!!! Therefore the answer is $1000 expense/payable for the 5 months ending Dec 2004. Shame on you all. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Bob is right, this is a compounded interest problem. Start the problem off by dividing the APR (12%) by the number of months in the year. You should get 1%; multiply this by the number of months interest was accrued, which is 5 months, and then multiply that number (.05) by the borrowed amount ($20,000) and viola–you get $1000. Janice On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, I know accountants rely on calculators, but come on…. think about the question and answer… it’s not a compunding question, it’s simple interest and it’s easy to answer. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. 12% x $20,000 = $2,400 ANNUALLY!!!!  Not over two years! $2,400 divided by 12 months = $200!!!  5 months x $200 = $1,000!!! Therefore the answer is $1000 expense/payable for the 5 months ending Dec 2004. Shame on you all.

we all thank you for your genius insight

Response:

Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000         Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

I said this same thing yesterday! Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Ok, I know accountants rely on calculators, but come on…. think about the question and answer… it’s not a compunding question, it’s simple interest and it’s easy to answer. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. 12% x $20,000 = $2,400 ANNUALLY!!!!  Not over two years! $2,400 divided by 12 months = $200!!!  5 months x $200 = $1,000!!! Therefore the answer is $1000 expense/payable for the 5 months ending Dec 2004. Shame on you all. Bob is right, this is a compounded interest problem. Start the problem off by dividing the APR (12%) by the number of months in the year. You should get 1%; multiply this by the number of months interest was accrued, which is 5 months, and then multiply that number (.05) by the borrowed amount ($20,000) and viola–you get $1000. Janice

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

//snipped// Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Much like everyone else!

yes,    —    and accounting students in this NG may get more help if they include their reasoning for an answer when posting (which i believe the original poster did )

Response:

Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

There may be times that the best of us miss some detail in accounting. I don’t think anyone should be talked badly about because they missed a detail. If they are still in school, they are still learning. Give them a chance! Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

There may be times that the best of us miss some detail in accounting. I don’t think anyone should be talked badly about because they missed a detail. If they are still in school, they are still learning. Give them a chance!

Wayne, Some folks aren’t worthy of being replied to. ;o) Janice

Response:

What can I say? I go to a top quality school and have gotten an A in every accounting class I’ve ever taken… if that makes me arrogant, that’s fine. Don’t be mad that all you could get were C’s. I’m not mad at ya.

Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

What can I say? I go to a top quality school and have gotten an A in every accounting class I’ve ever taken… if that makes me arrogant, that’s fine. Don’t be mad that all you could get were C’s. I’m not mad at ya.

OK, thanks dude – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots. LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

What "other mistake?" I typed the question straight from my exam. How is my school a "fly by night" school? My college is one of the best in the nation. Don’t be jealous, evil cocksucker.

Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score 97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

What "other mistake?" I typed the question straight from my exam. How is my school a "fly by night" school? My college is one of the best in the nation. Don’t be jealous, evil cocksucker.

Evil Accountant is clearly enjoying this.  Your mistake is– you said "Why must there be an entry at year end for interest expense when the note receivable is due two years later".  For an "A" student, tell me why no entry is needed at year one.? You said it’s your first midterm, what top school has its first midterm at the end of the fall semester?  Your questions are related to rudimentary intro accounting and not intermediate accounting.  If you don’t know these basic stuffs, how can you get 97% on your intermediate accounting? Evil Accountant thinks that jackass here is taking some career college book keeping courses. There’s is nothing wrong with that except Jackass here, obviously need serious help but came out swinging, lying and bullshiting about his grades and stuffs. Evil Accountant will like to amortize this loser’s ass using the double declining method with no salvage value. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots. LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip  you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve  gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the  answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to  think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over  the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with  easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below  question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score  97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing  a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume  all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The  principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

Yeah, we talked about the double declining balance method when we went over depreciation in income taxes… chapter 8, West Federal Taxation. And you’re going to amortize me? Assets are depreciated, dickface. You’re completely pathetic and clueless. And likely a closet fruit. No wonder you want to do something with my "ass." You live in San Francisco by any chance? Please, enlighten us with some other accounting terms like Acrs or Macrs. All of us here are taking career college courses and are bookkeepers, unlike yourself, master CPA. Dickface.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What "other mistake?" I typed the question straight from my exam. How is my school a "fly by night" school? My college is one of the best in the nation. Don’t be jealous, evil cocksucker. Evil Accountant is clearly enjoying this.  Your mistake is– you said "Why must there be an entry at year end for interest expense when the note receivable is due two years later".  For an "A" student, tell me why no entry is needed at year one.? You said it’s your first midterm, what top school has its first midterm at the end of the fall semester?  Your questions are related to rudimentary intro accounting and not intermediate accounting.  If you don’t know these basic stuffs, how can you get 97% on your intermediate accounting? Evil Accountant thinks that jackass here is taking some career college book keeping courses. There’s is nothing wrong with that except Jackass here, obviously need serious help but came out swinging, lying and bullshiting about his grades and stuffs. Evil Accountant will like to amortize this loser’s ass using the double declining method with no salvage value. Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots. LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip  you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve  gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the  answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to  think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over  the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with  easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below  question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score  97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing  a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume  all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The  principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

You’re the jackass… this was the first test of the intermediate accounting course… not a "midterm"… this test covered the first four chapters of the Intermediate Accounting text, which is basically a review of the material in Principles of Accounting… You think everyone that scores an A on a test gets every single question correct? An "A" student can never get a question wrong? You’re clearly a pathetic, pathetic fool. And your "other mistake" is ludicrous. Can’t you read? The question asked what journal entry was neccesary on Dec 31, 2004. That is the current year according to the problem. I correctly took five months for interest, but read the problem incorrectly and didn’t even think to realize that all interest in annual unless otherwise noted. Therefore I divided by 24 months instead of 12. It’s not that I don’t "know" the material, it’s that I didn’t stop to think the problem through completely. Look at any book for Intermediate Accounting. The first four chapters (which this test was on), hell, the first 8 chapters consist of material from introductory accounting courses, except in slightly more detail. Chapter 6, which we’re on now, simply discuesses inventory costing again. We don’t get to accounting for pensions, etc, until next semester, later in the book. And i’ll explain how I got a "97%" on the test… the problem I posted, was the only one I got incorrect. Please don’t be jealous because I go to a top university and have gotten A’s in every accounting course. I know you’re just a bookkeeper, but come on…

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – What "other mistake?" I typed the question straight from my exam. How is my school a "fly by night" school? My college is one of the best in the nation. Don’t be jealous, evil cocksucker. Evil Accountant is clearly enjoying this.  Your mistake is– you said "Why must there be an entry at year end for interest expense when the note receivable is due two years later".  For an "A" student, tell me why no entry is needed at year one.? You said it’s your first midterm, what top school has its first midterm at the end of the fall semester?  Your questions are related to rudimentary intro accounting and not intermediate accounting.  If you don’t know these basic stuffs, how can you get 97% on your intermediate accounting? Evil Accountant thinks that jackass here is taking some career college book keeping courses. There’s is nothing wrong with that except Jackass here, obviously need serious help but came out swinging, lying and bullshiting about his grades and stuffs. Evil Accountant will like to amortize this loser’s ass using the double declining method with no salvage value. Evil Accountant is not part of this esteemed and professional group of newsgroup participants.  Evil Accountant is not worthy to be included in this group. Evil Accountant takes blame if Evil Accountant gives this group a bad name.  Evil Accountant just sees Jackass that comes to this group and instead of asking stupid questions humbly, Jackass acted like some arrogant piece of scat while it’s obvious that Jackass’s a loser.   Jackass didn’t know Jackass’ original question showed how stupid Jackass is.  The miscalculated interest  was minor compared to the major one, which is where Jackass said that "what is the journal entry necessary at December 31, 2004 ."  This showed that Jackass’ school must be one of those fly-by-night ones for giving out "A"s to idiots. LOL, I had no idea some people on the group were so anal and would rip  you apart for having a lapse and not realizing it was annual interest and instead took it over the two years. And I did score a 97%, and i’ve  gotten an A in every accounting class i’ve ever taken. This semester I’m taking Intermediate 1, Cost, and Income Tax. This test was our first in Intermediate Accounting. It’s not like the  answer to the problem gave me any "new knowledge," it’s just I didn’t stop to  think of the problem in that way and instead tried to spread the interest over  the 24 months. Sometimes I know exactly what I"m doing, and sometimes, with  easy problems, I have no idea. It’s just the way I am. Anyone, even experienced and highly qualified CPAs can have a moment before they grasp simple concepts.  Such events make the life an auditor more interesting when they bring it to the attention of the top accountant.  Sometimes one just ignores an important factor. Congrats of the 97%  put the new knowledge in your head– and move on. Tippy Yeah right 97%.  You sound like the typical loser.  The below  question is a straight forward introductory Acct question. Every beginner knows that interest rates are usually annual unless specified so.  Same with payments and compounding frequency, are assumed annual unless specified otherwise. Any "C" student knows that at year end you have to report interest accrued.  For a 97% student, you can’t even grasp such a simple concept? let’s see…. $20,000×0.12*5/12= $1000. one grand interest accured. therefore, Interest Expense      1000        Interest payable    1000 If you can’t understand such a simple question, how can you score  97%? What a loser. On Aug 1, 2004 the company borrowed $20,000 from a bank by signing  a  note that requires the principle and interest at 12% to be repaid in two  years. What is the jounral entry necessary at December 31, 2004 (assume  all  months have 30 days)? I put: Interest Expense Dr. $500     Interest Payable Cr. $500 But the answer is $1000. Why is it $1000? I have $20,000 x .12 = $2400 interest. The  principle  and interest are to be repaid in "two years," which is 24 months. So I  divided $2400 by 24 months for $100 a month. Five months (from August to  December) equals $500, not $1000. Can someone set me straight?

Response:

Question:

What I know about Kucinich I like. Seeking

Response:

"It is clear now that the United States is bogged down in an ongoing guerrilla war with almost daily casualties. The situation is one that the Administration did not plan for and is not adequately prepared to handle. "Assertions by the President, and his Administration, that the war is over and that our mission was accomplished, like their claims about Iraq’s ‘vast stockpiles’ of WMD’s, are false and misleading. While this Administration was quick to send troops into harm’s way, it has no exit strategy for removing US troops from the country. "Negotiations for an exit must begin now. The UN must take over management, accounting and distribution to the Iraqi people of Iraq’s oil profits. There must be no privatization of the Iraqi oil industry. The UN must handle the awarding of all contracts for the rebuilding of Iraq so that there can be no more sweetheart contracts for companies like Halliburton. Additionally, a transition from UN control to self-determined governing structure by and for the Iraqi people must be planned. "It was wrong to go into Iraq. It is wrong to stay in Iraq. Let’s support our troops by bringing them home." Dennis Kucinich (for US President) http://www.kucinich.us/ Kucinich [rhymes with spinach] envisions a government that is by and for the people rather than for corporations and the people who just can’t seem to amass enough billions. If given a chance, Kucinich will turn the tide. Please check out his web site and consider supporting him and the sanity that he stands for. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Man must change or die. There is no other course." The World Teacher http://www.share-international.org

Response:

"It is clear now that the United States is bogged down in an ongoing Master war with almost daily casualties.

I told you many times that you should quit the cult. Now look what’s happened!

Response:

Question:

Greetings, I have taken the CPA exam 4 times, and every time in all 4 tests I have come close to getting 75% but not quite.  It as if I’m in some sort of "no-passing-zone" and I’m looking to somehow break out of it.  Have any CPAs on this forum had any personal experience with this happening to them and overcoming it? If so, I would be very eager to hear how you got out of this rut. Thanking you in advance, Usha Shannon Albuquerque, NM.

Response:

Hi Chris, I took the CPA twice before I passed the first 2 parts (I live in NY).  I took FARE and Law.  Although they said that FARE is harder than Law, I scored 11 points lower in Law than I did in FARE.  I took the Person Wolinsky Review course.  When you take a review course, go to the lectures and record them.  Play them over and follow along with the course material. Not only does it reinforce what you are learning, it helps you stay focused while reading and preventing your mind from wandering while studying.  Some of the material can get pretty dry.  Keep doing practice problems; multiple choice, OOFs, and essays.  I can’t for certain recommend which parts to take because I don’t know your strengths.  I am not sure if you have to sit for 4 parts at once like they do in NJ.  If it is anything like NJ, I would study real hard for two parts that are given on different days (eg. Audit and ARE or Law and FARE, etc.).  That way after you take one part you studied hard for, you have the rest of that day to study for the next part that is given the day after.  So far I’ve passed FARE, Law and ARE (definitely the hardest part).  I only have audit left.  It is a very hard exam and it requires a lot of commitment.  If you have any other questions, I’ll be glad to give you any other tips.  Good luck. Mike

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Greetings, I have taken the CPA exam 4 times, and every time in all 4 tests I have come close to getting 75% but not quite.  It as if I’m in some sort of "no-passing-zone" and I’m looking to somehow break out of it.  Have any CPAs on this forum had any personal experience with this happening to them and overcoming it? If so, I would be very eager to hear how you got out of this rut. Thanking you in advance, Usha Shannon Albuquerque, NM.

Response:

Mike, Thank you very much for your reply.  It has been very helpful.  Just FYI, I’m actually using my husband’s usenet and email account (my account does not have usenet).  My name is Usha, and I’m from Delhi but living now in Albuquerque.  Because I have a degree in accounting from India, I have to take the exam in Delaware. One thing I’m going to do is get some audios, but do you think the lectures themselves and recording them are better than audios? Also, how do you tackle / study practice problems like OOFs and essays? Essays especially seem difficult to practice. Some of the material can get pretty dry.  Keep doing practice problems; multiple choice, OOFs, and essays.

Once again, thank you very much for your advice. Sincerely, Usha Shannon Albuquerque, NM.

Response:

unless "english as a second language" is part of the problem, I would forget audio tapes. Get a good study review course, practice old problems and "test yourself" repeatedly,

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Mike, Thank you very much for your reply.  It has been very helpful.  Just FYI, I’m actually using my husband’s usenet and email account (my account does not have usenet).  My name is Usha, and I’m from Delhi but living now in Albuquerque.  Because I have a degree in accounting from India, I have to take the exam in Delaware. One thing I’m going to do is get some audios, but do you think the lectures themselves and recording them are better than audios? Also, how do you tackle / study practice problems like OOFs and essays? Essays especially seem difficult to practice. Some of the material can get pretty dry.  Keep doing practice problems; multiple choice, OOFs, and essays. Once again, thank you very much for your advice. Sincerely, Usha Shannon Albuquerque, NM.

Response:

Greetings, I have taken the CPA exam 4 times, and every time in all 4 tests I have come close to getting 75% but not quite.  It as if I’m in some sort of "no-passing-zone" and I’m looking to somehow break out of it.  Have any CPAs on this forum had any personal experience with this happening to them and overcoming it? If so, I would be very eager to hear how you got out of this rut. Thanking you in advance, Usha Shannon Albuquerque, NM.

Hi Chris: I am a CA student up in Canada.  I’m working toward getting the Chartered Accountant designation and I am hearing horror stories about how terrible the Uniform Final Exam (UFE) can be.  I also have acquaintances who have had trouble passing the exam.  I am wondering how many tries you get to take your CPA exam in the States?  Up in Canada, we only get 3 goes at the UFE before we need to find a new career path! Queenie

Response:

Hi, Queenie, I am wondering how many tries you get to take your CPA exam in the States?  Up in Canada, we only get 3 goes at the UFE before we need to find a new career path!

You can take the CPA exam as many times as you want, but after a certain number of times people get too weary and start looking for a new career path anyway. Good luck! Usha.

Response:

I just want to thank everyone here who offered their advice and experience. I’m very grateful to you all. Thank you very much, Usha.

Response:

Question:

Mike: You are complaining about pollution and yet you are polluting alt. wolves news group by cross posting all over the place.. It is quite unfortunate that you don’t understand that even your garbage is nothing but ECO trash when it comes to cross posting to news groups that have nothing to do with your pathetic political agenda.

He’s also polluting the rec.outdoors.rv-travel NG with his spam.

Response:

Mike: You are complaining about pollution and yet you are polluting alt. wolves news group by cross posting all over the place.. It is quite unfortunate that you don’t understand that even your garbage is nothing but ECO trash when it comes to cross posting to news groups that have nothing to do with your pathetic political agenda. Please do us all a favor and don’t trash up the "WEB" any more than you do the environment..!!! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Environmentalists say oil, gas potential of roadless areas poor MATT GOURAS, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Question:

I have M.Y.O.B  accounting  Version  8. And I would like to take the accounting information and post on the internet web site..  Does anyone know how this would be done? — FREE LOTTERY MATH FORMULA TO TRY ON YOUR LOTTERY. Check it out at: http://www.lottology.homestead.com/test.com

Response:

Export the report you want to a MS Excel spreadsheet, save html format and then post it your website Cheers John Wayman – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have M.Y.O.B  accounting  Version  8. And I would like to take the accounting information and post on the internet web site..  Does anyone know how this would be done? — FREE LOTTERY MATH FORMULA TO TRY ON YOUR LOTTERY. Check it out at: http://www.lottology.homestead.com/test.com

Response:

Question:

– 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.

Response:

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’

Response:

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.

Response:

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.

Response:

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.

Response:

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                        *

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Question:

Hi group! I’m interested in advice/suggestions/resources on designing workpapers for analysis and audit protection/insurance purposes.  Do you find a particular process or approach useful in determining and developing readable meaningful workpapers? Thanks in advance for sharing your views

Response:

I’m interested in advice/suggestions/resources on designing workpapers for analysis and audit protection/insurance purposes.  Do you find a particular process or approach useful in determining and developing readable meaningful workpapers?

        IMHO, the most important thing is to make sure that someone else reviewing workpapers can easily understand them (e.g. why and how you are making certain calculations). Accountants tend to be busy people, so we occasionally forget that what seems obvious to us (the ones who created the working papers) might not be obvious to someone who has never seen them.         When I used to work for a CPA firm, our working papers were always reviewed by another accountant at the firm (someone who had "fresh eyes"). "Only two things are infinite, the universe  and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about  the former."                                 – Albert Einstein      

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Question:

Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. JPJP,

I put up 30+ gallons last year and thought you should know that the best tasting stuff came from champagne yeast, while the fruitiest came from ale yeast.  None of the batches that we added raspberries to came out as we had hoped.  It was drinkable, but so was bathtub gin.                                         Thanks,                                         Jack12

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. So what’s the law in Canada?  Does cider count as wine and have a separate rule for the number of liters per year that you can ferment?  The rule for beer in the US is 100 gallons…can wine be in addition to that? Does cider count as a wine or a beer, or does the law just cover all of them under the same 100-gallon rule?  

There has been a new law that lets cider-makers *sell* their products from home, believe it or not. As long as it is not sold off the premises. But don’t quote me on this – the law is pretty murky (like my latest Bitter (right, J.S.?)). As far as I know, there is no limit to the amount that we are allowed to brew. Distilling is still (no pun intended) illegal. Try it and you’ll have a bunch of yellow-striped-black-pants mounties in your driveway. JP

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. JPJP, I put up 30+ gallons last year and thought you should know that the best tasting stuff came from champagne yeast, while the fruitiest came from ale yeast.  None of the batches that we added raspberries to came out as we had hoped.  It was drinkable, but so was bathtub gin.                                         Thanks,                                         Jack12

curious: did you boil it like a wort or just strain it before pitching the yeast? — The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"   The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"   The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"   The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. JPJP, I put up 30+ gallons last year and thought you should know that the best tasting stuff came from champagne yeast, while the fruitiest came from ale yeast.  None of the batches that we added raspberries to came out as we had hoped.  It was drinkable, but so was bathtub gin.                                         Thanks,                                         Jack12 curious: did you boil it like a wort or just strain it before pitching the yeast?

The books we were using (can’t remember the titles at present) said not to boil.  I think they mentioned: boiling would set the pectins like in mead.  They said not to apply any heat.  The most important thing, according to my friend Joe (he actually read the books) was the pH. ??? Instead of straining, we racked carefully (ha ha ha).  Read: we were lazy and drinking too much of our own previous products.  Then we pitched the yeasts in the separated batches.  But we knew nothing about actually doing this, when we started.  Now, we know everything (ha ha ha)                                 Thanks,                                 Jack12 P.S. Please don’t take my opinions seriously they might get upset.

Response:

Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. JP

Response:

Well folks, I went over to the local orchard on saturday, and I got myself 120 liters (30 us gallons) of fresh raw apple cider, pressed that morning. Cost me 0.80$/liter (CDN). Put the Camden in it when I got home, and I should be pitching the yeast sometime tonight. Just thought I’d let ya know. JP

So what’s the law in Canada?  Does cider count as wine and have a separate rule for the number of liters per year that you can ferment?  The rule for beer in the US is 100 gallons…can wine be in addition to that? Does cider count as a wine or a beer, or does the law just cover all of them under the same 100-gallon rule?   signed, ‘Just curious’ Brian

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