Question:

I’m taking a tax accounting class (online) from a local university. In the course of inter-student course communication I criticized the text book that we were using.  The teacher (a CPA) stood by her choice of the text book, and of course as a student who needs a respectable grade backed down.  After the online confrontation I checked the authors and the teacher’s credentials. I found that the teacher is an alumni of the same college (and location) as one of the authors. Comments?

So, to rephrase the issue, student has firm conviction as to poor quality of course materials but sacrifices those convictions for possible improved grade. Yes, definite reason for concern about ethics in this situation.

Response:

Also many colleges have what is known as "publish or perish."  They have to publish something or they are history.

Generally speaking, at the colleges and universities where it is "publish or perish," writing a textbook doesn’t count for squat.

Response:

While it has been years since I’ve had a formal accounting class, I never had an accounting instructor who relied exclusively on a single text.  Some books covered certain areas better than others and in different ways. When I went to college we had one text book each for most classes, many of them written (badly) by the professor.

How many is many? In 70 or so college classes I’ve taken which had a text book, one was written by the instructor. It was as well written as any other I’ve encountered in that field.

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, This probably sounds rather vindictive coming from a student but I have to ask anyway. I’m taking a tax accounting class (online) from a local university. In the course of inter-student course communication I criticized the text book that we were using.  The teacher (a CPA) stood by her choice of the text book, and of course as a student who needs a respectable grade backed down.  After the online confrontation I checked the authors and the teacher’s credentials. I found that the teacher is an alumni of the same college (and location) as one of the authors. Comments?

1. The teacher is an "alumnus" of the same college. "Alumni" is plural. 2. I don’t see an ethical problem here, based upon the facts as given.

Response:

You have the right to say what you want and to accept the consequences of your actions.  Frankly, I don’t think the text book used is significant unless the book was inaccurate.  In my experience, the instructor often required one to acquire the textbook that the instructor personally wrote. Publish or die was once the watchword for profs.  I’m sure one of the instructors that often contribute here will weigh in on this one.  

‘Publish or perish’ usually only applies to journal articles. The general attitude is that most textbooks are written by hacks, which then causes the professor to write their own, which reinforces that attitude.

Response:

It does seem reasonable that the teacher of the course, who is also a CPA might have many reasons for the selection of teaching materials. Of course the teacher woudn’t want to do anything

Benefiting a friend is not necessarily unethical or wrong. Are there factual or procedural errors in the text? Are there errors because the text is no longer current? Did you give specific examples that were in error or needed improvement. There are no perfect textbooks, and every text on a field related to taxes or business needs frequent updates. Did you have a better book in mind to replace it with? It looks like you are stretching to find some sort of ethical problem where none exists. Let me put it this way.  When I was in college we had many textbooks with tons of errors, misprints, typos, etc. but we still had to use them because the professor wrote it.     And some of those professors were the head of the department.  

Have seen no textbooks without errors. Professors writing their own textbooks has been done for centuries. Sometimes it is because it is the best, more often it is another source of income. That is not the case here. The textbook in question was co-authored by someone that happened to go to the same school the teacher did. There was not even any proof that they had even ever met, let alone anything improper. There was nothing presented that pointed to the teacher profiting in any way. Calling this an ethical problem is a severe stretch.

Response:

While it has been years since I’ve had a formal accounting class, I never had an accounting instructor who relied exclusively on a single text.  Some books covered certain areas better than others and in different ways.  

When I went to college we had one text book each for most classes, many of them written (badly) by the professor. To send me e-mail exorcise NO Spam from my e-mail address.     —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–==  Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–

Response:

It does seem reasonable that the teacher of the course, who is also a CPA might have many reasons for the selection of teaching materials.

Of course the teacher woudn’t want to do anything Are there factual or procedural errors in the text? Are there errors because the text is no longer current? Did you give specific examples that were in error or needed improvement. There are no perfect textbooks, and every text on a field related to taxes or business needs frequent updates. Did you have a better book in mind to replace it with? It looks like you are stretching to find some sort of ethical problem where none exists.

Let me put it this way.  When I was in college we had many textbooks with tons of errors, misprints, typos, etc. but we still had to use them because the professor wrote it.     And some of those professors were the head of the department.   To send me e-mail exorcise NO Spam from my e-mail address.     —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–==  Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–

Response:

Hi, This probably sounds rather vindictive coming from a student but I have to ask anyway. I’m taking a tax accounting class (online) from a local university. In the course of inter-student course communication I criticized the text book that we were using.  The teacher (a CPA) stood by her choice of the text book, and of course as a student who needs a respectable grade backed down.  After the online confrontation I checked the authors and the teacher’s credentials. I found that the teacher is an alumni of the same college (and location) as one of the authors. Comments?

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi, This probably sounds rather vindictive coming from a student but I have to ask anyway. I’m taking a tax accounting class (online) from a local university. In the course of inter-student course communication I criticized the text book that we were using.  The teacher (a CPA) stood by her choice of the text book, and of course as a student who needs a respectable grade backed down.  After the online confrontation I checked the authors and the teacher’s credentials. I found that the teacher is an alumni of the same college (and location) as one of the authors. Comments?

How is the fact that the author of a book your teacher prefers was written by an author that also happened to go to the same school an ethical problem. She was taught a certain way at that school. His book probably follows that way. It may have been used at that school. Where is the ethical problem? It does seem reasonable that the teacher of the course, who is also a CPA might have many reasons for the selection of teaching materials. Are there factual or procedural errors in the text? Are there errors because the text is no longer current? Did you give specific examples that were in error or needed improvement. There are no perfect textbooks, and every text on a field related to taxes or business needs frequent updates. Did you have a better book in mind to replace it with? It looks like you are stretching to find some sort of ethical problem where none exists.

Response:

birds of a feather.

Response:

I found that the teacher is an alumni of the same college (and location) as one of the authors.

I was expecting you to say your teacher was the author of the book.     Not surprised, when I went to college alot of books were written by the professors I had. Also many colleges have what is known as "publish or perish."  They have to publish something or they are history.     To send me e-mail exorcise NO Spam from my e-mail address.     —–= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =—– http://www.newsfeeds.com – The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! —–==  Over 80,000 Newsgroups – 16 Different Servers! =—–

Response:

Question:

President Bush addresses 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY; troops enthusiastically support the Commander in Chief with cheers and yells.  My, what a difference from the disdain in which Klintoon was held by the ordinary grunts.  These boys know what’s up, and they’re ready to rock.  More: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=514&ncid=514&e=4&u=/… 0719/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_15 Saudis pumping tons of money into "seminaries" which turn out nothing but jihadies.  We’ll have to fight ‘em sooner or later.  More: http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_4.html Hallway thugs taught to push pro-queer, anti-God agenda in school "civil rights team" program sparked by Janet Reno.  More Klintoon disadministration bones rattling in America’s closet – just what we need, thought police.  This from the same people who are screaming bloody murder at the TIPS concept.  More: http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58218,00.html Former Head Rat at Army Of Losers manages to cash in shares for $75 million as he jumps from the sinking Time-Warner ship; AOL shares now worth only $11.58, down from $50 just a year ago.  More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/20/waol2… The United Nations:  a waste of a perfectly good building. NYC needs a new homeless shelter, right?  Fine – throw the UN assholes out and let’s get to it. http://www.getusout.org WARNING:  Persons easily offended by profanity are discouraged from reading anything below the line. Persons who do so are reminded that I didn’t write any of it.  -LV- TROPHY SIGS (Baboon Squad Hall of Fame):        - Elvis Paisley, 06/15/02 – "Deluded paranoids see dark clouds of menace *everywhere*.: "You’d have supported Hilter if you’d been around in ‘36."               – TimePixDC, 04/23/02 – "…you brought up a lot of good points, but it’s time for me to go and I’ve had a few beerskis that now have affected my interest in trying to think of replies to your different points."      - Elvis Paisley, 04/27/02 – "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The communists are out to get you! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I bet their homesexuals too! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"               – Mark Scialabba, 04/22/02 –

Response:

President Bush addresses 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY; troops enthusiastically support the Commander in Chief with cheers and yells.  My, what a difference from the disdain in which Klintoon was held by the ordinary grunts.

Every time President Clinton spoke at a military base he was greeted with cheers and applause. Hallway thugs taught to push pro-queer, anti-God agenda in school "civil rights team" program

"The project trains students organized into groups to act as role models against bullying and harassment at school." Being a bully yourself it’s easy to see why you’re aginst the program. Former Head Rat at Army Of Losers manages to cash in shares for $75 million as he jumps from the sinking Time-Warner ship

Just like Dick Cheney.

Response:

President Bush addresses 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY; troops enthusiastically support the Commander in Chief with cheers and yells.  My, what a difference from the disdain in which Klintoon was held by the ordinary grunts. Every time President Clinton spoke at a military base he was greeted with cheers and applause.

Now I know for a fact that this is a Ball faced Lie… He was not greeted with Cheers and applause every time he visited a military base, I know that for a fact based on what I personally saw. Hallway thugs taught to push pro-queer, anti-God agenda in school "civil rights team" program "The project trains students organized into groups to act as role models against bullying and harassment at school."

Yes and they themselves single out ostricize and bully anyone who doesn’t follow thier party line or approved thought processes. Being a bully yourself it’s easy to see why you’re aginst the program. Former Head Rat at Army Of Losers manages to cash in shares for $75 million as he jumps from the sinking Time-Warner ship Just like Dick Cheney.

 Please post some specific fact and I’ll be glad to read and consider it.

Response:

President Bush addresses 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY; troops enthusiastically support the Commander in Chief with cheers and yells.  My, what a difference from the disdain in which Klintoon was held by the ordinary grunts. Every time President Clinton spoke at a military base he was greeted with cheers and applause.

r-i-g-h-t… Public Relations Debacle After Sen. Hillary Jeered and Booed by Heroes http://www.voy.com/48534/7/358.html — Chris

Response:

"The project trains students organized into groups to act as role models against bullying and harassment at school." Yes and they themselves single out ostricize and bully anyone who doesn’t follow thier party line or approved thought processes.

So you’re actually IN FAVOR of bullying in schools?

Response:

Former Head Rat at Army Of Losers manages to cash in shares for $75 million as he jumps from the sinking Time-Warner ship Just like Dick Cheney.  Please post some specific fact and I’ll be glad to read and consider it.

Well Cheney actually only cashed in for 35 million.  Here are some specific facts: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/06/10/cheney-usat.htm

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Former Head Rat at Army Of Losers manages to cash in shares for $75 million as he jumps from the sinking Time-Warner ship Just like Dick Cheney.  Please post some specific fact and I’ll be glad to read and consider it. Well Cheney actually only cashed in for 35 million.  Here are some specific facts: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/06/10/cheney-usat.htm

I’ve got some bad news Larry! This article proves only that Dems are trying to make a political issue. And I’m going to call you on it!   (following is a direct copy of Larry’s "proof".) 06/09/2002 – Updated 11:54 PM ET Investigations pry into Cheney’s business By Laurence McQuillan, USA TODAY WASHINGTON

Question:

February 8, 2002 Money-Grubbing Games By PAUL KRUGMAN First there is a promise. Then there is no promise. Then there is a promise – until your attention is diverted again. In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, before George W. Bush began his stratospheric ascent in the polls – and just before his first post-terror visit to New York – he made a personal promise: The city would receive at least $20 billion in reconstruction aid. At the time everyone thought that was a floor, not a ceiling. Then a funny thing happened: Only $11 billion in aid to the city was actually budgeted. I wrote about this in a column last November titled "The 55-percent solution" – but was lambasted by critics, who insisted that of course Mr. Bush would honor his promise. Now we have the Bush administration’s $2.1 trillion budget proposal. Strange to say, it contains no additional aid to New York. It seems that the bucks stop here, at 55 percent of the original commitment. New York legislators were quick to react, and demanded that Mitch Daniels, the White House budget director, explain the absence. Mr. Daniels first responded that he intended to count $5 billion in relief to victims of Sept. 11 as part of the aid package – a clear violation of everyone’s understanding of what the promise meant. Then he lashed out at New York’s representatives, saying, "It’s strange to me to treat this as a little money-grubbing game." The White House quickly tried to undo the damage. Mr. Daniels retracted his remarks, and Mr. Bush reiterated his promise to provide $20 billion – just in time to have another photo op with New York police officers and firefighters. But the money is still not in the budget. And that fact – together with the fact that Mr. Daniels’s initial remarks surely represented his true feelings – says volumes about the administration’s priorities. To place the stiffing of New York in context, you need to realize that when it comes to tax cuts and military spending, the Bush administration’s budget is an exercise in unrestrained self-indulgence. There is a lot of stirring rhetoric, warning the nation that this is a time of war, in which everyone must make sacrifices – but this austerity does not extend to the wealthiest few percent of the population, who will not only get the lion’s share of the future tax cuts already written into law, but would get most of the additional $600 billion in tax cuts the administration now proposes. (Actually it’s about $1 trillion without the accounting tricks, but who’s counting?) And while there is much talk of hard choices, the administration seems loath to make any choices at all when it comes to defense spending. Does a subsidiary of the Carlyle Group have a 70-ton artillery piece that made sense, if it ever did, only in the cold-war era? We’ll buy it. Do two competing contractors offer advanced fighters designed to fight a nonexistent next generation of MIG’s? We’ll take both. But there are big cuts elsewhere, and big diversions of resources that will force future cuts. You know about the diversion of the Social Security surplus to cover deficits in the rest of the government – deficits that would be much smaller if the administration would forgo some of those tax cuts, and would vanish if it also exercised some restraint in its weapons purchases. But did you know that the administration has budgeted $300 billion less for Medicare than the Congressional Budget Office says is needed to maintain current benefits – never mind add-ons like prescription drug insurance? It’s unclear whether the administration actually intends to deny medical care to retirees, or is simply trying to hide the sheer scale of the looming fiscal disaster. The broken promise to New York is actually small change compared with all of this. And that, in a way, makes it puzzling. Since the budget is already deeply in deficit for the foreseeable future, why not put it another $9 billion in deficit for one year, and avoid offering critics such an easy target? One answer is that terror or no terror, key Republican lawmakers retain an abiding dislike for the Big Apple – and this administration never offends its supporters on the right. But my guess is that it comes down to sheer arrogance. Buoyed by those approval ratings, this administration simply believes that its former promises don’t matter. After all, don’t people know that there’s a war on? Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company | Privacy Information

Response:

It’s unclear whether the administration actually intends to deny medical care to retirees, or is simply trying to hide the sheer scale of the looming fiscal disaster.

I think this is the heart of the matter.  Social security and Medicare are bound to go the way of Enron.  Money that should be in the SS trust fund accruing interest is being diverted to fund deficit spending such as on the purposed $50,000,000,000.00 increase to the defense budget of $350,000,000,000,000.   Debt service has been greatly reduced by the historically low interest rates, but interest rates are cyclical and the pendulum will swing higher one day (sooner rather than later).  What will we do then?  And who does this serve?  Isn’t debt service indirect taxation?  Do common folk buy government bonds? Or are these bonds bought buy rich Americans and foriegners? The cycle continues.  Common workers pay huge taxes for Social Security, Medicare, and general taxes.  The government deficit spends, issues bonds.  Bonds are bought by the rich with a guaranteed rate of return, backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.  What a system. Jim

Response:

Question:

Simply, how many kwh did you use last year the same time as this year? –Mike How in the heck do you judge an electric bill when compared to a prior years bill? Specifically what I  want to know is am i saving Kilowatts versus last year after accounting for the flucations in the heating and cooling days. How do you compare one year to the other? Thansk!

– The content of this message contains my ideas, experiences, and general information I’ve heard or read. I will usually specify whether the information was heard, read, my idea, or from experience. It is up to you to be the judge of how valid the content of my messages are.

Response:

How in the heck do you judge an electric bill when compared to a prior years bill? Specifically what I  want to know is am i saving Kilowatts versus last year after accounting for the flucations in the heating and cooling days. How do you compare one year to the other? Thansk!

Response:

How in the heck do you judge an electric bill when compared to a prior years bill? Specifically what I  want to know is am i saving Kilowatts versus last year after accounting for the flucations in the heating and cooling days. How do you compare one year to the other? Thansk!

Check these 2 sites: http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/FAQ/dd.html http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/documentlibrary/hcs/hcs.html Your utility may have the local degree day info public as well. Jim

Response:

How in the heck do you judge an electric bill when compared to a prior years bill? Specifically what I  want to know is am i saving Kilowatts versus last year after accounting for the flucations in the heating and cooling days. How do you compare one year to the other? Thansk!

If you don’t use electric heat then you can pretty much ignore heating days when comparing bills.  The furnace blower will add something to your bill but not enough to really worry about for comparison purposes. During the summer, first subtract the KWH used in an average spring/fall month, then divide the remainder by cooling degree days to come up with a comparison figure. — Dan Hicks The teacher is like the candle which lights others in consuming itself. Ruffini

Response:

Question:

And what is it used for? Thanks!

Response:

And what is it used for? Thanks!

For smaller sized companies, financial institutions (bankers) or investors (i.e. small group of joint ventures holding majority of the company’s stocks) are probably more interested in EBITDA, rather than EBIT.  EBITDA focuses more on the company’s cash operations. A classic example would be a group of investors acquiring a small company through "purchase-method of accounting" where the transaction resulted in substantial recognition of goodwill.  The amortization of goodwill could have a large impact on the company’s P&L.  Using EBITDA would filter this out which could be more informative to investors or bankers (who tend to be more cash basis oriented.

Response:

Question:

I knew QB for the Web was not as complete as NetLedger in many ways. It never occurred to me they would sell something that was NOT compatible with QuickBooks 6 – 2000 (or later?). However, see http://www.netledger.com/nlpr12-04-00.html Intuit also announced QuickBooks for the Web http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit-2 moderator (mike block) note: On the other hand, I am disappointed with QB for the Web. It lacks 16 major QB2001 features( including payroll and inventory) and has less than a third of the reports. That means I am still a NetLedger enthusiast.

  Mike Block, Tax Fighting C.P.A.  World’s #1 QuickBooks Top Tester FREE NetLedger consult refer #10260   FREE 462p QB book/error codes/ 80 QB add-ons http://blocktax.com/

Response:

I’m encouraged that they are starting small on the web, no doubt intending to grow it.  I would rather they do this than jump out there with a whole suite pretty much untested. How about that 2001, hey??  Is it sweet or what!  and the movable columns, moderator (mike block) note: I delayed some QB2001 posts because the product is still in beta, when everything is supposed to be confidential. However, Intuit announced many details at http://www.intuit.com/corporate/press_releases/120400a.html This release also says it will not be available until the end of December, as usual. They even have a demo and extensive comparison http://www.shopintuit.com/QB2001/QBCom/qb.asp?Sourcecode=WHMN1C484CZZ… Then click on Learn More. I cannot talk about all that was added. However, in my opinion, the demo leaves out lots of significant improvements.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Saw this on Excite http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit Intuit also announced QuickBooks for the Web http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit-2 moderator (mike block) note: I guess this means I can now talk about the great QB2001 program. It is a massive improvement, with many features I never expected to see (10 price levels, groups of reports that run with one click, returning you to the same place in a report after you drill down, far better user configurable menus that show why I so disliked QB2000, etc.). On the other hand, I am disappointed with QB for the Web. It lacks 16 major QB2001 features( including payroll and inventory) and has less than a third of the reports. That means I am still a NetLedger enthusiast. http://blocktax.com/

Response:

Saw this on Excite http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit Intuit also announced QuickBooks for the Web http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit-2

moderator (mike block) note: I guess this means I can now talk about the great QB2001 program. It is a massive improvement, with many features I never expected to see (10 price levels, groups of reports that run with one click, returning you to the same place in a report after you drill down, far better user configurable menus that show why I so disliked QB2000, etc.). On the other hand, I am disappointed with QB for the Web. It lacks 16 major QB2001 features( including payroll and inventory) and has less than a third of the reports. That means I am still a NetLedger enthusiast. http://blocktax.com/

Response:

I’m encouraged that they are starting small on the web, no doubt intending to grow it.  I would rather they do this than jump out there with a whole suite pretty much untested. moderator note: <snip on comment on QB2001 – not yet released after all

Saw this on Excite http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit Intuit also announced QuickBooks for the Web http://news.excite.com/news/bw/001204/ca-intuit-2 moderator (mike block) note:

snip on QB2001 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – On the other hand, I am disappointed with QB for the Web. It lacks 16 major QB2001 features( including payroll and inventory) and has less than a third of the reports. That means I am still a NetLedger enthusiast. http://blocktax.com/

Response:

Question:

Lets say you list an item for 99 cents, and it sells for 9.00, with postage another 1.25.   You saved 25 cents on the listing, but you might have to pay 79 cents in BillPoint fees. If my math is wrong I’d like to have someone point it out.

 Try this math… Billpoint is very rarely used and even if it is used 85 % of all credit card purchases are made by Visa cards which have their fees waived by Billpoint for  these free listing auctions. I admit,if you have a high value item you may want to skip the freebie but for items under $20 it is well worth the very slight chance that some buyer will use MasterCard or Discovery on a Billpoint purchase….

Response:

Lets say you list an item for 99 cents, and it sells for 9.00, with postage another 1.25.   You saved 25 cents on the listing, but you might have to pay 79 cents in BillPoint fees. If my math is wrong I’d like to have someone point it out. Try this math… Billpoint is very rarely used and even if it is used 85 % of all credit card purchases are made by Visa cards which have their fees waived by Billpoint for  these free listing auctions. I admit,if you have a high value item you may want to skip the freebie but for items under $20 it is well worth the very slight chance that some buyer will use MasterCard or Discovery on a Billpoint purchase….

Is it worth the 25 cents for me to be pushing a service that will come back to bite me in the ass later on?  Later on when the math will be a 9.00 dollar item with 1.25 postage costing me 25 cents to list, plus 79 cents in BillPoint fees plus 45 cents final value fee. Why would I want to try and get a system going where eBay takes $1.49 out of a lousy $9.00 sale!

Response:

Is it worth the 25 cents for me to be pushing a service that will come back to bite me in the ass later on?  Later on when the math will be a 9.00 dollar item with 1.25 postage costing me 25 cents to list, plus 79 cents in BillPoint fees plus 45 cents final value fee. Why would I want to try and get a system going where eBay takes $1.49 out of a lousy $9.00 sale!

 Billpoint is doomed to fail,it is floundering in the water trying to stay afloat. Why not take advantage of it’s attempts to buy sellers. Nobody is agreeing to use Billpoint on any auction other than these freebies. You can actually hurt Billpoint by using it on the freebie auctions and not on the regular paying auctions. Those statistics must drive eBay’s accountants nuts…    In the early 1970’s I worked for a little sweatshop sheet metal company. The workers got together and got a union organizer to get a ‘union vote’ to make the shop a union shop. The owner had 2 weeks to try to convince the workers he was really a nice guy and not a tyrant. We had no intention of ever not voting for the unionization of the shop but we gladly accepted his "goodwill gestures" of new lockers,water fountains,etc.,etc.

Response:

This kind of free day is highly discriminatory against those who are in "furrin" countries (not to mention those who don’t want to use Ebay’s CC service)! The last free day was in late December last year (for us "regular folks"). Personally, I think the only reason they’re doing this latest one is to hype up business around the Memorial Day weekend.

Response:

"Include Billpoint as a payment method when you list your item on Thursday, May 18th, and Billpoint will pay your eBay insertion fee! You must register with Billpoint and include this payment method to receive your free listings."  So you guys don’t think it worth be worth my while to take advantage of this just for the free listings?  I have some new stuff to put on, but if I’m going to get less for it, it wouldn’t be worth the free listings.  I value your opinions in here.

A big problem for me is the timing – a seven day auction starting today would end the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend – and since a lot of people make it a four-day weekend, I’m betting the amount of bidders will be down that evening, getting ready for their cookout, trip to the beach, visiting relatives, etc. The 10-day auctions would be even worse, ending on the Sunday before Memorial Day. If you like doing three and five day auctions, I suppose it might be ok for you. Before you buy.

Response:

I think I will take everyone’s advice and wait.  Like somebody said (sorry, forgot who), if the buyer did use Billpoint, it would cost me more than a listing fee, and besides that, it seems to me like auctions are slow now anyway, even without the upcoming holiday to slow them down even more.  Oh well, I have quite a few on now, just hope the bidding picks up before they close! Thanks, everybody, for your advice! Rhonda

Response:

on how I can spend more money in fees if I take billpoint. Mark my words, paypal will not remain on ebay as a free service. ebay has too much to lose with a "free" service doing the job of a "paid" service like billpoint. Who in theor right mind will use billpoint when paypal is free. Won’t last long I guarantee it.

Dumb comment, there’s nothing e-bay can do about it.  By what magical means do you think e-bay can keep anyone from accepting or making a PayPal payment? — —T Lin

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – No you aren’t getting it, it is not free untill you close with the sale and your buyer uses billpoint. I just got the powersellers mail out with all the neat info Dennis worse yet is the item has to close and the payment must be made through billpoint for the listing to be free. Whipee!!!! Dennis  Payment options must include Billpoint for the listing to be free. Nobody would use the free listings with the strict rules you indicated. Why not take advantage of the free day? Nobody uses Billpoint anyway and after the free listing day ignore the Billpoint payment option…

Response:

"Include Billpoint as a payment method when you list your item on Thursday, May 18th, and Billpoint will pay your eBay insertion fee! You must register with Billpoint and include this payment method to receive your free listings."  So you guys don’t think it worth be worth my while to take advantage of this just for the free listings?  I have some new stuff to put on, but if I’m going to get less for it, it wouldn’t be worth the free listings.  I value your opinions in here. Rhonda

Lets say you list an item for 99 cents, and it sells for 9.00, with postage another 1.25.   You saved 25 cents on the listing, but you might have to pay 79 cents in BillPoint fees. If my math is wrong I’d like to have someone point it out.

Response:

Every time they have a free listing day, my prices drop, and my percentage of completed auctions drop.  It probably depends on what your selling. Richard Ward – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Include Billpoint as a payment method when you list your item on Thursday, May 18th, and Billpoint will pay your eBay insertion fee! You must register with Billpoint and include this payment method to receive your free listings."  So you guys don’t think it worth be worth my while to take advantage of this just for the free listings?  I have some new stuff to put on, but if I’m going to get less for it, it wouldn’t be worth the free listings.  I value your opinions in here. Rhonda

Response:

2-4-6-8, JNouri is spiffy, JNouri is great!: another free listing day may 18th as long as you choose  billpoint asa  payment method.

Two words: Fuck Sh^H^HBillPoint  Alright! I *AM* the Messiah! — He *IS* the Messiah! — Now… Fuck Off!

Response:

"Include Billpoint as a payment method when you list your item on Thursday, May 18th, and Billpoint will pay your eBay insertion fee! You must register with Billpoint and include this payment method to receive your free listings."  So you guys don’t think it worth be worth my while to take advantage of this just for the free listings?  I have some new stuff to put on, but if I’m going to get less for it, it wouldn’t be worth the free listings.  I value your opinions in here. Rhonda

Response:

you aren’t getting it. the anouncement about the free listing day (5-18-00) at http://pages.ebay.com/help/sellerguide/bp-fld.html says you must accept billpoint for the free listing, but it does not say- the auction end must be paid via billpoint, just that it must be an option to they buyer

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – No you aren’t getting it, it is not free untill you close with the sale and your buyer uses billpoint. I just got the powersellers mail out with all the neat info on how I can spend more money in fees if I take billpoint. Mark my words, paypal will not remain on ebay as a free service. ebay has too much to lose with a "free" service doing the job of a "paid" service like billpoint. Who in theor right mind will use billpoint when paypal is free. Won’t last long I guarantee it. Dennis worse yet is the item has to close and the payment must be made through billpoint for the listing to be free. Whipee!!!! Dennis  Payment options must include Billpoint for the listing to be free. Nobody would use the free listings with the strict rules you indicated. Why not take advantage of the free day? Nobody uses Billpoint anyway and after the free listing day ignore the Billpoint payment option…

Response:

I can think of one good reason, every time they have a free day it increases the number of listings, drops the sales prices to sellers due to the increased competition for bidders, and decreases the percentage of auctions actually completed.  Why would I want to save the $0.25 or $0.50 per item, and risk having each item close $2.00 or $3.00 lower, if at all? I wish eBay would just drop these free listing days entirely.  From the sellers standpoint they are terrible for business.  What they need is something to encourage more bidders to come on board.  If they can keep the supply of bidders high, the sellers will come AND pay for the privelege willingly. Just an opinion. Richard Ward – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – <snip  Payment options must include Billpoint for the listing to be free. Nobody would use the free listings with the strict rules you indicated. Why not take advantage of the free day? Nobody uses Billpoint anyway and after the free listing day ignore the Billpoint payment option…

Response:

another free listing day may 18th as long as you choose  billpoint asa  payment method. Obviously Ebay is trying to capitalize on the recent problems at PayPal, no doubt hoping to convert some disgruntled sellers.

  I think the recent problems at PayPal are just coincidental to this free listing day. The opposite is probably more true… the incredible success of PayPal with the online auction scene ( 25 % of all eBay auctions for instance ) has made it an out and out necessity for eBay to try to promote it’s BillPoint at all costs before it’s beyond help. I can envision a scenario where eBay has free listing for a week or even longer for sellers willing to use BillPoint as a payment option. These single listing days don’t really help BillPoint’s cause enough to be effective and a longer free listing period may be what is     Just an opinion mind you

Response:

another free listing day may 18th as long as you choose  billpoint asa  payment method.

Obviously Ebay is trying to capitalize on the recent problems at PayPal, no doubt hoping to convert some disgruntled sellers.

Response:

worse yet is the item has to close and the payment must be made through billpoint for the listing to be free. Whipee!!!! Dennis

 Payment options must include Billpoint for the listing to be free. Nobody would use the free listings with the strict rules you indicated. Why not take advantage of the free day? Nobody uses Billpoint anyway and after the free listing day ignore the Billpoint payment option…

Response:

another free listing day may 18th as long as you choose  billpoint asa  payment method.

Response:

Thanks for telling us agent 007.  (sooo sneaky!) I hope eBay is paying you well. Dexter

Response:

I’m getting pretty tired of these stupid free listing days.  Sales have been bad enough recently without making things worse. Richard Ward – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for telling us agent 007.  (sooo sneaky!) I hope eBay is paying you well. Dexter

Response:

another free listing day may 18th as long as you choose  billpoint asa  payment method.

hehe… well I don’t think I’ll list tomorrow. #1    I’m not paying the BillPoint fees #2    7 and 10 day auctions will hit a holiday #3    I’m not paying BillPoint fees

Response:

worse yet is the item has to close and the payment must be made through billpoint for the listing to be free. Whipee!!!! Dennis – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks for telling us agent 007.  (sooo sneaky!) I hope eBay is paying you well. Dexter

Response:

No you aren’t getting it, it is not free untill you close with the sale and your buyer uses billpoint. I just got the powersellers mail out with all the neat info on how I can spend more money in fees if I take billpoint. Mark my words, paypal will not remain on ebay as a free service. ebay has too much to lose with a "free" service doing the job of a "paid" service like billpoint. Who in theor right mind will use billpoint when paypal is free. Won’t last long I guarantee it. Dennis – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – worse yet is the item has to close and the payment must be made through billpoint for the listing to be free. Whipee!!!! Dennis  Payment options must include Billpoint for the listing to be free. Nobody would use the free listings with the strict rules you indicated. Why not take advantage of the free day? Nobody uses Billpoint anyway and after the free listing day ignore the Billpoint payment option…

Response:

Question:

Got some bad news from Peachtree on the future of Peachtree Office Accounting. Here’s a few snippets from what I was sent: "Peachtree Software was acquired by the Sage Group plc in February of this year." "In reviewing the product lines offered by both Peachtree and Sage, it became readily apparent that Peachtree’s Eagle product (Peachtree Office Accounting v2.0 on SQL Server 7.0) and Sage’s MAS 90 for SQL Server were very similar." "Peachtree has decided to discontinue development of the product code-named Eagle thus allowing Peachtree Software to continue its strong focus in the 1-25 employee small business market. This change in direction impacts the delivery date of the multi-user Version 2.0 of Peachtree Office Accounting. At present we do not know the magnitude of this delay; however, we are confident that Version 2.0 of Peachtree Office Accounting will not be available during the 1999 calendar year." This appears to be bad news for those of us who invested money and time into Peachtree Office 1.0/1.1. The good news is that I’ve been told that Peachtree Office 1.1 is compatible with Microsoft Office 2000. We shall see. There is also the chance that the product my continue to be developed down the road. But the future looks bleak. I, for one, am probably going to give up on Peachtree due to this very, very disappointing product development shift. As for other Peachtree products, I have no information on how they might be affected. Peachtree’s sales number is 800-247-3224 or you can write Brian

Response:

"Peachtree Software was acquired by the Sage Group plc in February of this year." "In reviewing the product lines offered by both Peachtree and Sage, it became readily apparent that Peachtree’s Eagle product (Peachtree Office Accounting v2.0 on SQL Server 7.0) and Sage’s MAS 90 for SQL Server were very similar." "Peachtree has decided to discontinue development of the product code-named Eagle

Its quite a shock isn’t it? Peachtree’s sales number is 800-247-3224 or you can write

Can’t blame Peachtree Inc. –they were sold by ADP and then Sage Software tore their little wings off. Sage is the force to be reckoned with.  Show me a Sage product that is worth the money.  Show me one that is current technology, that doesn’t cost 5 figures.   Hummph.   They discontinued the wrong product if you’re going on merit. Sage is like an oil company; they search and find mineral deposits (groups and herds of users, who have a demonstrated propensity to pay more than the software is worth and more than it costs to sell)  then they mine it and tap it.  POA users were too smart for that, no, not a good bet… Todd

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Peachtree Software was acquired by the Sage Group plc in February of this year." "In reviewing the product lines offered by both Peachtree and Sage, it became readily apparent that Peachtree’s Eagle product (Peachtree Office Accounting v2.0 on SQL Server 7.0) and Sage’s MAS 90 for SQL Server were very similar." "Peachtree has decided to discontinue development of the product code-named Eagle Its quite a shock isn’t it? Peachtree’s sales number is 800-247-3224 or you can write Can’t blame Peachtree Inc. –they were sold by ADP and then Sage Software tore their little wings off. Sage is the force to be reckoned with.  Show me a Sage product that is worth the money.  Show me one that is current technology, that doesn’t cost 5 figures.   Hummph. They discontinued the wrong product if you’re going on merit. Sage is like an oil company; they search and find mineral deposits (groups and herds of users, who have a demonstrated propensity to pay more than the software is worth and more than it costs to sell)  then they mine it and tap it.  POA users were too smart for that, no, not a good bet… Todd

I’m sorry to hear this, but I sort of felt it was coming.  Peachtree Office Accounting could have given QuickBooks some real competition in the small business market (looks like it could have given MAS 90 competition too!).  There is definitely a need for an accounting program for small businesses that are "growing up" but that do not want one of the "high end," high cost, high customer service, modular accounting programs.  Now it looks like small businesses will have to take what Intuit wants to give them. Regards, — Robert W. Scroggins, CPA A Texas CPA http://members.aol.com/rscrogg562/ —Share what you know. Learn what you don’t.—

Response:

Sage is like an oil company; they search and find mineral deposits (groups and herds of users, who have a demonstrated propensity to pay more than the software is worth and more than it costs to sell)  then they mine it and tap it.  POA users were too smart for that, no, not a good bet…

In the late 60s, corporate raiders and conglomerates existed due to the difference in PE ratios between the traditional companies, such as a steel mill, and the glamorous conglomerate.  Steel mill – PE 10 to 15.  Conglomerate – PE 20 to 50. After Asher Adelman, junk bonds, …, the process stumbled.   Sage may be the harbinger of a new wave.  Somehow they have pyramided small acquisitions such as DAC Easy and Timeslips into a cash buyout of State of the Art.   How long can they offer stale technology at inflated prices?  Not long.  Maybe 3 years, but it could all change in less than a year. Software oligopolies have 2 choices; 1) develop software which takes advantage of faster and cheaper computers, or 2) let the market roll over them. And what happens to the programmers who would have created the next Peachtree?  An analogous situation from recent history: Platinum had financial problems, causing them to lose their best talent.  Their top developers went on to develop UA Corporate Accounting software by ASD.  - Carl

Response:

Question:

Thank you James for that information, it is very helpful. Regards, Armand Albano – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have implemented Platinum SQL at two fairly large corporations ($4.5B and $1.3B in annual revenues, respectively).  It is a fairly robust system, with a lot of flexibility.  Some of their modules (namely Purchase Order and Order Entry) don’t appear to be used by many people and may need some work to be used for your purposes (whatever they may be).  This isn’t a big hang-up with us since we have a separate system that we interfaced with Platinum to feed this info (my former employer did the same thing). One thing you have to keep in mind with Platinum SQL is that with flexibility you have a price.  That price is that they have few canned reports and their internal report writer is not set up to handle all needs for all people.  You need to purchase both Crystal Info and FRx report writer packages to do all of your custom reporting.  Neither are expensive nor hard to learn, but you need them to customize your reporting. Overall, I like Platinum over other packages I’ve used and/or implemented.  We did full implementations in less than a year from start to finish, going from 1970’s vintage mainframe systems to the latest in client-server technology.  Training our people was very straight forward, so there was very little downtime due to a learning curve.  I’d implement again if I moved to another company… Thanks, James K. Carter, CPA Controller  My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

Response:

I have implemented Platinum SQL at two fairly large corporations ($4.5B and $1.3B in annual revenues, respectively).  It is a fairly robust system, with a lot of flexibility.  Some of their modules (namely Purchase Order and Order Entry) don’t appear to be used by many people and may need some work to be used for your purposes (whatever they may be).  This isn’t a big hang-up with us since we have a separate system that we interfaced with Platinum to feed this info (my former employer did the same thing). One thing you have to keep in mind with Platinum SQL is that with flexibility you have a price.  That price is that they have few canned reports and their internal report writer is not set up to handle all needs for all people.  You need to purchase both Crystal Info and FRx report writer packages to do all of your custom reporting.  Neither are expensive nor hard to learn, but you need them to customize your reporting. Overall, I like Platinum over other packages I’ve used and/or implemented.  We did full implementations in less than a year from start to finish, going from 1970’s vintage mainframe systems to the latest in client-server technology.  Training our people was very straight forward, so there was very little downtime due to a learning curve.  I’d implement again if I moved to another company… Thanks, James K. Carter, CPA Controller – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –  My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

Response:

The 3 leading products at this time in this category are Great Plains Dynamics c/s+, Solomon IV, and Navision (not as well known but pretty solid). Platinum and Mas90 c/s are just climbing out of the 16 bit BTrieve / DOS / Novell environment. For years, Platinum claimed to be "client-server".  They only recently offered a MS SQL based system. "Design" could mean look and feel, documentation, … ?   Actually, UA Corporate Accounting products are slightly out of the mold of conventional accounting systems. If the choice were to spend $50K on Great Plains or $22K on UA plus another $10K or $20K for modifications, you would have a more perfect fit for less money with UA. In this category, custom satisfaction is often a function of the resources and experience of the vendor. Respectfully,  - Carl Dick 800-997-7944 My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

- Carl Dick 949-261-2694 800-997-7944 www.cpaccess.com

Response:

My company is currently switching over to Platinum and as of yet we have only had minor complaints. From what I understand, I didn’t see the price tag, it is a farily expensive product. If medium to high priced software is what you are looking for Platinum is supposedly the best, I have worked with Macola and MAS90 software packages and they are both very good. MAS 90 is a windows NT server program and although tech support initially was bad they have improved significantly in the last few years. They have very few errors and seem to have all of the reporting you could want but they also have a report writer function to write custom reports. I hope this helps you. HCR     My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with.     The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL.  It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

Response:

My company, a deregulated gas and electricity marketer is currently reviewing accounting software packages.  We are currently using UA, and it is, by far, the most poorly designed system I have ever had the displeasure to work with. The product that seems to be leading the pack is called Platinum SQL. It is obviously SQL server based.  Has anyone had any experience with this package?  Good or bad.  I would appreciate whatever information any of you could provide.

Response:

Question:

Hello. I’m a graduate student in accounting. I’m writing a paper about the international tax systems and laws,especially the comparison among U.S. , England, German, and so on. I gathered some articles, but have not many. If there is anyone who had concerning about this theme, or know about it ,please give me a letter. Everything concerned about my theme is welcomed. Thank you for your reading.

Response:

writes: Hello. I’m a graduate student in accounting. I’m writing a paper about the international tax systems and laws,especially the comparison among U.S. , England, German, and so on. I gathered some articles, but have not many. If there is anyone who had concerning about this theme, or know about it ,please give me a letter. Everything concerned about my theme is welcomed.

This link is from Will Yancey’s Home Page: http://www.taxsites.com/international.html Philadelphia, Pa – Atlantic City, NJ – West Wildwood, NJ My Newsgroups & Boards at:   http://members.aol.com/TaxService/index.html Where Ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise!=:)

Response:

Hello. I’m a graduate student in accounting. I’m writing a paper about the international tax systems and laws,especially the comparison among U.S. , England, German, and so on. I gathered some articles, but have not many. If there is anyone who had concerning about this theme, or know about it ,please give me a letter. Everything concerned about my theme is welcomed. Thank you for your reading.

The best general references, and by far the most readable and logically organized, are the country-by-country tax brochures by the big accounting firms. Why don’t you plan your research approach, and any checklists and questionnaires first.  Then ask the large firms if you could be allowed into their library for a specific number of hours, to review the country tax summaries or brochures. If you can wade thru all that material and complete your report within your time budget, you’ll probably get hired by the firm. You might need to narrow it down to just a particular question such as progressivity, treatment of cap gains, etc. I’ve always thought it would be dynamite, if somebody would perform a big regression analysis on marginal rates vs. taxable revenue realized, across all countries to prove that corporations tend to pencil in their profits into the subsidiaries having the lowest tax burdens.

Response: