Business and Industry
CFOs FOR HIRE
Randy Myers
Temporary CFOs continue to find work—and challenges—amid the upheaval in the business world. For CPAs who have the requisite expertise, these positions can offer financial rewards and career flexibility. Here’s what it takes to be a success.

International Intellectual Property Management
MAXIMIZE YOUR GLOBAL IP
Michael W. Hardgrove and Alex Voloshko
Many enterprises with significant customers and suppliers outside the United States rely heavily on their intellectual property (IP) to expand markets, broaden product or service offerings and enhance the bottom line. CPAs can help them develop effective IP strategies that address many complex international issues including cash management, resource allocation, administrative simplification and cost containment.

The Fraud Beat
CORRUPTION: CAUSES AND CURES
Joseph T. Wells
The author recounts his experience as an FBI agent investigating a bribery case involving a high-level state politician. Many of the classic warning signs of fraud that CPAs should recognize were there.

Fraud Prevention
MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIBLE, TOO
Arleen R. Thomas and Kim M. Gibson
Recognizing the role of corporate managers in preventing illegal activities, the ASB included as an exhibit with SAS no. 99 a document titled Management Antifraud Programs and Controls: Guidance to Help Prevent, Deter, and Detect Fraud. The document, which was sponsored by seven organizations including the AICPA, outlines the measures a company should take to combat fraud.

Disaster Planning/Practice Management
BEFORE THE DELUGE—AND AFTER
Sarah Phelan and Michael Hayes
CPAs can help clients prepare so that if a cataclysm strikes, the financial lifeblood of communities will keep pumping. This article’s first-hand accounts from practitioners who’ve been there illustrate what businesses must deal with when calamities occur; its planning information applies to firms and clients.

Practice Management
THE A TO Z OF KEEPING STAFF
David Satava
Statistics show employees of CPA firms move on at a rate of 7% (at small practices) to 28% (at large ones) per year. In this article, the author describes some costs of high employee turnover and lists simple tips that can help firms of any size keep their human resources from walking out the door.

Estate Planning
DEATH AND TAXES
Barbara Kevles
When CPAs prepare a deceased client’s estate tax return, they must proceed with caution to avoid some common pitfalls in areas such as which assets to include on the form, family limited partnerships and generation skipping transfers.

In My Opinion/Investments
FEAR, GREED AND THE MADNESS OF MARKETS
William Landberg
History shows that human behavior, as much as financial results, guides the performance of investment markets. CPAs must learn this important lesson or the clients they advise are doomed to repeat the failures of the past.