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CONTINUING EDUCATION
IRS CPE Program Tackles International Tax Treaties
The Service will present a free webcast titled “International Tax Issues: Understanding Tax Treaties” on March 11 as part of its Tax Talk Today program.
Panelists will discuss how to apply tax treaties to returns and how to get treaty benefits in foreign countries. The U.S. has treaties with more than 60 countries that could reduce tax and eliminate double tax for your clients involved in overseas employment and transactions.
The program is hosted by Phyllis Grimes, chief stakeholder liaison for industry outreach with the Small Business/Self-Employed Division of the IRS. To register for this program or purchase the accompanying continuing education credit, visit www.taxtalktoday.tv.
Source: www.taxtalktoday.tv/index.cfm?page=8.774. |
FRAUD
Electronic Hooky
Supervisors beware—an Oklahoma company has taken fake excuses to a new level.
The Excused Absence Network produces software templates to create legitimate-looking excuse notes that appear to come from local doctors and hospitals, available for purchase for about $25. Other forms offered include a phony jury summons and funeral notices.
While the company’s disclaimer states the notes are “for entertainment purposes only,” at least one customer did not take the warning to heart. The Associated Press reported that a New Jersey woman was arrested after using one of the company’s notes to avoid an appearance in traffic court.
A CCH survey found an unscheduled absenteeism rate of 2.3% for 2007, down from 2.5% in 2006, though there were no exact figures on the cost of fake absences to companies.
—Joseph T. Wells, CPA, CFE
TECH TALK
CPA Firm Sites—Dos and Don’ts
 DO register the domain yourself. A third party can easily register it in their name, making themselves an administrator—then your Web site becomes their property.
DO present a précis of your practice on the home page. Don’t use a “Welcome” message.
 DON’T use frivolous graphics, which often turn off visitors. If used, graphics should relate to the text and help communicate a message to set you apart from the competition.
DON’T use Flash. It takes too long to load and isn’t worth the extra cost.
DON’T complicate the site’s navigation with multiple subtopics. They could confuse or mislead visitors.
DO consider how visitors read your site. Eye-tracking visualization studies indicate that Web visitors read sites in an F-shaped pattern, starting with horizontal movement across the banner, left to right, returning to the left side, then down to the first paragraph.
DO be succinct. If your home page is not concise, visitors will not bother to navigate to secondary pages.
DO keep secondary pages easy to read. They should explain the home page content in greater detail and delve deeper into your practice.
DON’T include fluff, especially adjectives that take up space and mean nothing. What’s important is not what you say about yourself, but your experience and client testimonials.
DO have a separate Web site if you also provide investment advisory services. As an investment adviser, the firm has to abide by several regulatory and professional guidelines; it’s important to include text assuring conformance to these regulations.
DO design your site to be different. Beware of the cookie-cutter look, and don’t be afraid to stand out from the competition.
DON’T use bright primary colors on the site’s background, particularly white text on red or royal blue. Content will be hard to read, and visitors will tune out.
DO describe your area of specialization. Potential clients may not be aware of the profession’s boundaries or definitions.
DO communicate trust and credibility. You’re in a personal service business, and nothing is more important to a client than knowing you can be trusted.
Source: Margot W. Teleki, partner, CopyWrite Marketing Group, www.copywritemarketinggroup.com. |
TECH TALK
Federal Budget Goes Paperless
For the first time, the federal budget goes green.
The 2009 fiscal year budget is available online at www.budget.gov. The digital document, whose four-book print version contained nearly 2,200 pages, is fully searchable and available for download.
Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle expects the E-Budget to save nearly 20 tons of paper—or around 480 trees—and save close to $1 million over the next five years.
Source: www.whitehouse.gov/omb.
ON THE RECORD
Late-Year Code Changes Go Unnoticed
“When taxpayers do not claim tax benefits because they do not know about them, Congress’ intent in providing the tax benefits is undermined and taxpayers understandably question the fairness of the tax system.”
—National Taxpayer Advocate
Nina E. Olson, Jan. 9
Source: www.irs.gov. |
ETHICS
Yours or Mine?
Rather than implementing traditional compliance program control elements—including codes, training and whistleblowing systems—when dealing with third parties, more and more global companies are educating their own employees and choosing to work with those suppliers who are ethically compatible.
According to Finding a Delicate Balance: Third Party Ethics Requirements, a report by The Conference Board and the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association, most of the companies surveyed said they preferred to use their own code of conduct for employees when it comes to dealing with third parties and compliance risk.
Why? Not only can compliance programs be difficult to implement, but imposing requirements on suppliers may also give rise to expectations that exceed the company’s ability to monitor or enforce its compliance standards.
The survey also found that most companies considered a partner’s ethical fit the key to maintaining high third-party business conduct standards.
Source: The Conference Board’s Finding a Delicate Balance: Third Party Ethics Requirements, www.conference-board.org. |
CAREERS AND RECRUITING
Work/Life Balancing Act
In studying hiring trends for 2008, CareerBuilder.com found that almost 40% of employers plan to increase their offerings of flexible work arrangements (60% currently offer some form of flexible scheduling). These arrangements include:
 Alternate schedules (78%)
Compressed workweeks (38%)
Telecommuting options (33%)
Summer hours (21%)
Job sharing (18%)
Sabbaticals (8%)
Other trends included the rehiring of retirees from other companies, screening job candidates using online search engines and social networking sites, and hiring freelance or contract workers.
Source: CareerBuilder’s Job Forecast 2008, www.careerbuilder.com.
DATA
POINT
85
Percentage of privacy and security
professionals who reported at least one data breach of personally identifiable
information of customers or employees
within the past 12 months.
Source: Enterprise@Risk: 2007 Privacy & Data Protection Survey, Deloitte & Touche LLP, www.deloitte.com, and Ponemon Institute, www.ponemon.org. |
CAREERS & RECRUITING
Show a Soft Side
You’ve got technical know-how, but can you explain your skills and accomplishments in an interview?
More than half (53%) of the 1,400 CFOs surveyed by Robert Half Management Resources said they would be willing to hire someone with fewer technical skills if the candidate had stronger soft skills, such as communication and interpersonal abilities.
Source: www.roberthalfmr.com. |
BUSINESS TRENDS
Consumer Bankruptcy Soars
According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, consumer bankruptcy filings increased almost 40% in 2007. Data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center showed 801,840 filings between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, up from 573,203 filings recorded during the same period in 2006. ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano attributed the spike in filings to the mortgage crisis.
Source: American Bankruptcy Institute, www.abiworld.org.
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