CPA2Biz Update

CPA2Biz is a strategic partner of the AICPA and the State CPA Societies
CPA2Biz Update	www.cpa2biz.com

May 2002

888.777.7077

VeriSign Delivers Protections for
Digital CPA Documents

By Wayne Harding, CPA/CITP

Every day CPAs share important information externally with clients and internally with business associates.

Increasingly, the information is in an electronic format such as a Word document or a spreadsheet. Documents—both printed and in an electronic format—can be changed.

Are your secrets safe? Some of the most sensitive CPA documents include contracts, opinion letters, pension plan documents, business and strategic plans, financial statements, client engagement letters, tax planning letters to clients, estate plan documents, items posted on a Web site, press releases, personal financial planning data, and any electronic documents, such as spreadsheets, word-processing documents, presentation graphics or computer code. Keeping documents safe is a major security concern, which might also have liability implications.

There is a solution. Now all electronic-based reports can be completely protected from changes.

CPA2Biz, the AICPA, and VeriSign are now offering Authentic Document Service to CPAs. Through the use of Authentic Document IDs CPAs can notarize electronic documents. This notarization prevents any changes— a paragraph being deleted, a sentence added, even a space changed.

As an added benefit, reports with Authentic Document IDs can be retracted if, on the rare occasion, a mistake is found. Finally, Authentic Document IDs can be assigned to people within an enterprise and subsequently revoked upon termination of employment to prevent further document notarization.

How does this service work? Through the digital notarizing process, a CPA creates a document “fingerprint.” This fingerprint is stored by VeriSign on a secure server. At no time is the document stored or shared with VeriSign. The fingerprint is represented by a seal in the document and an associated “receipt” file, which both indicate that a document has been electronically notarized.

Learn More . . .

Join a free online seminar and get a chance to win valuable VeriSign products. Contact Daniel Moore at messaging@cpa2biz.com, or visit www.CPA2Biz.com/security.

When the user of the document clicks on the seal, a new document fingerprint is created and compared with the original fingerprint. If there are any differences, the document is not validated. Even an inserted or deleted space within the document will invalidate the fingerprint and notify the user of the document that a change has been made.

What is the cost? Each Authentic Document ID is used just once. IDs are purchased in packages of 250 notarizations and can be used for up to 12 months. The cost, available through CPA2Biz at a special introductory discount, can be as low as $1.78 per notarization.

Selected Professional Resources

AICPA’s reSOURCE Online
Online professional reference for professional standards, technical practice aids, and standard-setting guidance.

AICPA e-MAP
Management of an Accounting Practice Handbook Online

AICPA InfoBytes
Hundreds of online CPE courses in Accounting & Auditing, Consulting, Management, and Taxation. All for only $95/year.

Learn2 Library
58 interactive online CPE courses covering all aspects of the applications included in the Microsoft Office business suite.

AICPA Advanced Investment Management Conference
May 30–31, 2002
Las Vegas, NV

AICPA National Restaurants Conference
June 3–4, 2002
Las Vegas, NV

AICPA Practitioners Symposium
June 3–5, 2002
Las Vegas, NV

www.cpa2biz.com/store, or toll-free (888) 777-7077.

Not so Fast! Can You Really Handle That Valuation Job?

By Gary R. Trugman, CPA/ABV

When the telephone rings and the caller tells you that he or she needs the services of a good appraiser, what should you do?

Believe it or not, it’s not as simple as just automatically accepting the assignment.

The beginning of the assignment, or should we say the pre-beginning of the assignment, is the most important part of the valuation process for several reasons.

First and foremost, you need to properly understand the nature of the assignment to determine if you are competent to perform it. Take a step back and ask yourself if you are competent to perform the job. We all like to think we are competent to do every assignment that comes in the door, but truthfully, we are not. You cannot possibly be competent to take on every assignment that comes your way. If the proper level of competence can be obtained, you can accept the assignment.

All the appraisal organizations (and especially the AICPA) have competency standards for their members. Furthermore, the federally sanctioned Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice require the appraiser to disclose to the client any deficiencies in his or her level of competence, as well as what he or she will do to compensate for it. Full disclosure to the client is essential. At that point it is up to the client to decide if he or she is comfortable with you handling the assignment.

Can you imagine the client, sitting in a courtroom on the witness stand, stating, “The appraiser never told me this was the first appraisal he ever did!” Don’t feel intimidated; we all had to start somewhere. But the worst thing you can do is try to boost your level of experience to impress a potential client.

There are serious ethical considerations that go far beyond just appraisal.

It is important to gain a clear understanding of the purpose and function of the engagement. In simple terms, what are you going to be doing and how will it be used? Then, what is going to be valued? It might be the entire company, often referred to as the equity. Or it might be the invested capital. You might be asked to value just a portion of the stock, or some or all of the assets.

In addition, the intended use of your work can affect the manner in which the job is performed. If you’re doing work in a divorce, you need to understand, for example, the treatment of goodwill in that jurisdiction. But it might be different for the sale of a company.

Soon to be Published

New Second Edition, by the AICPA

Understanding Business Valuation: A Practical Guide to Valuing Small to Medium-Sized Businesses

This excerpt is adapted with permission.

For other professional resources, visit www.cpa2biz.com/bv. To order the book, at $99.20 for eligible members, call toll-free (888) 777-7077 and give the Product #056600.

Gary R. Trugman, of Trugman Valuation Associates Inc. in Rockaway, N.J., is a 19-year veteran of business appraisals, a pioneer of the practice for CPAs and a leading lecturer in the field. He holds several advanced degrees and credentials, including the Accreditation in Business Valuation from the AICPA.

Press Room

CPA2Biz Merges with Rivio

NEW YORK—CPA2Biz Inc., a strategic partner of the AICPA and state CPA societies, has merged with Santa Clara, California-based Rivio Inc., a provider of integrated Web-based application services for small businesses.

“Rivio has proven applications and a technology platform that allows full private labeling by CPAs, offers tremendous platform customization and is supported by a fully tested deployment process,” said Brett Prager, chief executive of the combined companies.

“We had been looking for the right business partner for our services and we found it in the CPA,” said Navin Chaddha, president.

Rivio’s Integrated Business Services Network technology will allow CPA2Biz to offer private-label solutions to CPA firms and provide a framework for integrating applications, content and services that are either homegrown or offered by CPA2Biz’s existing strategic partners, such as Microsoft and VeriSign, the companies said. Rivio technology currently integrates the products and services of more than 150 third parties.

Rivio Office Manager allows small businesses to efficiently manage their day-to-day affairs, including human resource management, payroll, time and attendance, expense reporting, and employee communications. It also provides access to integrated payroll processing services, Microsoft bCentral™ Web Services and export and import capabilities with accounting applications like Intuit QuickBooks.