Business Valuation/Practice Development
SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED
Gary R. Trugman
Long before a buyer and seller get to the signatures and handshakes—or a CPA looks at the books—valuators work hard to position their client’s business to bring the best price. This description of M&A business valuation is for CPAs who want to know more about whether pursuing BV certification is for them.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Nicholas J. Mastracchio Jr. and Victoria M. Zunitch
Participants in a merger or acquisition base their transaction on the expectation that the value of the joined entity will be greater than the sum of its parts. A CPA/valuator can help a business decide whether to merge or buy.

Auditing
THE NEW GAO INDEPENDENCE STANDARD: WHAT AUDITORS NEED TO KNOW
Lisa A. Snyder
Auditors subject to GAGAS inadvertently could fail to comply with a new standard to keep them independent. The remedy? A sound understanding of the standard’s overarching principles and independence safeguards.

Corporate Governance
NYSE SETS AUDIT COMMITTEES ON NEW ROAD
Paul Sweeney and Cynthia Waller Vallario
The New York Stock Exchange proposed new listing standards for public companies that will change the makeup of audit committees, give committee members more authority and alter relationships with external auditors. Auditors and audit committee members should get the jump on these reforms, before the SEC approves them, by preparing to implement them at CPA firms and inside corporate boardrooms.

Financial Reporting
ACCOUNTING FOR TRADE DRESS
Elise K. Prosser and James K. Smith
CPAs must follow FASB rules and stay current on both court decisions and changes in statutes to ensure balance sheets properly reflect the value of a company’s trade dress for financial reporting purposes.

Technology Workshop
WORK SMARTER WITH SMART TAGS
Jennifer M. Mueller
Office XP contains a new feature called a Smart Tag, which acts like a personal robot, finding different kinds of data—from an address to a stock quote—and pasting them into a document, a spreadsheet or a presentation. It searches for the information in your computer, the Web or a network.

Tax Practice Management
IT’S TIME TO E-FILE
Michael Culligan, Joseph F. Scutellaro and Lisa A. Szargowicz
As the IRS pushes for more widespread use of electronic filing by taxpayers, CPAs should register as electronic return originators so they can offer the service to their clients in the coming tax season.

Corporate Taxes
THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF NEXUS
Bruce Howard
Companies that do business in multiple states may face unexpected exposure to franchise or business privilege taxes outside their home state. Under some circumstances, however, paying taxes in more than one state can save money.

The Fraud Beat
TEN STEPS TO A TOP-NOTCH INTERVIEW
Joseph T. Wells
During a fraud investigation, one of the best ways to uncover significant evidence is to speak with employees or others familiar with the situation. To conduct an effective inquiry, practitioners must learn the ins and outs of questioning, observation and body language.

Insurance Issues
HOW TO RESPOND TO POLICY CHANGES
Neil Alexander
Changes to policy terms are inevitable. Typically, an insurance company has to either raise the premium or cut the death benefit to keep a policy profitable. CPAs can advise clients on how best to react to these changes.