FINANCIAL REPORTING
A New Day for Business Combinations
by Paul B.W. Miller, Paul R. Bahnson and Brian P. McAllister
Combination accounting has long been controversial because of divergent views on how to provide useful information. FASB rolled out a major overhaul of GAAP related to mergers and acquisitions when it issued Statement no. 141(R), Business Combinations. A fundamental concept at the core of the standard is that the reporting entity is the entire economic enterprise created by the combination.
For CPAs who prepare or audit financial reports

TAX / PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING
Virtues and Evils of Life Settlement
by Alan Breus
A rising demand for converting superannuated life insurance interests into an investment
vehicle is colliding with the challenge of new state regulations for controlling
abusive stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI). Standing between your client’s
unneeded policy and the best possible price that he or she can garner for it are a host
of tax and other considerations.
For CPAs in public practice

TECHNOLOGY WORKSHOP
Web Syndication Using RSS
by Yu Cong and Hui Du
Reading your daily news can now be as easy as opening your Outlook inbox. This article explains how to effectively use RSS feeds with Outlook 2007 to receive news from all the Web sites that are important to you.
For all CPAs

TECHNOLOGY
Accounting for Second Life
by Richard A. Johnson and Joyce M. Middleton
Public accounting meets virtual reality.
For all CPAs

ARTICLES

FINANCIAL REPORTING
Fair Value Roundtable
A panel of financial reporting experts including FASB Chairman Robert Herz; Michael Hall, a partner with KPMG LLP; Gordon Goodman, trading control officer with Occidental Petroleum Corp.; and Michael Young and Antonio Yanez Jr., both of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, recently met in New York to discuss the role of accounting in the subprime collapse and to predict how financial reporting could change in light of current events.
For all CPAs

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Creating Growth: Using Opportunity Risk Management Effectively
by Tamara Bekefi, Marc J. Epstein and Kristi Yuthas
Risk and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. A world of opportunity awaits companies that develop innovative growth solutions that recognize and manage related risks.
For CPAs in business and industry

CORNER OFFICE CONVERSATIONS
Swinging for the Fences
Major League Baseball CFO and Executive Vice President Jonathan Mariner discusses the road to CFO, his entry into the business of sports with the Florida Marlins, and his push to help Major League Baseball get its financial house in order.
For all CPAs

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Interstate Mobility and the CPA Tax Practitioner: It Does Apply to You
by Jeffrey R. Hoops and Nira Weisel
Mobility issues affect CPAs in practices of all sizes, including tax practitioners who may be violating current accountancy laws in other states without realizing it.
For CPAs who engage in tax planning or compliance

HIGHLIGHTS
Recent developments in the accounting profession

NEWS DIGEST
Auditing
Banking
Financial Reporting
Fraud
Government
International
Money Laundering
Professional Issues
XBRL

AT A GLANCE: CHARTS AND GRAPHICS
Auditors Report Confidence, Decline in Fraud
Trends in Mortgage Fraud
Top AGI Increases, 2005–2006
E-File Fees Add Up

LETTERS
Audit Confirmation Article Falls Short
More Perspectives on Audit Committtees and ERM

TOP LINE
News, people, trends and other noteworthy items

CHECKLIST
Managing IT in a Downturn

TECHNOLOGY
Smart Stops on the Web

TAX PRACTICE CORNER
Share Loans Under IRS Microscope

TAX MATTERS
High Court: No Evasion Without Deficiency
IRS Will Not Acquiesce in Kohler
Cook Won’t Excuse Estate From Table
LIFO Snafu Is Change in Method
Equitable Recoupment a Timeless Remedy
Line Items

FROM THE TAX ADVISER
How Will IFRS Affect Tax Practitioners?

TECHNOLOGY Q&A
by Stanley Zarowin
Check the speed of your Internet service
Consider the alternatives to Microsoft Office 2007
Accelerate editing of complex formulas in Excel
Fast way to create an e-mail distribution list
Streamline shortcuts by engaging the desktop toolbar

INSIDE THE AICPA
Audit Committee Article Recognized By NYSSCPA
Institute’s Financial Literacy Campaigns Win Communications Awards

SIX-MONTH INDEX
JofA articles by author and subject

THE LAST WORD
A closer look at some of the intriguing, inspiring and imaginative folks who are the heart of the AICPA