December 18, 2007

> HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The MSCPA office will be closed on Monday,
December 24 and Tuesday, December 25
in observance of the Christmas holidays.

> MUST BE DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR!
Have You Enrolled Your Firm Yet For Peer Review?

Are you aware that Missouri Accountancy Law requires that firms that provide attest, review, or compilation services must be enrolled in an approved peer review program?

While the requirement has been in effect for those providing three or more attest services since 2004, the law will soon require any firm that provides even one of these services to be enrolled in an approved practice-monitoring or peer review program to ensure firm licensure. The law specifically states that within 90 days after entering into an engagement, a firm must enroll in the program.

To view the specific language related to peer review in the Missouri Accountancy Act, go to: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c2010-5.pdf

For more information about Missouri’s peer review program, go to: http://www.mocpa.org/Content/22292.aspx

To enroll your firm, please complete the enrollment form: http://www.mocpa.org/content/files/documents/07enrollment.doc

> Small Firm Practitioners – Sign Up Now!

Come see why so many small firm practitioners keep coming back to the MSCPA Small Firm Networking Roundtables! Meet other practitioners from across the state, gear up for tax season, and expand your knowledge network.

Date: Friday, January 11, 2008

Location: MSCPA Learning Center in St. Louis, MO

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Cost: $75 (breakfast and lunch included)

CPE: 3 hours

Sign up today to join this very energetic group and to take away best practices you can immediately apply to your business! http://www.mocpa.org/Content/21056.aspx

> CPA Day 2008—January 22!

Every year, hundreds of CPAs gather in Jefferson City for the annual CPA Day. This is the profession’s most visible opportunity to provide a collective voice to Missouri’s legislators.

http://www.mocpa.org/Content/GovernmentAdvocacy/
GrassrootsActivitiesEvents/CPADay.aspx

> 2008 Annual MSCPA Awards
Do you know someone who has made a unique contribution to the accounting profession? Is one of your clients a leader and innovator? Nominate that person for the 2008 Annual MSCPA Awards! Each year, the MSCPA recognizes CPAs who have served their profession and/or community above and beyond their responsibility. Nominations are accepted in five categories:

Outstanding Educator Award
Outstanding CPA in Government
Innovative User of Technology
Public Service Award
Outstanding CPA in Business & Industry

Nominations are due March 14, 2008. http://www.mocpa.org/Content/awards.aspx

> LAST CHANCE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR!
LEAP Contributor Campaign
With the number of Baby Boomers nearing retirement, a disproportionate number of new CPAs is needed in the coming years to sustain the CPA profession. Now more than ever, the LEAP Scholarship Program is needed to help young people understand the rewards of working in this great profession. One hundred percent of money donated goes directly toward scholarships. You can contribute quickly and easily online with a credit card by visiting:
http://www.mocpa.org/leap/leap1.html.

> Millions of Tax Refunds Could Be Delayed

The IRS is looking hard at delaying the start of its filing season, set to kick off on Jan. 14, if Congress fails to pass legislation in the next two weeks. At issue is how to handle what could be a dramatic increase in the number of people facing a higher alternative minimum tax.

http://accounting.smartpros.com/x60013.xml

Related story…

House Tries Again on AMT Fix
WebCPA is reporting that the House passed a new version of its patch for the alternative minimum tax that eliminates a controversial provision to raise taxes on the carried interest earnings of managers of private equity firms and hedge funds.

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=26176

> PCAOB Issues Staff Audit Practice Alert on Fair Value

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today published a Staff Audit Practice Alert on the audit of fair value measurements in financial statements. The alert provides auditors with additional information related to auditing fair value measurements and disclosures, as well as the use of specialists in this area.

http://www.pcaobus.org/News_and_Events/News/2007/12-10a.aspx

> Shift to E-mail in Business Makes Crafting Meaningful Messages More Important

As professionals with overflowing inboxes may attest, people are doing more typing than talking when communicating on the job. Results from a recent OfficeTeam survey bear this out: Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of executives prefer to receive e-mail over other forms of communication, up from 34 percent a decade ago. Conversely, the preference for face-to-face meetings, paper memos and voice mail has dropped.

http://www.roberthalffinance.com

____________________________________________________________

Sponsored By: Information, Inc.

Information Inc.'s handcrafted business intelligence services provide up-to-the-minute information on critical issues. Decision-makers in more than 2,000 major corporations, associations and government agencies worldwide have relied on our comprehensive news services for the past 22 years. To learn how our timely, targeted, custom services can help you compete in the 21st century, go to: http://www.infoinc.com/s tatecpa/contact.html

Technology & Productivity Weekly is a membership benefit and is
intended for your personal use only.

This Week's Headlines

The Technology-Productivity Equation
Get the Best of Both E-Mail Worlds
Toward the Wireless Office
Implementing Unified Communications
Beyond the Firewall
Virtual PBX Dials Up Flexible Features for Hosted PBX
Technology to Alter Small-Business Landscape
ESET Smart Security: Efficient PC Protection With Minimal Overhead
Wireless Technology on the Construction Site
Handheld Hazards

CPE 2007

For CPAs in
Public Practice

All courses are 8 CPE hours unless otherwise noted.

Seminars:

Preparing Corporate Tax Returns for New Staff and Paraprofessionals

January 7, 2008—St. Louis

January 9, 2008—Kansas City

Preparing Individual Tax Returns for New Staff and Paraprofessionals

January 8, 2008—St. Louis

January 10, 2008—Kansas City

____________________________

LAST CHANCE CLASSES!

The Fundamentals of Federal Payroll Taxes, Benefits & New Hire Reporting
December 19, 2007—St. Louis

Surgent McCoy’s Tax Camp

December 19, 2007—Kansas City

December 20, 2007—St. Louis

Applying A-133 to Nonprofit & Governmental Organizations
December 27, 2007—Kansas City

The Top 50 Tax Bloopers & Blunders in Real Estate Investments & How to Fix Them

December 27, 2007—St. Louis

Surgent McCoy’s Handbook for Mastering Basis, Distributions, & Loss Limitation Issues for S Corporations, LLCs, and Partnerships

December 28, 2007—St. Louis

Not-for-Profit Accounting & Reporting -- From Start to Finish
December 28, 2007—Kansas City

Don’t Miss Out!

______________________________

Technology Tip of the Week

Provided by the MSCPA Information Technology Committee

In Excel, Protecting a Graphic
Is there a way to protect a graphic inserted in a worksheet or the header or footer of a worksheet so that it cannot be removed. The answer (as with many things in Excel) is both yes and no.

To view recently archived issues of

“Technology Tip of the Week,” go to:

www.mocpa.org/Content/22269.aspx

______________________________

Contact Us

For comments or questions, contact:
Dawn Martin - dmartin@mocpa.org
To view online:
http://www.mocpa.org/Content/files/
newsletters/2007/news121807.html
For technical assistance, contact:
Christy Aven -caven@mocpa.org

To update your e-mail address:
Please include your old e-mail address,
new e-mail address and MSCPA
member ID (if known) and send it to member@mocpa.org.

Please note: This newsletter may contain commercial material.

Missouri Society of CPAs

540 Maryville Centre Drive, Suite 200

St. Louis, MO 63141

> MUST BE DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR! Have You Enrolled Your Firm Yet For Peer Review?

> Millions of Tax Refunds Could Be Delayed

> PCAOB Issues Staff Audit Practice Alert on Fair Value

> Shift to E-mail in Business Makes Crafting Meaningful Messages More Important

Sponsored By: Information, Inc.

> MUST BE DONE BY THE END OF THE YEAR!
Have You Enrolled Your Firm Yet For Peer Review?