Resources at your fingertips: our annual look at the best online resources for CPAs.ACCOUNTING & AUDITING www.fasb.org FASB's site provides quick access to authoritative statements, publications and exposure drafts. www.pcaobus.org The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's website features information on rules and enforcement as well as inspection reports and whistleblower whis·tle·blow·er or whis·tle-blow·er or whistle blower n. One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is . . contact information. www.aicpa.org The AICPA's site offers scores of CPA-specific resources, including exposure drafts; information on conferences, products and services; and the Journal of Accountancy archives. Also valuable is www.cpa2biz.com. www.gasb.org GASB's site offers the latest in governmental accounting Governmental accounting is an umbrella term which refers to the various accounting systems used by various public sector entities. In the United States, for instance, there are three levels of government which follow different accounting standards set forth by independent, private standards, including exposure drafts, statements and interpretations. BUSINESS VALUATION www.bvmarketdata.com Business Valuation Resources offers financial and transactional data relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the sales of public and privately held companies privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. , control premiums, minority discounts and marketability discounts. You can pay per inquiry or buy an annual subscription. www.1stresearch.com First Research provides (for a fee) industry analysis and market research, featuring quarterly updates, state profiles, e-mail alerts and a database of more than 140 industry profiles. CAREER RESOURCES www.calcpa.org/classifieds CalCPA.org's classified listings provide the perfect medium to assist you in making smart career decisions. It's a virtual community where employers and CPA professionals connect. www.accountantsinc.com/market0.htm The Accountants Inc. 2004 Compensation and Benefits Guide offers California-specific information so you can determine your worth in your area. www.roberthalffinance.com/FreeResources Robert Half's 2004 Salary Guide isn't available online, but you can order this desktop reference and add to your bank of salary data. CONTINUING EDUCATION continuing education: see adult education. continuing education or adult education Any form of learning provided for adults. In the U.S. the University of Wisconsin was the first academic institution to offer such programs (1904). www.educationfoundation.org The California CPA Education Foundation offers a wide variety of CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Communications equipment that resides on the customer's premises. CPE - Customer Premises Equipment courses and conferences--online, on-site and resort offerings--helping you to meet your 80-hour requirement. www.calcpa.org/CPE CalCPA's constantly updated CPE page has chapter-specific listings of varied local educational opportunities and contact information. CPA PORTALS www.accountingweb.com AccountingWEB provides news and information about the CPA profession, as well as career, practice, CPE and other resources. www.smartpros.com SmartPros has something for everyone--accounting and auditing, personal financial planning Financial planning Evaluating the investing and financing options available to a firm. Planning includes attempting to make optimal decisions, projecting the consequences of these decisions for the firm in the form of a financial plan, and then comparing future performance against , HR, tax, technology and more. News from around the globe is presented daily. www.webcpa.com WebCPA offers daily news and online editions of Accounting Today, Accounting Technology and Practical Accountant, plus industry rankings and columns. ELDERCARE eld·er·care n. Social and medical programs and facilities intended for the care and maintenance of the aged. www.calcpa.org/PFP/elder.resource CalCPA's Personal Financial Planning Committee has assembled a list of eldercare resources throughout the state. From homecare providers in Sacramento to the Social Security Administration office in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , this is your place! www.aging.state.ca.us The California Department of Aging The California Department of Aging (CDA) is a California state department that over sees the execution of the Older Californians Act and the Older Americans Act.[1] References 1. offers updates on California's laws, regulations and legislative bills affecting the elderly, as well as information on legal aid services. FINANCIAL PLANNING www.calcpaweb.org/webforum/estate Co-sponsored by CalCPA's Estate Planning Estate Planning The overall planning of a person's wealth, including the preparation of a will and the planning of taxes after the individual's death. Notes: Contrary to popular belief, estate planning involves much more than preparing a will, and it is not only for the Committee and the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Chapter Estate Planning Committee, this discussion board offers an open forum for asking and answering estate planning questions. www.financial-planning.com Financial Planning Interactive offers industry news, practice management tips, surveys, software, forums and educational opportunities. finance.yahoo.com Yahoo Finance offers customizable features to keep track of business and finance, and is a great resource for market news and information on just about everything finance-related. www.estateplanninglinks.com A cavalcade cav·al·cade n. 1. A procession of riders or horse-drawn carriages. 2. A ceremonial procession or display. 3. A succession or series: starred in a cavalcade of Broadway hits. of estate planning resources, including an estate tax calculator, run the gamut See color gamut. gamut - The gamut of a monitor is the set of colours it can display. There are some colours which can't be made up of a mixture of red, green and blue phosphor emissions and so can't be displayed by any monitor. from basic guides to advanced planning techniques, with a focus on legal resources. www.savingforcollege.com This site offers just about everything you need to know about Sec. 529 college savings plans. A special section for professionals provides information on courses, tax resources and a newsletter. Registration is free, but required. www.fool.com The Motley Fool promises to "educate, amuse a·muse tr.v. a·mused, a·mus·ing, a·mus·es 1. To occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion. 2. and enrich," giving easily digested, in-depth information on personal finance. INDUSTRY www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting_business The Small Business Administration offers help on developing a business plan, getting a business license and establishing patents and trademarks. www.calchamber.com The California Chamber of Commerce is loaded with resources for California businesses. Don't forget to sign up for "Labor Law labor law, legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. The Industrial Revolution, by introducing the machine and factory production, greatly expanded the class of workers dependent on wages as their source of income. Extra," an e-mail update on human resource issues. www.coso.org The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission's site features its popular internal control framework, as well as information on its emerging enterprise risk management framework. www.findlaw.com FindLaw is overflowing with free law resources with searchable databases Refers to databases on the Web that are searchable by typing in a query. The term is quite redundant because all databases are searchable. In fact, that is one of their major features. of federal and state law cases and codes that can be browsed by jurisdiction and practice area. www.cfo.com CFO's online magazine for financial executives offers daily news and feature articles, as well as coverage from CFO Europe, CFO Asia and the technology-specific CFO IT. INTERNATIONAL www.ifac.org The International Federation of Accountants' website features news and information on international accounting standards, guidance and resources for CPAs in the global marketplace. www.iasb.org Charged with developing a single set of global accounting standards, the International Accounting Standards Board  An editor has expressed concern that this article or section is .Please help improve the article by adding information and sources on neglected viewpoints, or by summarizing and website features project summaries, standards and exposure drafts. www.calcpa.org/global CalCPA's Global Opportunities Committee offers a Global Resource Directory designed to help CPAs do business around the world. From the first page, click "Resources," then "Global Resource Directory." PRACTICE MANAGEMENT www.calcpa.org/MAP CalCPA's Management of an Accounting Practice Committee has sample letters and memos, a comprehensive disaster recovery planning guide and the MAP Doctor Hotline. www.camico.com CAMICO provides professional liability insurance to CPAs. Policyholders get access to risk management tools, a loss prevention hotline and even tax advice. www.cpaprotectplus.com The Group Insurance Trust of CalCPA offers quality, cost-effective insurance to the owners and employees of CalCPA member firms. The site features quotes, enrollment forms and plan information. www.shrm.org The Society of Human Resource Management is a clearinghouse of information on workforce studies, regulations, management ideas, conferences and seminars. It also boasts HR tools and sample forms. www.adp.com Automatic Data Processing Same as data processing. , Inc.'s site is a collection of online payroll Online Payrolls are services that collect information on hours worked, pay rates, deductions, and other payroll-related data from their clients and use that information to generate paychecks, payroll reports, and tax filings. The internet is a key tool in providing this service. tools that provide state and federal tax calculations and forms; penalty and interest rates; resources on unemployment insurance; state wage and tax profiles; and more. REGULATORY www.dol.gov The U.S. Department of Labor site offers compliance assistance and resources on workers' compensation workers' compensation, payment by employers for some part of the cost of injuries, or in some cases of occupational diseases, received by employees in the course of their work. , workplace health and safety, retirement, health benefits, disability, training and many more employment-related issues. www.sec.gov Visit the SEC website for recent notices, orders, bulletins and other information on accounting and auditing. www.dca.ca.gov/cba The California Board of Accountancy's site offers the latest in licensing requirements, including changes to CE requirements, regulatory updates, renewal information and more. www.edd.ca.gov The California Employment Development Department's website features information on how to control unemployment insurance rates; filing a paid family leave, disability or unemployment claim; payroll tax Payroll Tax Tax an employer withholds and/or pays on behalf of their employees based on the wage or salary of the employee. In most countries, including the U.S., both state and federal authorities collect some form of payroll tax. information; and more. TAX www.irs.gov The IRS' dynamic website is not just for downloading tax forms; among its features is breaking news and information for tax professionals. www.ftb.ca.gov The California Franchise Tax Board's website provides information on e-filing, downloadable forms, tax amnesty Tax amnesty is a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount, in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties) relating to a previous tax period or periods and without fear of criminal prosecution. programs and more. www.caltax.com Spidell Publishing's site is devoted to California tax and offers breaking news, notice alerts, seminar schedules and product information. www.taxsites.com This well-organized tax and accounting website gives links to everything imaginable, from academia to software. www.willyancey.com also offers a vast collection of no-frills but exhaustive links. Both sites are maintained by CPAs. TECH SITES www.calcpa.org/tech/links Software, hardware, training--CalCPA's Technology Committee has the goods on just about anything you can do with a computer, including links to a number of sites we couldn't fit in this article. www.xbrl.org The Extensible Business Reporting Language is an emerging financial reporting language that looks to increase the transparency and ease-of-use of financial data for those internal and external to the reporting process. www.cnet.com CNet is a techie's dream: product reviews and comparisons, technology news and advice--all with a focus on personal technology. OTHER www.missingmoney.com The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators offers free access to a national database that lists money and property turned in as unclaimed funds. www.google.com An essential search engine that seeks to index the entire web, including breaking news, images and groups. |
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