Accountants Rank Below Funeral Directors in Ethics

WebCPA reported recently on the public perceptions of the honesty and ethics of various professions and found that accountants rank below funeral directors, but above journalists.

The top-rated professions, in order, were nurses, followed by pharmacists, high school teachers and medical doctors, with close to two-thirds of respondents rating all those professions highly. Just over half of the survey respondents consider the honesty and ethics of clergy members and police to be either high or very high.

http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=29996

Despite Down Economy, St. Louis CPA Firms See Business Growth

The St. Louis Business Journal reports that although the economy is suffering, several accounting firms in St. Louis have experienced growth--including MPPW, RubinBrown, Brown Smith Wallace, RSM McGladrey, and BKD.

Read more here:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/11/24/story8.html?b=1227502800^1736692&brthrs=1

Video on SEC Proposed IFRS Roadmap Available

On November 14, the SEC released for comment its proposed roadmap with milestones and a timeline for IFRS adoption for U.S. public companies in 2014.

Eligible early adopters could use IFRS for filings of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2009.

The 90-day comment period begins with the roadmap's publication in the Federal Register.

Arleen Thomas, AICPA Senior Vice President, Member Competency & Development, addresses the announcement in a 2-minute downloadable video.

Obama Presidency Could Worry Tax Clients

President-Elect Barack Obama is expected to take a more regulated, Clinton-esque view on family limited partnerships and close any perceived "loopholes" that currently allow clients to transfer assets to minimize their tax burden, reports WebCPA.

Check out the article at:
http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=29794

New generation of workers want technology their way

Millennial generation students and employees (those aged 14 to 27) expect to use their own technology and mobile devices for work and are increasingly choosing their place of employment based on how accommodating companies are to their personal technology preferences, according to a survey released today by Accenture.

Read more at:
http://www.accountingweb.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=106380&d=883&h=884&f=882&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y

Presidential Tax Plans

With the election less than a week away, SmartPros has gathered some resources to help you get up to speed on the candidates' tax plans.

http://accounting.smartpros.com/x63583.xml

Are Schools Ready To Teach IFRS?

The St. Louis Business Journal reports that local universities’ accounting departments have begun preparing their curriculum in anticipation of the change in financial reporting procedures from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Check it out:
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/10/20/focus2.html?b=1224475200^1717715&brthrs=1