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Frank W Ellis asked:




Preparing your income taxes can seem challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Millions of people are using tax websites to prepare and file their income tax return online.

By preparing and filing your tax return online you will, avoid the work involved in doing everything by hand, save the cost of paid tax preparation, and you’ll get your tax refund much faster.

Filing online will allow you to get your tax refund in as little as 10 days (according to the IRS)

If you’re still preparing your taxes with pen and paper, you may be surprised to learn that an estimated 70 million tax returns will be filed electronically in 2007. Such trends show the growing popularity of preparing and filing income tax returns online.

There are several good reasons to prepare and file your taxes online

If you expect a refund check, filing online is a great option. The IRS can process your return and issue tax refunds much sooner than if you mailed a paper return. Preparing and filing directly from your computer will cost you much less than going to a tax professional, and way less than going to a CPA. By using your computer, your forms will be much more legible than anything you could hand-write, which will help cut down on possible errors. Join the millions of people who have discovered how easy, online tax filing can be. The cost will be much less, your tax forms will get to the IRS with no hand-written errors, and you’ll get your tax refund in as little as 10 days.

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Irene Yap asked:




The Accounting Profession of Singapore

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) is the national body representing the accounting profession in Singapore. It maintains a register of qualified accountants comprising mainly local graduates. Membership is open to members of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, Australia, Scotland, Ireland and a number of other accounting bodies. Generally, prior to being admitted as a full member, they must attend a week-long pre-admission course. Members are designated as certified public accountants (CPA).

The Public Accountants Board, whose council members are appointed by the Ministry of Finance, licenses and registers accountants who wish to practise. It also handles practice monitoring, disciplinary matters and regulations on professional conduct.

Accounting Records in Singapore

All companies incorporated under the Companies Act are required to maintain books of accounts that sufficiently explain the transactions and financial position of the company.

The books may be kept either at the company’s registered office or at another place the directors think fit. If the books are maintained outside Singapore, sufficient records must be maintained in Singapore to facilitate the preparation and/or audit of financial statements that reflect accurately the company’s financial position.

Sources of Accounting Principles

Financial Periods Commencing before 1 January 2003 The principal source of accounting principles in Singapore, namely Statements of Accounting Standards (SAS) and Interpretation of Statements of Accounting Standards (INT), are issued by ICPAS. These standards are essentially International Accounting Standards (IAS) modified for certain transitional provisions. They provide guidelines on the accounting measurements and disclosure requirements. Businesses may depart from such standards if the standards conflict with disclosure exemptions granted by law. Otherwise, ICPAS may take disciplinary action against any of its members who are in violation of the standards.

Rules on accounting measurements are generally established by SAS and INT. Disclosure requirements are governed by SAS, INT and the Companies Act.

ICPAS is a member of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Compliance with IASC standards are not mandatory, but the institute supports the IASC objectives of formulating and publishing standards for observance during presentation of audited financial statements and promoting worldwide acceptance of such standards.

Financial Periods Commencing on or after 1 January 2003 With the implementation of section 37 of the Companies (Amendment) Act 2002, SAS issued by ICPAS will not be used with effect from annual financial periods commencing on or after 1 January 2003. Instead, Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (FRS), issued by the new accounting standards-setting body, the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance (CCDG), are now effective. FRS are essentially adopted from International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The previous SAS were adopted from the same set of IFRS (formerly referred to as IAS) but with modification to certain transitional provisions. Consequently, there are differences between FRS and SAS.

Interpretations of Standards are authoritative guidance on the application of the relevant standards. CCDG adopted all international interpretations as Interpretations of FRS (INT FRS) with effect from financial periods beginning on or after 1 January 2003.

Compliance with FRS is a statutory requirement whereby any non-compliance amounts to a breach of the Companies Act by the directors.

Financial Reporting in Singapore

The Companies Act requires that an audited set of financial statements, made up to not more than six months before every Annual General Meeting, is to be presented to the shareholders at the meeting. Generally if a company incorporated in Singapore has one or more subsidiaries, it must prepare consolidated financial statements unless it meets certain criteria as provided for in FRS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements. Currently, financial statements under the Companies Act consist of the balance sheet, income statement together with explanatory notes. With the Companies (Accounting Standards) Regulations 2002 coming into operation for financial periods on or after 1 January 2003, a complete set of financial statements will comprise the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in equity, cash flow statement and explanatory notes.

The financial statements must be accompanied by the directors’ and auditors’ reports and by a statement from the directors declaring that the financial statements show a true and fair view and that it is reasonable to believe that the company can reasonably pay its debts as they become due.

Companies which meet specific provisions in the Companies Act may be exempt from having their accounts audited but nevertheless must prepare financial statements that comply with the Companies Act.

Annual Requirements for Companies in Singapore

The Companies Act requires every company, except for those exempted in accordance with the provisions in the Act, to appoint one or more auditors qualified for appointment under the Accountants Act to report on the company’s financial statements. The auditors are to ascertain whether proper books of accounts have been kept and whether the financial statements agree with the company’s records. They will then report on the trueness and fairness of the financial statements to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting.

Audit Exemption Starting with the financial year beginning on or after 15 May 2003, the following companies are no longer required to have their accounts audited. However, they are still required to prepare accounts (and consolidated accounts where applicable) that comply with FRS.

o Small exempt private companies An exempt private company with revenue in a financial year below S$5m is exempted from appointing auditors and from audit requirements. Revenue is defined according to the statutory accounting standards, i.e. the FRS.

o Dormant companies A dormant company is exempted from appointing auditors and from the audit requirements if it has been dormant either (a) from the time of its formation or (b) since the end of the previous financial year. A company is considered dormant during a period in which no accounting transaction occurs, and the company ceases to be dormant on the occurrence of such a transaction. For this purpose, transactions arising from the following are disregarded:

Taking of shares in the company by a subscriber to the memorandum Appointment of company secretary Appointment of auditor Maintenance of a registered office Keeping of registers and books Fees, fines or default penalties paid to the Registrar of Companies

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Amitaabh Saboo asked:




What do you do when you can no longer keep track of your accounting books anymore? Even if you know the rules in taxation and in creating financial statements, when your business is going uphill, you definitely need some help. That’s when you start looking for a freelance bookkeeper.

Hiring a bookkeeper, though, is not a joke. First of all, you have to look for someone who can do the job that you require. Second, you need to consider about the bookkeeping rate, which today can range from $15 to hundreds of dollars per hour. It’s important that when you’re in the selection process, you have some criteria in your mind. You can make use of the following:

1. Level of education. Keep in mind that a bookkeeper doesn’t really have to possess a degree in accounting. Nevertheless, those who do will always have an edge for those who are none. Since they already have a good background, they are much easier to train, and they basically understand the concepts in business, such as payroll, taxation, and cash flow, to name a few. Normally, those with degree could have a higher bookkeeping rate. What you can do is to look for those who are just starting out in the field, perhaps a new graduate. They could give you a much cheaper bookkeeping rate, and they can start building their portfolio in your company.

2. Experience. Experience plays a great role in determining the bookkeeping rate. Even if he may not be a graduate in accounting, but if he has intensive experience in the field, his wage per hour can definitely go up. He already knows how to develop a payroll, organize and record invoices, create financial statements, and even process your business papers. They could be pretty expensive, but you will be able to save a good amount of time for training them. Needless to say, however, you don’t have to go overboard. Be a good judge if his experience is truly commensurate to his bookkeeping rate. If in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask for references or more credentials.

3. Level of know-how. There are certain rules in bookkeeping that do change. A good bookkeeper is someone who is very much aware of them. He should always be updated and be able to reflect the modifications in the way he does his bookkeeping job. It pays to interview your potential bookkeeper first before you hire him or give his bookkeeper rate. You can ask for his insights about the world of bookkeeping and what changes are already in place. You too can also read an overview of some of them, so you can come up with your own questions.

4. Capacity to do the job. Most of all, the bookkeeping rate should be based on what job you are going to give him and how well he is able to do it. If he is going to perform almost 90 percent of all the bookkeeping job, then his bookkeeping rate should be higher. If he only needs to focus on certain aspects, perhaps payroll or invoicing, then you can search for someone with much lower bookkeeping rate.

5. Overheads. You need to add all the benefits like payroll taxes, medical benefits, social security, office space etc to really understand the effective cost of the bookkeeper.

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Frank Salman asked:




After developing five accounting firms from 1984 to 1994, I spent the next fifteen years assisting over 2,000 accountants develop and improve their accounting firms as a Practice Development Consultant. This experience showed that many accountants had implemented many marketing programs that fail.

The primary reason most accounting marketing programs fail is because the accountant attempts to treat his or her services as a commodity. Unfortunately, this often leads to very low response and low quality of clientele. There are volumes of accountants who have tried very expensive marketing programs offered by many companies lured by difficult-to-enforce guarantees experiencing disastrous financial consequences. The majority of these marketing failures centralize on the programs using commodity-marketing techniques.

The accounting industry is not commodity driven; it is driven by trust and loyalty. Trust has to be established. It cannot be sold. Accordingly, if an accountant attempts to sell his or her accounting services as a commodity or product, he or she will fail.

The first step for an accounting services marketing program should be to identify a business that is seeking the services of a CPA or Accountant. If a business is pleased with its current CPA or accountant and is not seeking the services of a new CPA or Accountant, that business is not going to change accountants. Any attempt of an accountant using a marketing program to sever that relationship by aggressive selling techniques will only diminish the business’s perception of the accountant and his or her firm. The wise accountant will never pull a businessperson away from his or her existing accountant if that person is satisfied with the accountant or CPA. Acknowledge the situation as a good one for both the business and the CPA Accountant. Never attempt severing that which is good for the business, neither the CPA Accountant nor the Accounting Industry.

Having acknowledged that a CPA Accountant’s marketing program should have the capacity to identify a business seeking the services of a new CPA Accountant, the second step the accountants marketing program should produce is to have the business seeking a new CPA Accountant to become interested in you and your accounting firm. If your marketing program has a business seeking a new CPA Accountant becoming interested in you, the new client meeting will be much like meeting with referred prospective clients. They will be openly interested in you. You won’t feel yourself in the position of having to sell them into using you or your firm. Remember, the accounting industry is based on trust. The key for your success in your marketing program is its ability to provide you the opportunity to establish trust and demonstrate how you can help the prospective client.

Once you have a business in need of accounting services interested in you, the third step your accounting services marketing program should perform is showing you how to demonstrate your ability to help your prospective client in your presentation. Too many accounting marketing programs fail because they are predicated on the CPA Accountant performing sales presentations to new prospective clients. Businesses are not interested in being sold accounting services. Businesses are interested in how the CPA Accountant can help them and their business. The CPA Accountant should provide the examples of how they can help and apply those examples to his or her business. It is important he or she understands and sees the value you are providing. Most businesses do not understand the value a CPA accountant provides. If your accountant-marketing program centralizes your presentations about you and your firm, it is the wrong marketing program; the program must centralize your presentation around the prospective client and your ability to help him or her.

Finally, the fourth step your accountant’s marketing program should provide you is techniques to price your services in relationship to the value you demonstrated in your presentation. Your objective is not to discount your firm’s services to entice a new client to come on board, but to price your service as a good value in relationship to the value you are providing. For example, if a prospective client could choose to spend $1,000 to have a CPA or Accountant prepare his or her business tax return, he or she or may not choose to do so. However, if that same CPA or accountant showed the prospective client tax-saving strategies that will save him or her save $5,000 per year in taxes, the client will definitely choose to have that CPA Accountant prepare his or her taxes for $1,000. He or she will perceive using that CPA or Accountant of great value. Observe in the example, the primary factor of why the prospective client decided to come on board was not the absolute cost of the service but the value received in relationship to that cost.

In summary, there are four steps an accountant’s marketing program should employ. It should:

1) identify a business seeking a new CPA or Accountant,

2) generate an interest in that business in using you or your firm,

3) show you how to demonstrate value in your new client presentation, and

4) price your firm’s services in relationship to your value.

If your accountant’s marketing program fails to employ any of the four basic steps or attempts to market accounting services as a commodity, it is recommended that you abandon the implementation of that program. You will avoid frustration and possible financial disasters. Remember, the key to a successful CPA Accountant’s marketing program is never sales oriented. It is placing you and your firm in contact with a business that has a need and is interested in you or your firm fulfilling that need.

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Michele James Smith asked:




This time, CPT 2011 brings major overhaul to cardiac catheterization coding. As a matter of fact, there are 19 deleted cardiac codes, 20 added cardiac cath codes and only eight cardiac cath codes that remain the same.

To start with, here we will focus on the rules that apply jointly to new left (LHC) and right heart cath (RHC) codes 93451-93453:

93451: RHC including measurement(s) of oxygen saturation and cardiac output, when performed 93452: LHC, including intraprocedural injection(s) for left ventriculography, imaging supervision and interpretation, when performed 93453: Combined RHC and LHC including intraprocedural injection(s) for left ventriculography, imaging supervision and interpretation, when performed.

Remember: Some of the deleted cardiac cath codes are 93501 (Right heart catheterization), 93510 (LHC…), and 93526 (Combined RHC and retrograde left heart catheterization), which you may have used in reporting similar services last year. The entire list of deleted codes includes 93501, 93508-93529, and 93539-93556.

Taking a look at the overarching section guidelines

As you would anticipate with so many code changes, CPT offers new ‘Cardiac Catheterization’ section guidelines to help you use the just-in codes the right way.

Families: Keep congenital case codes separate

CPT segregates the cardiac cath codes into two families:

a) For congenital heart disease
b) Those for all other conditions

Codes 93451-93453 fall under the “all other” family, however do not miss that CPT guidelines include them in the codes proper for cases involving ‘anomalous coronary arteries, patent foramen ovale, mitral valve prolapse, and bicuspid aortic valve’. What’s more, there is no separate code for congenital LHC.

What is included: Cath Introduction to Closure

According to CPT section guidelines, a cardiac cath is a diagnostic medical procedure including all of the following:

Introduction, positioning as well as any required repositioning of catheter(s) within the vascular system Recording intracardiac and/or intravascular pressure(s) Final evaluation and report of the procedure

If you verify the codes in the manual, you will also find the symbol indicating the codes include conscious sedation when performed by the same physician.

Codes 93451-93453 also include the ‘road mapping’ angiography the cardiologist uses to place the catheters. This means you shouldn’t code injections separately or the imaging supervision and report related to the road mapping. But then you may report contrast injections and the supervision and report for imaging that has a separate procedure code.

In the end, CPT guidelines declare that you shouldn’t separately report placing the closure device at the access site. Also, you should not report any contrast injection required for placing the closure device.

Add-on codes: Capture separate injection

CPT added various new add-on codes that you may report in addition to multiple cardiac cath codes, including 93451-93453.

First are various imaging/injection procedure codes:

RV/RA angiography: +93566 Aortography: +93567 – Pulmonary angiography: +93568

CPT’s ‘Injection Procedures’ guidelines show that the above codes don t include catheter introduction; but then they do include repositioning the catheter and using automatic power injections. Also, you have CPT’s approval to report any combination of +93566, +93567, and +93568 with your cardiac cath code. For instance, if the cardiologist carries out and documents both aortography and pulmonary angiography, you may use both +93567 and +93568. You are not limited to reporting just one code.

To add to it, if the cardiologist carries out angiography of noncoronary vessels “as a distinct service,” you should take a look at the Radiology and Vascular Injection Procedures sections to find the proper codes.

More add-on codes: Capture Hemodynamic Response Opportunity

If the cardiologist administers a pharmacologic agent or has the patient exercise to evaluate hemodynamic response, you may use the following apart from the cardiac cath codes:

Agent: +93463: Exercise: +93464

Use each code only once per cath procedure. CPT guidelines show that the above codes are proper when the cardiologist uses the pharmacologic agent or exercise with the specific reason of repeating hemodynamic measurements to assess hemodynamic response.

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Hayley A Smith asked:




In the fall out of the global recession, businesses are being forced into streamlining their financial processes. The best way to find out how much money you can save on your financial processes and the quantity of resources you can save is to complete the ‘Green Calculator’.

It takes into account the materials and energy used in the creation and distribution of a standard paper invoice, three pages long. It will not only calculate and display the approximate carbon footprint (CO2) that you could save, it also presents the quantity of trees, water and solid waste your organisation could save each year with green paperless invoicing.

Did you know that an average company sending out 12,000 invoices per month could annually save the following:

• 14.4 tonnes of carbon
• 57.6 trees
• 180,000 litres of water
• 1872kg of solid waste

There are e-invoicing solutions for both Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable processes, with sophisticated, yet easy to use solutions with many unique features and benefits.

Paperless invoicing provides functionality throughout the entire supply chain, from purchase requisition all the way through to payment. Accounts Receivable e-invoicing consolidates invoice data from disparate billing solutions into one manageable location – an ideal service for automating complex billing processes that require additional workflow continuity.

Meanwhile Accounts Payable e-invoicing automates the process and delivers supplier invoice data directly into your financial systems. It is an ideal service for automating complex billing processes that require additional workflow functionality and bespoke work.

Not only is paperless invoicing an environmentally friendly process, it can realistically cut the cost of end-to-end processing and human resources, including print, delivery, approval, cash management and archiving.

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Hosea Lim asked:




Are you planning to put up a business these days? Well, if you do, then, maybe this will be helpful to you. There are ways on how you can start an online career but first, you need to think and plan for a lot of things first before you start. Aside from thinking about the designs and layouts for your online website, it is also important for you to learn more about how to set up your online invoicing so that you will not have a hard time receiving payments from your clients. There are lots of companies nowadays that are offering free invoicing to help you solve your business concerns. Ballpark is among those companies who are starting out their career in online invoicing system.

This is their new service that will make you share and edit your estimates and your invoices online. They have lots of applications that will enable you to make invoices that will be very useful for your business needs. This company continuously makes improvements to their website and to their applications as well to provide better services to their patrons. Aside from their free invoicing system, they have launched couple of things that will also be helpful to you. These are just some of the improvements they made and new features they have added to their lists of services you can get for free:
They have improved their email client notifications, their PDF system is new and this has been developed to give options for clients if they need to attach their files in a PDF mode. Ballpark also improved their speed to give a reliable connection to those who are downloading applications. If you have a multiple account with them, you don’t have to worry because they have worked it out so that you will not have a hard time accessing all your accounts. Free invoicing will never be easy without Ballpark and their team. The notifier for Mac is now available so if you are a Mac user, you don’t have to worry about email notifications because it will be very easy for you to access your account. Optimized Dashboard for iPhone users is now made available by Ballpark. Free invoicing software is also available for iPhone users so you can now access your finances and your account with Ballpark using the new version on your phone. Improved contact management is also here to help you manage your account easily. There is a big change when it comes to the client view and still, it is for the betterment of the business you have and it will surely make life easier in the long run. There is also a custom domain available now for personalize branding approach. Business invoicing will be easier with this feature.

When you want the best for your business, you need to look for options and with these options you can compare and then decide which one is just the best for your business needs. Choosing an invoice program is not that hard but of course, you need to look for helpful reviews as well.

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Sawyer Adams asked:




One of the most important cases where your tax preparer certification provides value is to individuals with uncommon miscellaneous income. Taxpayers will often neglect to report unusual types of income. But, tax preparer jobs include communicating with people to identify income that’s not from their routine employment.

This is especially important because payers of miscellaneous income usually have to report it on Form 1099. Therefore, even if a recipient taxpayer forgets about some type of income, the IRS will know from the 1099 reporting.

Failing to include income on a tax return that is reported by a payer on Form 1099 results in an IRS notice. These will include late payment penalties and interest. The thorough work you provide by having become a tax preparer helps people avoid these adverse consequences.

Uncommon sources of miscellaneous income include prizes, awards, contest winnings, gambling, and odd jobs. Taxable gambling winnings include more than amounts earned at casinos and racetracks. This category also includes lotteries, raffles, and tournaments. Non-cash prizes are taxed at their fair market value.

Sometimes taxable income is even incurred without money changing hands. This happens with barter agreements. In addition, some tasks do not generate any 1099 because the form is only required from any one source that pays at least $600 per year. However, all miscellaneous income is taxable – even when 1099s are not issued.

Your tax preparer training aids taxpayers in complying with requirements to report miscellaneous income. So you want to remember to find out about these types of income when preparing tax returns. Miscellaneous income can become a substantial total amount even when no single payment source is required to provide a 1099. Your tax class study program also teaches you to identify for taxpayers all deductions available to reduce miscellaneous income.

As a Registered Tax Return Preparer you are required to help taxpayers report all sources of taxable income. In doing so, you allow them to avoid IRS trouble while meeting the ethical standards that the IRS demands of you.

IRS Circular 230 Disclosure

Pursuant to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we inform you that, to the extent any advice relating to a Federal tax issue is contained in this communication, including in any attachments, it was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (a) avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code, or (b) promoting, marketing or recommending to another person any transaction or matter addressed in this communication.

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