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SmartPros Accounting Homepage New Feature: 2011 Annual Report Preview: Seven Changes Your Company Needs to Know By Jim Brendel, CPA, CFE Regulators are favoring more disclosure in annual reports prepared for public companies for fiscal year 2011, but they are also bringing in a dose of reasonableness in regards to burdensome valuation requirements. NEW CPE FROM CPA REPORT ONLINE: Information Reporting: Coping with Changes The bad news: information reporting continues to expand, as Congress seeks to close the tax gap by allowing the IRS to match new Forms 1099 that are filed with income tax returns. The good news: expert commentator Barbara Weltman details how several recently enacted provisions for information reporting and back-up withholding for 2011 have already been postponed or repealed. Register today    SmartPros:  Check Out Our Fall Promo Video!! 3rd Quarter 2011 Financial Results Investor Relations Weekly Newsletter Newsletter Subscriptions Online CPE Catalog Other Top Stories:   1.  So-Called White-Collar Workers Have Overtime Rights Too 2. Watchdog: Growing IRS Workload Hurting Taxpayers 3. SEC Reportedly Looking at Ex-Stanford Executives

Inside SmartPros: This Week in the SmartPros News & Insights Newsletter For Small Businesses and Taxes, It's the Year of the 1099s ... Feature: 2011 Annual Report Preview: 7 Changes Your Company Needs to Know ... CPE: Information Reporting: Coping with Changes ... Book: Practical M&A Execution and Integration

News & Insights

Key Numbers to Have When Filing Tax Returns Some key numbers to know when filing your 2011 tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service. More Tax Returns Processed, Average Refund Lower The Internal Revenue has released the following statistics comparing the 2011 and 2010 tax filing seasons, as of Dec. 31, 2011. Employers Face IRS Crackdown on Contractor Classification Using independent contractors reduces the paperwork, tax burden and hassles associated with hiring employees. Tax specialist Christopher Ezold warns that employers can expect changes in 2012. For Small Businesses and Taxes, It's the Year of the 1099s Ask the Experts: Stock Loss for 2000 Likely Too Late to Claim With the April 17 tax-filing deadline just a few months away, questions about taxes are brewing. This week, Internal Revenue Service tax expert Jesse Weller and Daniel Tahara of the California Franchise Tax Board offer tax answers. Tax Court OK'd Foster Pet Deductions Tax season is upon us once again, and there's an interesting deduction that many people might not know about -- foster pets. Hard to Believe It's Tax Time Already This year, the deadline for filing your federal tax return is April 17. Taxpayers get an extra two days to file because April 15 is a Sunday and April 16 is Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C., so the IRS will be closed. Citi Misses Forecasts; 4Q Profit Down 11 Percent Choppy financial markets hurt Citigroup's investment banking profits, and the bank missed Wall Street expectations. The bank said Tuesday that profit fell 11 percent in the last three months of last year. U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy Now Available The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the availability of the 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy pending final acceptance by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The FASB is responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of the taxonomy applicable to public issuers registered with the SEC. Olympus Probe Finds 5 Auditors Responsible An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them. Ex-SEC Official Fined for Ethics Violations A former Securities and Exchange Commission official has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine for going through the revolving door and working for alleged Ponzi scheme mastermind Robert Allen Stanford after purportedly taking part in SEC decisions to not investigate Stanford, the Justice Department said Friday. 2011 Annual Report Preview: Seven Changes Your Company Needs to Know Regulators are favoring more disclosure in annual reports prepared for public companies for fiscal year 2011, but they are also bringing in a dose of reasonableness in regards to burdensome valuation requirements.

Spotlight

FREE CPE: XBRL: Long Anticipated, Now Required The third phase of the SEC's interactive data disclosure program took effect this month, with nearly all public companies now required to submit their data in the fully searchable, digital format known as XBRL. Joseph Howell, managing director at WebFilings, reviews how businesses are complying with the SEC mandate and predicts how companies will adapt the XBRL technology for their own internal needs. SmartPros Price: FREE! - Sponsored by WebFilings CPA Report Online Subscribe to the top online CPE program for public accountants. CPA Report Online covers the latest events impacting public practice. SmartPros Price: Courses: $59.98 - Subscriptions: $409 FMN Online Subscribe to the program that more than half of the Fortune 500 trust for CPE. Stay up to date on Sarbanes-Oxley and other key events impacting corporate finance. SmartPros Price: Courses: $69.90 - Subscriptions: $429

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