New Ethics Rules Mean Some CEOs Will Be Hunting for a New CPA
Article by Alan L. Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax)
The relationship between a chief executive and his accountant is an extremely important one. An outside accountant can be one of your most trusted business advisors and a key to your success. That’s one of the reasons why a new initiative by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is creating a stir in the offices of CEOs across the land.
Established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the PCAOB is charged with establishing rules for–among other things–auditing, quality control, ethics, and independence. In April of this year the PCAOB issued a set of seven rules for auditors of public companies. Though focused primarily on tax services, these rules also address ethics and independence.
The Rule in Question
Rule 3523 is entitled “Tax Services for Persons in a Financial Reporting Oversight Role.” In a nutshell, this rule states that an audit firm must maintain its independence by not providing tax services to any person in an audit client firm who fills a “Financial Reporting Oversight Role” (FROR). In layman’s terms, this means that CEO’s, CFOs, controllers, and others cannot have the company’s CPA firm do his or her personal taxes, or those of his spouse or dependents. Using the same firm to perform both services would create at minimum the appearance of a conflict of interest.
So Now What Do I Do?
There is a daunting array of accountants and firms to choose from–from sole practitioners to huge national firms, from generalists to highly specialized CPAs. However, there are few basic guidelines you can follow in order to make the process of choosing the right accountant a little easier:
* What’s the Big Picture? Take the time to step back and look at your needs from a 30,000 foot perspective. Your new accountant should be able to deal with not only your present need, but with the unforeseen circumstances of the future. A good financial partner will not only manage the individual pieces of your financial picture, but also won’t miss the forest for the trees.
* Specialist or Generalist? If your financial needs require a specialist, look for someone who has experience in your area. Do you simply need someone to prepare your taxes? Then perhaps a general purpose firm will do. But as in most industries today, specialization has worked its way into all areas of society and accounting firms are no different.
* Large or Small? Will you feel more comfortable with a large name-brand firm, or do you want the personal attention a smaller organization can give you? Larger firms may farm out pieces of your work to junior staff or even outside contractors. You may not be getting what (and who) you think you are paying for. And on the other hand, the smaller firm may not have the breadth of resources you really need.
* Check the Qualifications. It’s easy to find out if the firm you are investigating is properly licensed or has any pending disciplinary actions. Make sure the people you partner with have the education, licenses and certifications you need. Accountants who have the certified public accountant (CPA) designation must adhere to certain rigorous accounting standards. It’s uncommon, but some who offer accounting services may be unqualified and may not carry liability insurance. Nor would there be any supervisory body you could go to if things go wrong. The apparent savings in fees, if any, could prove costly in the long run.
* Reputation is Key. Ask around and find out what kind of reputation the prospective accountant (or firm) has. Talk to your friends and business associates. If your friends and business associates had to choose another accountant, whom would they choose? A firm’s reputation among non-clients is almost as important as its track record with existing clients. Finally, consider the “relationship fit.” In other words, do you get along with the individual? Do you share a similar outlook and philosophy? Does he or she show a real interest in your business?
Don’t forget that your primary factor in choosing an accountant should be the value he or she brings to the relationship. And always remember that real value from an accounting firm comes from several key factors:
* Superior professional service * A forward-thinking attitude with your needs at heart * A relationship of trust
Evaluating such elements as a proactive approach to your total financial picture, the ability to bring specialized expertise to your situation, and superior professional credentials will help you make an informed decision on the CPA’s skills and ability to address your unique needs.
Alan L. Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax), is the Managing Partner at Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co., a Bay Area CPA firm that focuses on serving Silicon Valley’s high end clients. A specialist in income tax planning, Alan frequently lectures and writes articles on tax issues for professional organizations and community groups.
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Follow These Rules For Picking Affiliate Marketing Income Opportunities And See Your Profits Take Off
There are a wide selection of affiliate marketing openings to be had. Many many companies and sites offer affiliate marketing possibilities. In most cases the blog owner simply needs to submit the internet site address of his blog with some other basic info for approval. In most cases the company is not very likely to reject the application unless the content of the internet site is known to be objectionable or alternatively in conflict of interest with the company’s goals. However, though getting authorized to display affiliate links on your internet site is a rather simple process, this does not necessarily mean blog owners should select these affiliate internet marketing opportunities without discretion. It is a much better idea to scrupulously select internet marketing opportunities with corporations who are of interest to the audience of the blog. If you have got a niche blog, you will want to scout out niche affiliate marketing possibilities.
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In a manner of speaking your objective should be to maintain the character of your website or blog while see maxing your money streams. Just because you earn cash from blogs or websites doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the quality of your content or utterly change the feel and look of your site.
Consider reviewing many of the commercial websites that you enjoy visiting on a consistent basis. Focus on the way in which the adverts are placed and how they’re placed in such a fashion that doesn’t make you seem provoked while you are visiting the internet site.
Affiliate Marketing and Blogging
Affiliate marketing is one way in which bloggers utilize their blog to generate revenue. The amount of revenue generated by a blog featuring affiliate marketing links may vary significantly depending on the amount of traffic the blog receives as well as the compensation offered for the affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing essentially entails creating a link on the blog to another companys website. The other company then compensates the blog owner according to a previously agreed upon contract. This compensation may be awarded in a number of different ways. The blog owner may be compensated each time the advertisement is served, each time a unique website visitor clicks through the advertisement or each time a blog visitor performs a desired action such as making a purchase or registering with the website. This article will discuss some aspects of affiliate marketing which bloggers should understand including selecting opportunities carefully, maximizing the income potential for these opportunities and understanding the requirements associated with these affiliate marketing opportunities.
Selecting Affiliate Marketing Opportunities
There is a wide variety of affiliate marketing opportunities available. Many different companies and websites offer affiliate marketing opportunities. In most cases the blog owner simply needs to submit the website address of his blog along with some other basic information for approval. In most cases the company is not likely to reject the application unless the content of the website is deemed to be objectionable or otherwise in conflict of interest with the companys goals. However, although getting approved to display affiliate links on your website is a rather simple process, this does not mean blog owners should select these affiliate marketing opportunities without discretion. It is a far better idea to carefully select affiliate marketing opportunities with companies who are of interest to the target audience of the blog.
A well focused blog that is reaching a specific target audience should seek to display marketing links directing website traffic to companies which complement the blog without acting as direct competition to the blog. This helps to ensure the blog visitors will not only be interested in the affiliate marketing links and therefore more likely to click on the links but will also help to ensure the blog visitors do not find the affiliate marketing links to be bothersome.
Maximizing Affiliate Marketing Opportunities
Once blog owners have selected affiliate marketing opportunities it is time to consider how they can maximize the profit generated by these links. There are a couple of critical factors which blog owners should carefully consider to help maximize their profit from affiliate marketing. This includes regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the affiliate links and promoting the blog to maximize traffic.
Blog owners who incorporate affiliate marketing into their blog should regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the affiliate links. This can be done by comparing the percentage of blog visitors who click on the affiliate links to the overall blog traffic. A blog which has high traffic but a relatively small percentage of visitors who click on the affiliate links should consider making changes to attempt to entice more blog visitors to click on the links. These changes can involve the aesthetics, size or location of the advertisements. Making only one change at a time is recommended because it makes it easier for the blog owner to evaluate which changes are most beneficial.
Blog owners can also help to maximize the profit from their affiliate marketing opportunities by doing self promotion to drive additional website to the blog. This will likely be beneficial because higher website traffic will generally translate to greater profit from affiliate marketing. Additionally, the blog owner may want to occasionally mention companies for which they are an affiliate to generate interest in the advertisements on the website.
Understanding Affiliate Marketing Requirements
Finally, blog owners should pay careful attention to the affiliate marketing agreements they enter. This is important because some companies may place restrictions on the usage of a link to their website. This may include restrictions such as avoiding objectionable content, not including links or advertisements for direct competitors or restrictions on the appearance of the affiliate links. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in the blog losing affiliate privileges and the blog owner being denied compensation.