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The global economic recession may have had an unfavorable effect on many fields of work all over the world; however, the need for competent accounting and financial services professionals is now greater than ever. An online bachelors/associate degree in accounting provides prospective and existing accountancy professionals a boost in their careers from the comfort of their own homes.

Online accounting programs have many benefits for prospective professionals, who can work around their schedules and gain valuable knowledge in order to improve their competency in accounting and open the doors to better opportunities. Generally accounting has varied applications for individual corporate business models; there are however some general areas in accounting that are widely recognized as being inherently and individually separated.

Types of Accounting

General Financial Accounting:

This is the recording, retrieval and summarization of corporate/individual financial data. This involves auditing, generating a periodic profit and loss summary, balance sheets and cash flow statements and includes the aspects relating to legal and business requirements.

Management Accounting and Open Book Accounting

This form of accounting is the representation of data and financial summaries for corporate financial decision makers. Open book accounting is an accounting principle to ensure accounting transparency in democratic organizations as well as others.

Tax Accounting:

This is corporate of individual accounting that is meant to ensure compliance with tax laws and regional tax regulations.

Financial Audits

Financial audits can be both internal and external. Internal accounting is similar to management accounting, as it also provides audit summaries to internal corporate decision makers. These audits are carried out by employees of the corporation itself. The external audit is the audit of a corporate entity by external ? independent auditor(s); auditors examine financial records and summaries in order to verify their adherence to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS).

Accredited Online Accounting Certifications

Traditional campus based and online accounting colleges and schools have recently been offering more customized study programs for students who wish to learn using blended courses and study-from-home programs. Here is a list of some of the major accountancy related programs available in online study formats from major colleges and universities. These courses are accredited and are being offered in a variety of blended/ online formats. Many of these courses mentioned vary in levels of practical versus theoretical knowledge, with emphasis on further opportunities in either the field itself as a professional, as an entrepreneur or in academia.

Online Graduate Programs in Accounting:

- Master of Science in Accounting – Master of Accountancy – MBA Accounting – MBA in Professional Accounting – MBA/Accounting and Finance – Master of Science in Accounting – Public Accounting/ Taxation

Online Undergraduate Program in Accounting:

- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration ? Accounting – Bachelor of Science in Accounting – Bachelor of Arts in Accounting – Bachelors of Arts in Organizational Management / Managerial- Accounting – Bachelors of Science in Accounting in Public-General Accountancy/ Tax Accountancy/ Auditing-Forensic Accountancy – Bachelors of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies – Accounting

Online Associate programs in Accounting

Associate of Science in Accounting Associate of Arts in Accounting Associate of Applied Science in Accounting – Financial Accounting/ Financial Investigation/ Banking Associate of Science in Business- Accounting

Resource Area:

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com.

Copyright 2007 – All rights reserved by Media Positive Communications, Inc.

Notice: Publishers are free to use this article on an ezine or website, provided the article is reprinted in its entirety, including copyright and disclaimer, and ALL links remain intact and active.

Introduction

Life insurance for employees covered under a qualified plan can often be provided favorably by having the insurance purchased and owned by the plan, using deductible employer contributions to the plans as a source of the funds.

Few people are happy or are looking forward to receive a communication from IRS. However, most people as a reflex action pick up the phone and call them personally, thinking, since it’s about their tax situation they are the best people to answer IRSs queries.
Please remember that IRS may ask you a series of questions depending on your status as a taxpayer. If you are a wage earner or self-employed the questions might be on the number of employees, accounts receivables, employer’s name, spouse’s employer’s name, other income information, types of bank accounts with account balances, credit cards held Investments, Life insurances policies, assets and liabilities, and monthly income and expense analysis. In short they may ask you to complete form 433 A or 433 B. on the phone. This might sound pretty straightforward but remember that lying to a Federal Agent is a serious crime and IRS is a federal agency.
If you are tempted to say that you do not have a bank account, give your old bank account details, or incorrect income information you have committed a serious crime.
Tax professionals recommend that the individuals should not contact or communicate with the IRS directly. A Tax professional feigning ignorance about the client’s bank details is more likely to be believed. No matter how much you understand tax issues if IRS sends you a CP 2000 it is strongly recommended to seek an appointment with your nearest certified Tax Professional as answering all their questions yourself could result in a higher tax liability.
The reason you got the CP2000 is because the income, deduction, credit information and other details you mentioned in form 1040 does not match the information they have on you. This is also called as the paper audit. This notice is usually five or six pages and will clearly indicate the tax due to the IRS or the tax refund due to you. Review the tax information in the tax returns you filed with the IRS and compare it with the information in the notice. If you find the correction made by the IRS is correct and agree, no reply is needed all you need to do is pay the difference within the due date or there will be penalty and interest on the amount due. In case you do not agree with the correction, respond immediately to the notice with the reasons why you disagree.
Off late as a public relation exercise the IRS has become friendly and the demeanor is not as intimidating as in the past. However, this kindness should not be misconstrued as weakness. If your paycheck is deposited in your checking account directly then there is a chance that you may find your balance as zero in spite of the 30 days notice of intent to levy, issued by the IRS.
In case a tax refund is due to you as a result of tax adjustment it will be sent to you provided no other taxes such as child support, student loans, etc are owed by you. Tax refund due, should be received by you within six weeks of the tax notice.

You may be a tax compliant, filing all your returns on time and having no issues with the tax authorities in the past. Yet one fine day you receive the dreaded certified mail from the IRS you open it and you find a 30-day notice to pay the amount the IRS says you owe it, or you receive a telephone call from the IRS. Whatever the situation you are stunned and bewildered and your first instinct is to take on the IRS. Since the case appears simple and a tax attorney seems an expensive proposition, you may decide to represent yourself.
However, such a step is fraught with danger. Remember, taxes are based on law and can be interpreted in many different ways. The IRS agents though sporting a friendly demeanor are a bunch of highly trained professionals and it is their duty to assess the maximum possible amount of tax due. You have a right to appeal the agents audit report but if you are not aware of it, it is not the agent’s responsibility to protect your rights. You stand to lose thousands of dollars. Think about it, if you had an infected ingrown toe nail, you could self medicate and remove it yourself or go to a clinic and get it removed by a doctor who would anesthetize your toe before the procedure. Do yourself a favor and hire a tax attorney. Tax laws are like a minefield and a favorite stomping ground of tax attorneys, since they know how to get around and survive the minefield.
All the contents of the discussion you have with the IRS is recorded in some form or another and agents can misconstrue any statement you make, and remember that any false statement made to a federal agent is a serious crime and can result in criminal indictment. Seemingly innocuous statements made by the taxpayers may be interpreted in different ways, causing more harm than good.
Tax laws are complex and as mentioned earlier can be interpreted in many different ways. Many a times, taxpayers are confronted with more serious and complex issues than the ones they originally attempted to fix.
A good tax attorney will act as your shield and handle all the communication with the IRS. The IRS agents are on the government’s side and are not expected to protect you, whereas your tax attorney is on your side and is well aware of your entitlements. In 1998, the Congress offered significant procedural protection to taxpayers. However, in case you choose to represent yourself you lose this first line of defense. A tax attorney will help you make the most of the protection the Congress gave you as a taxpayer.
Hiring the services of a competent attorney as your interface with the IRS will surely save you money. Hire an attorney with specialized education in taxation (L.L.M in Taxation). Look for references from other lawyers and judges. Martindale-Hubbell peer review ratings will help in evaluating and selecting the right tax attorney. The annual budget for the IRS is increasing every year and additional employees and enforcement personnel are added every year. More than a million audits are done each year and it won’t be long before you face an IRS problem. A tax attorney may seem expensive, but the tax savings will surely be more than the attorney’s fees.

Copyright (c) 2009 Jeffrey Matsen

There is no substitute for creative and well thought out tax strategy followed by the implementation of a very specific and practical plan.

Peter was the President of a small manufacturing company and acted as the General Manager of its operations. His wife, Helen, was the Executive Vice President and was responsible for all of the Company’s financial and administrative matters. Peter had just designed a new mixing machine that was used by the Company to produce low grade urethane foam and had been training plant personnel on the use of the machine. On one occasion, Peter was operating the machine and his sweater sleeve caught on a protruding bolt and his arm was pulled into the machine. As a result, Peter suffered serious injury including a fractured arm, soft tissue lacerations and second and third degree burns. The injury required surgery and the installation of a metal plate in his forearm and it was a likely that Peter would suffer some permanent loss of some use of his arm.

Peter and his corporate counsel then consulted me about the possibility of Peter putting in a claim against the Corporation for damages. The corporate counsel and I recommended that Peter retain a personal injury lawyer to handle his grievance. The personal injury lawyer and the corporate counsel negotiated a six figure settlement, which at the time (1977), was a very substantial amount. I recommended that the Company deduct the settlement payment to Peter as a legitimate income tax expense under Section 162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and that Peter exclude the receipt of the payment on his income tax return under Section 104(a)(2) as compensation received on account of personal injuries.

The IRS subsequently audited both the Company and Peter and Helen’s personal Tax Returns. They argued that the payment from the Company to Peter was a disguised dividend and, therefore, not deductible by the Company and not excludable from Peter’s income. Peter and the Company vigorously objected to the IRS position and they hired me to fight the battle for them in the US Tax Court.

Of course, the whole position of the IRS was based on the fact that the transaction in question was between a closely held corporation and its President who along with his wife, Helen, were the controlling shareholders. Accordingly, under these facts, Peter and the Company were, obviously, not dealing at arm’s length. This engendered a greater burden on Peter and the Company to show the legitimacy of the transaction. I argued that the Court should compare the actions of Peter and the Company with what would have occurred if the transaction had been between parties who were dealing at arm’s length. Corporations, by definition are independent entities, separate from the owners yet the IRS was treating them as one in the same. If Peter had been an employee of the Company who was not a controlling shareholder and had suffered this injury, he more than likely would have hired an independent attorney to pursue his claim, just as we had recommended that Peter do. The Company’s attorney and Peter’s personal injury attorney negotiated a reasonable settlement just as probably would have happened had Peter been a typical employee with the Company without any ownership interest.

In closing arguments to the Court, I stated that the decision should be based on whether there was a reasonable basis independent of tax considerations for the Company to deduct the settlement payment and for Peter to exclude it as compensation for personal injuries. The fact that Peter was a controlling shareholder of the Corporation should not disqualify him from the reasonableness of receiving a tax free settlement under the law which allows for the Corporation to deduct such settlement payment.

During the final arguments of the case, the IRS attorney finished his closing remarks by stating that the whole transaction was just a manipulated tax saving scheme. My retort was that the obvious inference of the IRS argument was that Peter intentionally stuck his arm in the machine and suffered the grievous injury on purpose. I told the Judge that this would truly be “tax planning with a vengeance”. The Judge acknowledged the absurdity of this notion with a smile.

In any event, the Judge ruled in our favor and Peter and his Company were able to receive a huge income tax benefit. Of course, the moral of the story is that Peter and his Company had the proper tax and legal advice which included a very practical and well thought out plan: 1) the hiring of an independent personal injury lawyer for Peter; 2) the representation of the client by Peter’s personal injury lawyer which was backed up by medical reports; 3) the negotiation by the corporate attorney, reviewing the claim and the medical reports and 4) the action by the Board of Directors of the Company to give effect to the settlement proposal.

Of course, the preparation of a compelling brief to the Tax Court along with a winning trial presentation and closing argument were critical. There is, obviously, no substitute for creative and well thought out tax strategy followed by the implementation of a very specific and practical plan.

If you would like to read more, the citation for the case is Maxwell v Commissioner, United States Tax Court, 9T.C.107 (1990). As an aside, a few weeks after the issuance of the written of opinion by the Tax Court, Time Magazine ran a short article on the case with the implication that the taxpayer had really gotten away with an unbelievable tax dodge and huge tax benefits. I wrote a letter to Editor in reply to the article, more or less, summarizing my closing arguments to the Judge and pointing out that if this really was a tax dodge, it carried a very high price of injury and disability to Peter (my letter was never published). As another aside, the IRS counsel on the case, who is currently in private practice, refers me clients.

“All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree”

In these bleak economic times, it is not unusual to hear of or know someone in foreclosure. In response to this trend, the Government, the lenders, and private institutions are creating various programs to assist homeowners facing foreclosure. Determining which program suits you best is the difficult part, however.

Just a few years ago, refinancing your mortgage seemed to be the best option for the majority of homeowners. Refinancing was popular because homeowners counted on their homes? appreciation value, and they withdrew equity out of their homes to repay debts. Interest rates were low and lenders exercised leniency toward those to whom they loaned. Unfortunately, the situation today is nearly the diametric opposite, and homeowners must consider other options as alternatives to foreclosure. Among those options are loan modification, short sale, repayment plan, forbearance, reinstatement, and bankruptcy (always a last resort).

Performing a loan modification on your mortgage can result in the terms of your loan being modified to something you can afford each month. There are many ways you can modify your loan, but there is only one best way of doing it. If you modify your loan based upon the terms your bank offers you, you simply won?t receive the best deal possible. This is why it is important to choose a party not affiliated with your bank to negotiate your loan modification. Borrowers must recognize that a bank or lending institution is a business that is driven by profit. Accordingly, they will always offer you a deal that benefits them far more than it benefits you. They?ll offer you a short-term solution to a long-term problem and most borrowers default on their loan again within six months of their modification. A properly performed loan modification can reduce your principal, monthly payments, and interest. It is not uncommon to hear stories about people who have had their principal balance or monthly payments cut in half! It?s critical to understand that every case is different and the final outcome is dependent upon many variables, including the lender?s cooperation. The lenders will only agree to a foreclosure alternative if they are losing less money than they would be if they foreclosed on the property. It is the job of your negotiator to help them reach this conclusion based upon the results of a mortgage audit, a statement of the homeowner?s hardships, and so forth.

We all seek justice in our lives, but the sad truth is the average person in North America can’t afford to hire an attorney to help with every day legal matters. What would you do if a minor or major legal matter arised? Would you be able to afford to hire an attorney that specializes in the area of law where you need help?

Wonder if you were in a car accident and it was not even your fault, but you were sued anyway? What would you do? To whom would you turn for help? Wonder if a store in your local mall treated you unfairly regarding a return or a defective item? Could you or would you hire an attorney to help turn the wrong into a right, even if the charge was for only $50.00? Wonder if you received a letter from the IRS stating that you were being audited for not paying $18,000 in taxes? Would this upset you and scare you? Going through an audit is an intimidating and time-consuming ordeal. Could you afford to hire a tax attorney ‘ one of the most expensive attorneys to hire? How would you handle learning that your ID had been stolen? What would you do if someone was using your social security number, setting up accounts in your name and destroying your good credit? Worse yet, what if you were wanted for a major crime you did not even commit? No one should have to experience any of these traumatic occurrences in their lives.

You might be asking yourself why all these questions? I would like to inform you of something that you may or may not know. Did you know that there are services available in the United States and Canada that provide quality legal representation to help with every day legal events for very affordable fees. These services give the average person the chance to have quality legal help when they need it most. The services even the playing field, which allows the every day person to have justice and quality legal representation, just like the wealthy enjoy. These services are not currently very common in the United States or Canada, but the people of these two countries are rapidly learning about them and seeing the value and peace of mind it gives them when they know that their legal matters of every day life events are covered. The importance of having legal coverage is very high. Just think how important other insurances, like medical, life and car insurance, protect us from catastrophic financial loss. Though we never plan on encountering the events that will force us to take advantage of the benefits of that insurance, we understand the value of having that coverage. Life is very unpredictable, and sometimes, unfortunate things happen. And when they do, the security and support that insurance brings in a time of need are invaluable.

Just imagine being in a situation where you needed to talk to an attorney right now. Would you know who to call, and if so, how much would it cost? Would you feel more secure, knowing you could pick up the phone and talk to a top-rated attorney to help you through a stressful legal situation in an emergency?

Several businesses that offer quality legal services offer memberships for a very low monthly fee. The most established service companies offer a monthly membership fee that is lower then a tank of gas. Times are changing in the legal service industry. There are new opportunities for the “common” man or woman, who in normal cases would not even consider hiring an attorney, to access quality and affordable legal advice and support, even when a case goes to court.

With this new type of legal coverage, members are able to make unlimited phone calls to an established law firm, for consultation and support on almost any legal matter. The law firms offers phone calls and letters written on behalf of the members that will help address legal matters in an effective, professional, and affordable manner. A letter or phone call from an attorney is very powerful and often accomplishes swift and amazing resolution to life’s issues. Most companies respond quickly to resolve issues represented by an attorney’s letter, rather than to issues raised by individuals with no legal representation. These services provide amazing results for their members. Stop getting treated unfairly and start seeking the justice you deserve today. Check into the service companies offering this vital protection. It’s the last service package you need in your insurance portfolio. Let’s work together to spread the word about this legal coverage which is affordable to just about everyone. Don’t allow yourself to be susceptable anymore. If you are treated unfairly by a store, a restaurant, an airline, or a dry cleaner, if you receive a traffic ticket unfairly, or if you are sued, you can now have high quality legal representation. You will have the strength and security of being able to address life’s legal events with great results, at a very affordable price.

Are you experiencing IRS problems in Dallas? If so, keep in mind that you do not have to accept defeat the moment you receive a letter from the IRS audit department; there are several ways that you can deal with these IRS problems in Dallas or any other city in Texas without losing your mind with all the intricacies involved. Dealing with the Internal Revenue Services can be very frustrating and time consuming, but once you know what you are up against, you can effectively deal with them in the right way. Here are some tips on how to deal with IRS problems in Dallas:
Gather up all your IRS records
You should have all of your IRS records in one place where you know that you can retrieve them. By keeping all of your records in one place, you can then get to them when you need them. If you’ve misplaced an important document you will have to go through the process of applying for a new one from the appropriate authorities, which can be very time consuming and frustrating. Make a folder for the Internal Revenue Service problems that you are dealing with currently and put all correspondence and documentation into that folder. The more organized you are when it comes to dealing with the IRS audit, the less frustrating the process is likely to be. Everybody knows that dealing with the IRS can be extremely daunting but knowing a few things can make the whole ordeal a whole lot less traumatic.
Know your tax laws
You can request from the Internal Revenue Service transcripts regarding your case as well as any other information, including past tax returns if you do not have them, from the IRS under the Freedom of Information Act. You also have a right to contest what the IRS claims about you. Although you may have to prove deductions and other income, the IRS has to, in the long run, prove that you are guilty of owing taxes and not paying. The IRS is an all powerful organization, true, but the United States laws are even more powerful. You still have rights as a citizen. Know them and understand that you can appeal any decision that they make.
Do not give any unsolicited information to the IRS
Never give the IRS any more information than they ask. This can end up causing even more confusion with your case and may even result in negative consequences. You may think that you are being helpful, but the IRS will look for more problems. Only give the IRS the information that they request and nothing more to save yourself a lot of headaches.
Hire a tax attorney Dallas if need be
If your IRS problems in Dallas get to be too much for you, you may think of hiring an attorney to help you out. When you look for an attorney, look for one who has experience in dealing with the IRS and has a proven track record with regard to results. You should also seek a Dallas tax attorney who will charge you a fee to deal with your Internal Revenue Service problems Dallas rather than one who will charge you by the hour as it can be very time consuming in dealing with the IRS. Know your rights as a citizen and the fact that you are entitled to appeals and legal representation when you are handling IRS problems in Dallas or any other part of the United States.