MISSISSIPPI SOCIETY OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS

VOLUME XLVIII JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011

Memorial GiftTo the Education Foundation

In Memory ofGeorge R. Rea, Sr.

MeridianBy

James W. DavisOxford

�

Memorial GiftsTo The Education Foundation

In Memory ofBill Rush Mosby, Jr.,

NatchezBy

The Gillon Group, PLLCNatchez

Paul & Connie BrewerRidgeland

2011 MSCPAAnnual

ConventionJune 23-26, 2011

Sandestin Golfand Beach Resort

In This IssueWelcome New Members ...........2

Tips for Avoiding Estate TaxReturn Claims...........................3

Our Members in the News ........4

Honor a Member for PublicService.......................................6

Tentative CPE Schedule ........7-8

Sandestin Reservation Form.....12

Major Events onMSCPA Calendar .....................13

Melanie Morrow participates inAICPA Leadership AcademyMelanie Morrow ofGrantham, Poole, Randall,Reitano, Arrington &Cunningham PLLC inJackson has been recognizedamong the accountingprofession’s rising stars,selected as just one of 30CPAs under age 36 for theAICPA’s annual LeadershipAcademy in Durham, N.C.Melanie joined colleaguesfrom across the country forthree days in October 2010to learn cutting edge leadership theory, develop tools for handling complexmanagement challenges, network with other up-and-comers and discuss a host ofstrategic issues facing CPAs and the accounting industry. They were joined by someof the profession’s most experienced leaders, including AICPA Chairman Bob Harris(left) and Barry Melancon, the Institute’s President and CEO. The AICPA selectedthe 30 attendees of the Leadership Academy from candidates recommended bytheir employers, state CPA societies or both. All candidates had to submit resumesthat included work history, licensure information, professional volunteer activities,community service, and awards and honors. In addition, the candidates each hadto supply a statement explaining why participating in the Leadership Academywould be important personally. The AICPA reviewed and evaluated eachsubmission. Melanie holds BBA and MBA degrees in accounting from MississippiCollege and is currently President of the Mississippi Young CPA Network.

Report of the Nominations CommitteeThe MSCPA Nominations Committee reports the candidates for

officers/director for the 2011-2012 year. The election is scheduled forSaturday, June 25, 2011 during the Annual Business Meeting at theSandestin Golf & Beach Resort, Destin, Florida. Absentee ballots formembers who will be unable to attend the Business Meeting will beavailable later this Spring.

Members of the Nominations Committee include: Bob Cunningham,Jackson, Chairman; Billy Gillon, Natchez; Jan Lewis, Jackson; and StacyThomas, Jackson.

PPrreessiiddeenntt::Stacy Thomas, Jackson

VViiccee--PPrreessiiddeenntt//PPrreessiiddeenntt--EElleecctt::Lee Adams, JacksonMark Wilder, Oxford

TTrreeaassuurreerr::Ricky Bullock, TupeloBilly Morehead, Cleveland

SSeeccrreettaarryy::Donna Bruce, JacksonVera Reed, Gulf Coast Region

AAtt--LLaarrggee BBooaarrdd MMeemmbbeerr::Chuck Caldwell, NatchezLinda Keng, Jackson

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

Publishedby the

Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

306 Southampton RowThe Commons

Highland Colony ParkwayRidgeland, MS 39157

PHONE: (601) 856-4244FAX: (601) 856-8255E-MAIL ADDRESS: mail@ms-cpa.org

OFFICERS

PresidentSim M. Mosby, Natchez

Vice President/President-ElectStacy E. Thomas, Jackson

SecretaryWilliam T. Kelly, Hattiesburg

TreasurerLee D. Murphy, Grenada

Immediate Past-PresidentRobert A. Cunningham, Jackson

Executive DirectorJack O. Coppenbarger

The CPA Newsletter is the officialpublication of the Mississippi Society ofCertified Public Accountants. TheNewsletter invites articles of interest to theprofession and gives credit to the author;however, it reserves the right to editarticles for correct spelling, wording andpunctuation.Opinions expressed are not necessarily

the official policy of the MSCPA.Advertising is accepted in good faith thatthe product/services are of value stated.

Welcome New Members

Tech Bit: Social Email

New members include: Jonathan S.Adcock, Kari M. Blackledge, Kimberly M.Bourn, Rob S. Burnham (Associate Member),James Eustis Corrigan, Jr., Neil A. Godfrey,James B. Horne, K. E. Hughes, II, Tammy Y.Hulz, Milton Curtis Neyman, Jr., DavidScott Nieman, Mary Frances Overstreet,Dustin William Taylor, Sharon CarlisleWeber, and Nick Walters (AssociateMember).

Now completing the membership processare:

Maggie E. Abernathy was born inOxford and received her Bachelor ofAccountancy degree from the University ofMississippi. She is CFO/Treasurer of theUniversity of Mississippi Foundation.

Gretchen Ann Artus was born in NewOrleans and received her BS in Accountingfrom the University of New Orleans. She isCFO of Coface Collections North AmericaInc. in Metairie.

Daniel J. Barfield was born inCleveland, Miss., and received his BBA fromDelta State University. He is the President ofBarfield & Associates, P.C. in Oxford.

Christopher S. Barron was born inJackson and received his BSBA from theUniversity of Southern Mississippi He isAudit Officer with FNBB Services Corp. inRidgeland.

Joseph Henry Baugh, Jr., was born inFranklinton, Louisiana and and received hisBachelor of Accounting from the Universityof Southern Mississippi. He is DeputyDirector of Resource Management with theU.S. Army based at Camp Shelby.

Ryan William Farlow was born inMadison and received his BAAC fromMississippi State University. He is anAssurance Associate with Horne LLP inRidgeland.

Paul Edward Foster was born in LittleRock and received his Bachelor ofAccountancy and Master of Taxation fromthe University of Mississippi. He is anAssociate with Horne LLP in Ridgeland.

Megan Leigh Hughes was born inGulfport and received her Bachelor ofAccountancy and Master of Taxation fromthe University of Mississippi. She is a StaffAccountant with BKD LLP in Jackson.

Phyllis Clark Massey was born in HindsCounty and received her BPA fromMississippi State University. She is FirmAdministrator for Massey, Higginbotham,Vise & Phillips in Flowood.

Erin K. Miller was born at Ft. Campbell,Tennessee, and received her BSBA with anemphasis in Accounting from the Universityof Southern Mississippi. She is an InternalAudit Associate with Saks, Inc. in Jackson.

Todd Louis Rhodus was born inMcComb and received an Associate of Arts-Business from Southwest MississippiCommunity College and BSBA inAccounting and Master of ProfessionalAccountancy degrees from the University ofSouthern Mississippi.

Blair Johnson Waggoner was born inMeridian and received Bachelor ofAccountancy and Master of Taxation degreesfrom Mississippi State University. He is asTax Associate with Horne LLP in Ridgeland.

I live in my email client. Probably85% of my written communicationswith the outside world are done withemail. I'd bet it's the same for you.

I also do a little bit on social media,mostly LinkedIn with a little Facebookand Twitter thrown in. But I havemany business contacts who are muchmore active on social media.

If you are in sales, you know that abig part of your selling job isestablishing a relationship with yourcustomers, especially if you are in thekind of sales that has the samecustomers over a long period of time. Ifyou've read any of Harvey Mackay'sbooks, you know about the Mackay 66,a set of questions designed to help youget to know your customers better(http://www.harveymackay.com/tools/

mackay66.cfm). In sales parlance it'scalled building rapport.

There are tools to help you integrateyour email usage with your clients'social media activity. They are veryuseful to help you expand the range ofinputs you have about what's going onin your clients' lives.

The first one I tried, but gave up onabout a year ago because it lackedOutlook integration at the time, is Gist.They've since added Outlookintegration as well as integration withSalesforce.com CRM.

Gist (http://www.gist.com) takesyour email contacts, your streams ofemails sent and received, and yoursocial media contacts and combines

continued on page 14

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

Tips for Avoiding Estate Tax Return ClaimsBy Anthony Cooper, J.D.

continued on page 9

The estate tax return’s irregular filingdue date, nine months after thedecedent’s date of death, is the primaryreason for missed estate tax returnfilings. Because of the steeplyprogressive tax rates for estate tax andrapidly accruing penalties (up to fivepercent per month), the late filingpenalties often exceed $300,000. Toavoid such penalties, consider thefollowing:

1) Implement a due date trackingsystem. The system can be as simple asa calendar devoted solely to estate taxreturn due dates.

2) Have at least one person beprimarily responsible for trackingestate tax return filing deadlines.

3) Continually review the due datetracking system to ensure that yourfirm meets any impending due dates.

4) Understand how the late filingand late payment penalties ruleapply. The late payments penalties areassessed under 6651(a)(1) and run fivepercent per month or any portionthereof. Thus, if a return is due Sept.

10, 2008, and it is filed Oct. 12, 2008, itis two months late – one month fromSept. 10, 2008 to Oct. 10, 2008, and asecond month from Oct. 10, 2008 toOct. 12, 2008.

On what amount is the penaltycalculated? Consider this example: 1) Ifthe taxpayer owes $150,000 with aForm 706 estate tax return; 2) noextension is obtained; and 3) no part ofthe tax is paid on or before the originaldue date of Sept. 10, 2008; the latefiling penalty runs on the $150,000due. If a later audit increases the tax, itis deemed to have been due on theoriginal due date.

What if the tax is paid within afew months? If the facts are the same asin the preceding example, but: 1) thereturn is originally due Sept. 10, 2008;and 2) the taxpayer pays $150,000 onOct. 10, 2008 (the return still hasn’tbeen filed); the late filing penalty stillruns on the $150,000 owed, because itwasn’t paid “on or before the date

prescribed for payment.”What if an extension is obtained,

but no return is filed by the extendeddue date? Assume the taxpayer obtainsan extension from Sept. 10, 2008, toMar. 15, 2009 (the maximum extensionallowed), pays the entire tax in Octoberbefore the extended due date of Mar.10, 2009, but files the return after theextended due date of Mar. 15, 2009.The extension is treated as if it hadnever occurred, and so the original duedate of Sept. 10, 2008, is the date fromwhich penalties are calculated.

How do you stop late filingpenalties? Payment after the due datewill not stop the penalty. If there is stilltime (i.e., less than five months havegone by) the only way to stop thepenalty is by filing the return. Even anestimated return will work if: it is theproper form and purports to be areturn, it is signed by the taxpayerunder penalty of perjury, an honest andreasonable attempt was made to satisfythe tax law, and the return contains

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

Our Members inthe News

J. Frank Betts, Managing Member ofthe Jackson based firm of Eubank, Betts,Hirn, Wood, PLLC, attended thecombined Asia Pacific (AP) and Europe,Middle East and Africa (EMEA) AnnualConference in Dubai, United ArabEmirates. In total 79 CPAAI delegatesand 39 spouses attended the conferenceacross both regions representing 29countries. Held Nov. 4-6, 2010, thisjoint annual conference broughttogether for the first time members fromEurope, Middle East, Africa and AsiaPacific. This gave delegates theopportunity to further expand theircontacts and build new businessrelationships. Frank Betts, CPAAIInternational Chairman, along with JimFlynn, CPA President, gave an update ofthe association activities and expansionof the membership. They told of theaddition of 13 new members in the pastyear bringing the total membership to150 firms worldwide.

u u uPatrick B. Davidson of Columbus

has been named to Intuit Inc.’s (Nasdaq:INTU) Accountant and AdvisorCustomer Council. Intuit developssoftware products and services to helpaccounting professionals and theirclients work more efficiently. Davidsonis one of 17 council members who willshare their insights, experience andexpertise to help Intuit develop newproducts and services for accountingprofessionals and small business owners.He has more than 24 years’ experiencein the tax and accounting field and isthe owner of Davidson & Company,PLLC.

u u uNathan Cummins, a partner with

May & Company in Vicksburg, hascompleted an intensive Leadership BootCamp. The Academy Leadership BootCamp uses leadership principlesdeveloped at West Point and the NavalAcademy. Graduation is based onsuccessful completion of acomprehensive three-day course thathelps executives develop and articulatetheir own personal leadership

philosophy statements. This becomesthe Leader's Compass which forms thefoundation for leadership developmentand keeps the leader on a course that istrue to his beliefs.

Cummins joined May & Company in2004.

u u uThe American Institute of Certified

Public Accountants has named JimKoerber, CPA/ABV, CVA, CFE, CFF as anAccredited in Business ValuationChampion. Koerber is a shareholder inThe Koerber Company, PA, ofHattiesburg which provides valuationand litigation services for attorneys,CPAs, and their clients.

u u uCollins & Barr, Ltd. announces the

promotion of Rob Hembree to partnereffective Jan. 1, 2011. Rob joined thefirm in May 2000 after graduating fromMississippi College with a Bachelor'sdegree in accounting and obtained hisCPA certification in 2004. An activemember of the community, Rob iscurrently an ambassador for the City ofMadison Chamber of Commerce, amember of the Madison CountyChamber young professionals group, Zip39, and serves as the treasurer for theMadison Lions Club. Rob and his wife,Bethany, reside in Madison and areactive members of Pear OrchardPresbyterian Church.

u u uHORNE LLP announces the hiring of

David Stevens, CPA, as director of stateand local tax services. Stevens will workfrom the firm’s Ridgeland location.Stevens joined HORNE with more than20 years of tax experience including hiswork as a former director of theMississippi State Tax Commission's SalesTax Division. He specializes in incomeand franchise tax, sales and use tax,business incentives and state credits,unclaimed property, andadvocacy/controversy matters. Stevensis a graduate of Mississippi College andis a Certified Public Accountant. Heserves as the tax committee chairmanfor the Mississippi ManufacturersAssociation and is a member of theMississippi Society of Certified PublicAccountants and Crossgates ExchangeClub. Stevens is a frequent speaker atseminars and education events on thetopics of state and local taxation issuesand planning.

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

6

NewMSCPA

CAREERCENTER

For

Job SeekersAnd

EmployersSign up at

www.ms-cpa.org

Honor anOutstandingMSCPA MemberFor Public Service

The membership is invited tonominate a member for consideration asthe 2011 Public Service Award winner.

The winner will be recognizedduring the Annual Business MeetingSaturday, June 25, 2011 at the SandestinGolf & Beach Resort. President SimMosby has named members of the 2011Public Service Award Committeeincluding: Ricky Bullock, Tupelo; BillKelly, Hattiesburg; and Gary Walker,Ridgeland.

Qualifying activities for the awardinclude service clubs, church work,children’s programs, economicdevelopment and public service.Submit a nominee’s name to one of thecommittee members or to the MSCPAoffice for forwarding to the committee.

Acquire the Skills to Make Your Organization a SuccessJohn L. Daly, MBA, CPA, CMA, CPIM

Executive Education, Inc.

continued on page 11

My first corporate world experiencelasted nearly 10 years as I rose fromController to Vice President – Finance.During that time, my employer grew bysome six-fold in size. However, despitegrowth that was sometimes 50% in ayear, everything was always calmly incontrol and never frantic. For example,at 9 AM, I could usually find the

company president sitting behind hisdesk reading the Wall Street Journalwith a cup of coffee.

The president’s job at that companywas not always so relaxed. Two yearsbefore my arrival, a line of peoplewould wait outside his door withproblems for him to solve when hearrived in the morning. What was thedifference? The company invested infour 1-day team-building sessions thathelped the company presidentempower people to make their owndecisions.

The team-training class became astandard part of every new manager’sfirst year on the job. That investmentin training would pay for itself manytimes over through an organizationwhere managers held each otheraccountable and avoided the politicalmaneuvering in which so manyorganizations engage.

What kind of training does yourcompany need? In his book, SmallGiants: Companies that Choose to beGreat Instead of Big, Bo Burlinghamobserves that the greatest complimentthat you can pay a company is to call ita “learning organization”. Today’sstrategy maps, derived from RobertKaplan’s Balanced Scorecard, recognizethat financial performance begins withorganizational learning. Thus, if yourorganization has not analyzed the

knowledge that it needs for the future,there is a good chance that a smartercompetitor will leave you in its dust.

Considerable research tells us thatpeople are generally not aware of skillsthat they do not have. In fact, peoplewho have a very low level of skill insomething tend to have a significantlyinflated opinion of their skills, aphenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, named after twoprofessors who studied it. Thus, theonly way for a person, or an entire

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

TENTATIVE CPE SCHEDULE FOR 2011BEGIN CITY COURSE TITLE

May ?? Ridgeland Peer Review - TBA9-10-May Jackson MISSISSIPPI TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE11-May Ridgeland Audits of 401(k) Plans13-May Jackson ACCOUNTING & AUDITING CONFERENCE16-May Ridgeland Planning for Profits - How to Develop and Execute an Effective Business Plan17-May Ridgeland Leadership and Coaching Essentials for the CPA, Adapted from the Leadership Strategies of Football’s

Leading Coaches16-May Hattiesburg Advanced Update for Compilation, Review and Accounting Services16-May Hattiesburg TBA17-May Hattiesburg Strategies and Tactics in the New War Against Higher Individual Taxes17-May Hattiesburg TBA18-May Hattiesburg TBA18-May Hattiesburg TBA18-19-May Ridgeland PROGRAM FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT (include a half day with Jack Park)20-May Ridgeland Construction Contractors Advanced Issues23-May Ridgeland Fraud Alert! Prevention & Follow-up23-May Tupelo The 2011 Revised Yellow Book: Government Auditing Standards23-May Tupelo MBA in a Day24-May Tupelo Accounting and Auditing Update24-May Tupelo Ethics, Rules & Regulations24-May Tupelo The Complete Guide to Employment Issues - Reducing the Employer's Risk25-May Tupelo Fraud: Catching the Crooks Who Cook the Books25-May Tupelo TBA24-May Ridgeland Performance Analysis: Identify Profit Improvement Opportunities25-May Ridgeland Common Frauds and Internal Controls for Revenue, Purchasing, and Cash Receipts26-May Ridgeland Uncovering Misappropriation Schemes27-May Ridgeland PM: Cash and Tax Basis Financial Statements: Alternatives to GAAP & Reporting Requirements27-May Ridgeland AM: Financial Fraud, Forensics, and the CPA31-May Ridgeland PM: Practical Tips and Techniques for Dealing with the IRS31-May Ridgeland AM: Advanced Issues in Mergers, Acquisitions and Sales of Closely Held Businesses1-Jun Ridgeland PM: Estate Planning Strategies: minimizing Taxes and Maximizing Wealth1-Jun Ridgeland AM: Innovative Tax Planning for Individuals and Sole Proprietors2-Jun Ridgeland TBA2-Jun Ridgeland TBA3-Jun Ridgeland TBA3-Jun Ridgeland TBA6-Jun Ridgeland Excel Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Accountants6-Jun Ridgeland PM: MAP CONFERENCE7-Jun Ridgeland QuickBooks Advanced Features, Tools, and Techniques7-Jun Ridgeland Accounting and Auditing Update7-Jun Ridgeland Ethics, Rules and Regulations8-9-Jun Ridgeland AICPA's Accounting and Auditing Workshop8-Jun Ridgeland Internal Controls for Small Business Accounting Systems10-Jun Ridgeland Top Ten Fraud Schemes: How to Detect and Prevent Them13-Jun Ridgeland Chief Financial Officer: Executive Level Skills for Financial Managers14-Jun Ridgeland AM: Creating the Best Projections You Can: Insights and Techniques14-Jun Ridgeland PM: Financial Leadership: How to Create and Deliver Value15-Jun Ridgeland AM: Cases in Corporate Ethics for Mississippi CPAs: Discussion of Real Life Conflicts15-Jun Ridgeland PM: Lean Accounting: Apply Lean Thinking to Financial Management16-Jun Ridgeland Federal Taxation of Timber Growers17-Jun Ridgeland Advanced Selected Issues for Trusts, Estates, and Their Beneficiaries20-Jun Ridgeland TBA

continued on page 8

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

TENTATIVE CPE SCHEDULE FOR 2011 continued from page 7

BEGIN CITY COURSE TITLE

20-Jun Gulfport Advanced Excel20-Jun Gulfport Audits of 401(k) Plans21-Jun Gulfport Accounting and Auditing Update21-Jun Gulfport Ethics, Rules & Regulations21-Jun Gulfport AM: PDF Forms - What Accountants Need to Know21-Jun Gulfport PM: Security Tools - Up Close and Personal22-Jun Gulfport Construction Contractors: Accounting, Auditing and Tax22-Jun Gulfport Outlook Essentials21-Jun Ridgeland Basis / Distribution for Pass-Through Entities: An IRS Hot Spot21-Jun Ridgeland Small Business Accounting and Auditing Update22-Jun Ridgeland 49 Tax-Cutting Moves for Individuals22-Jun Ridgeland Applying the Risk Assessment Standards Using a Case Study Approach23-Jun Ridgeland Controllership: Leading Edge of Corporate Performance24-Jun Ridgeland Mastering the Applications of Budgeting While Side Stepping the Pitfalls27-Jun Ridgeland 2011 Revised Yellow Book: Government Auditing Standards27-Jun Ridgeland TBA28-Jun Ridgeland Governmental and Nonprofit Annual Update28-Jun Ridgeland TBA29-Jun Ridgeland Frequent Frauds in Governments and Non-Profits29-Jun Ridgeland Advanced Update for Compilation, Review and Accounting Services30-Jun Ridgeland Running a Non-Profit Like a For-Profit Business30-Jun Ridgeland S Corporation: Key Issues, Compliance and Strategies: An IRS Target8-Aug Tupelo PDF Forms - What Accountants Need to Know8-Aug Tupelo Security Tools - Up Close and Personal9-Aug Tupelo Excel Tips, Tricks and Techniques for Accountants18-19-Aug Jackson GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING CONFERENCE15-Sep Ridgeland HEALTHCARE SERVICES CONFERENCE20-Sep Ridgeland Revenue Recognition: Getting the new Standard Right21-Sep Ridgeland Introduction to Bank Accounting and Auditing22-Sep Ridgeland Community Banking Update18-Oct Ridgeland INDUSTRY CONFERENCE20-Oct Gulfport Common Frauds and Internal Controls for Revenue, Purchasing, and Cash Receipts20-Oct Gulfport TBA25-Oct Ridgeland OIL & GAS SEMINAR21-Oct Gulfport AICPA'S Annual Federal Tax Update21-Oct Gulfport TBA28-Oct Ridgeland EDUCATORS SYMPOSIUM31-Oct-1-Nov Ridgeland Corporate Income Tax Workshop 4-Nov Jackson NOT FOR PROFIT CONFERENCE10-11 Nov Jackson MISSISSIPPI TAX INSTITUTE14-Nov Ridgeland BUSINESS VALUATION CONFERENCE16-Nov Tupelo AICPA's Annual Federal Tax Update16-Nov Tupelo Top Ten Fraud Schemes: How to Detect and Prevent Them17-Nov Tupelo Ethics, Rules & Regulations17-Nov Tupelo Revenue Recognition: Getting the new Standard Right1-2-Dec Ridgeland Individual Income Tax Workshop8-Dec Hattiesburg Revenue Recognition: Getting the new Standard Right9-Dec Hattiesburg Accounting and Auditing Update9-Dec Hattiesburg Ethics, Rules and Regulations9-Dec Hattiesburg AICPA's Annual Federal Tax Update13-Dec Ridgeland AICPA's Annual Federal Tax Update

January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

9

ESTATE TAX RETURNSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

sufficient data to calculate the taxliability.

When does the penalty run (MailBox Rule)? The penalty runs from thedate the return is due, to the date theIRS receives it. The “mail box rule,which states the return is deemed filedwhen deposited in the U.S. mail perInternal Revenue Code 7502,Regulation 301.7502-1(c), does notapply to delinquent returns perRevenue Ruling 73-133.

Payment Penalties CPAs also periodically incur late

payment penalties, because they do notrealize that:

• a separate section of federal form4768 must be completed in orderto request an estate tax paymentextension;

• the payment extension is notautomatic and requires evidencedemonstrating “reasonable cause;”and

• the payment extension should bedone well in advance of the estatetax due date, because the IRS can

exercise its discretion with respectto granting the payment extensionbased on the “reasonable cause”requirement and may deny theestate tax payment extensionrequest.

If you do discover that there is apayment due that is late, make surethat the estate pays as much of the taxas it can, as soon as it can, as that willreduce the amount of the late paymentpenalty and interest. This is importantbecause the IRS does not accept estatetax payment extension requestsreceived after the estate tax return filingdue date.

Dilatory Executors, Trustees andAttorneys

A common cause of late filed estatetax returns or late paid estate tax andthe resulting penalties is the failure ofthe estate to provide adequate andtimely information about the estateassets in order to prepare a return or tomarshal assets to pay the tax. The CPAwho has been retained to prepare thereturn is left holding the bag whenlarge penalties are assessed, due to thenegligence of the estate’s executor,trustee or attorneys.

If you know that the return is notgoing to be filed on time, it is criticalto: 1) estimate the amount of estate taxthat will be owed, based on the bestinformation you have; 2) make surethat this tax is paid to the IRS beforethe due date of the return (ninemonths after the date of death) alongwith the extension of time to file; and3) document your file withcorrespondence to the client, outliningthe nature of the estimate and why itwas necessary.

If cooperation from the estate or itsagents is lacking, consider disengagingwell in advance of the return filing duedate, payment due dates, or extendeddue dates. If disengagement is notpossible, consider filing the estate taxreturn timely, based on estimates wherethe information needed to create acomplete return is missing or notavailable. This will stop the late filingpenalties, which are the largest of the§6651 penalties.

Anthony Cooper is a tax specialist with CAMICO(www.camico.com), responsible for providingpolicyholders with information regarding corporateincome, gift, and estate tax issues.

Copyright © 2010 CAMICO. All rights reserved.

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

Volunteer forCommittee ServiceMSCPA members are encouraged to

volunteer for committee service and theprocess is very easy.

Current committee rosters a recarried on the Society’s website atwww.ms-cpa.org. Click on TheAssociation tab at the top left and thenfollow the link to Committee Rosters.Review the committee titles and sendan email to mail@ms-cpa.org listing upto three committee preferences.

President-Elect Stacy Thomas willmake appointments in early Spring anda confirmation will be sent to thecommittee member with details onyour committee meeting during May.Continuing committee members willreceive a notice of details on theircommittee meeting schedule.

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

2011 MSCPAAnnual ConventionJune 23-26, 2011

Sandestin Golfand Beach Resort

ACQUIRE SKILLSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

management team, to know howskilled they really are is to benchmarktheir skills against the outside world.The inevitable result of such anexamination is likely to be that you willdiscover much more that would beuseful for you, and the other people inyour company, to know.

In his book, Outliers, MalcolmGladwell cites several research studiesthat reveal that it takes about 10,000hours to be an expert in anything.Since a work year is about 2,000 hours,you might feel confident right nowabout your skills if you are more than 5years out of business school. However,the responsibilities of a financialmanager, particularly in a smallcompany, may cover 20-30 major jobfunctions. If you do the math, you willnever have enough hours to become anexpert in all of them before retirement.Becoming reasonably well informedabout that many areas will put you farahead of your peers.

One knowledgeable person will notmake a company strong. Only if your

company aspires to be a “learningorganization” will it rise among itspeers.

How can your company accomplishthis? Consider using the society’s staffas a resource. They can help you findseminars on many topics that are farfrom the traditional CPA societyofferings. The society has access toseminars on effective business writing,profitable pricing, and skillfulnegotiations, just to name a few. Evenif you have as few as ten people totrain, it may be cost effective to bringthe seminar onsite to your owncompany. Call the onsite trainingpeople at your society today to find outwhat they can do for you!

John L. Daly, MBA, CPA, CMA, CPIM is the Presidentof Executive Education, Inc. in Chelsea, Michigan andis a frequent writer on financial management topics.He is a former Chief Financial Officer and author ofPricing for Profitability, published by Wiley & Sons.Executive Education’s seminars are part of thesociety’s regular seminar schedule. Look for seminarsby John and his Executive Education colleagues in thesociety’s seminar catalog. You may contact him atDaly@ExecutiveEducationInc.com.

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

MAJOR EVENTS ON THE2011 MSCPA CALENDAR(Dates are tentative for some Fall Conferences)

Mississippi Technology Conference May 9 & 10Accounting & Auditing Conference May 13Hattiesburg Cluster May 16 – 18Program for Management Development May 18 & 19Tupelo Cluster May 23 – 25 Ridgeland Cluster May 25 – June 6Gulfport Cluster June 20 – 22

Including Technology CPE from K2 EnterprisesAnnual Convention June 23 – 26 Technology Seminars in Tupelo August 3 & 4Governmental A&A Conference August 18 & 19Health Care Services Seminar September 15Industry Conference October 18Educators Symposium October 28Business Valuation & Litigation November 4Mississippi Tax Institute November 10 & 11Not-for-Profit Conference November 18

iPad + Business By Trey James, Xcentric

The iPad is a great platform for work(and play). Everywhere I go people askhow effective my Apple iPad is for usein business. Given that I’m usuallyattending an Accounting conference ofsome kind, the question is generallyasked through the lens of anaccountant, so here are a fewexperiential insights for yourconsideration.

Email and calendar. Ease of replyingto email on the iPad is much betterthan from my iPhone, but not nearly asfast as with my laptop. The calendar isgood and provides most of thefunctions I need to keep my world onschedule.

The iPad uses ActiveSync tosynchronize mail, calendar, andcontacts with Microsoft Exchange. Touse this feature, all that’s required is themail server address, the network username, and network password. Oncethis is configured on the iPad, it willsync all of your Exchange data (exceptfor Tasks) directly over the Internet.

Note taking. I take notes using ApplePages ($10 app), which is the MicrosoftWord equivalent for the iPad. There’salso a notepad app, but it doesn’texport as cleanly to Word, nor does ithave the textual formatting flexibility Iwant and need for organizing thoughtsor discussion notes.

Yes, typing onscreen works and isactually good. The touchscreenkeyboard is similar in size to my laptopso the transition between is easy onceyou’ve acclimated to the keydifferences. There’s no mouse, so itrequires a short mental cartwheel eachtime I go for the arrow keys to movethe cursor. (There are no arrow keys,just touch the screen.)

Access to the Cloud. It’s completelypossible to connect to Cloud-basedapplications using the Citrix Receiver(free app) or by purchasing one of theseveral Terminal Services based apps forremote desktop. Because the 9.7-inchscreen has a maximum resolution of

1024-by-768, viewing normal Windowsdesktop apps, like Outlook, UltraTax, orProSystem fx Tax will be a bit tedious.To use them effectively, I find myselfconstantly resizing the screen whichthen requires that I pan all overkingdom-come. Tedious for inputunless I‘m desperate, but great forreview or simple lookups.

The Apple iPad is a game changer,but the game must be changed toplay. How will (can) the iPad changethe profession? I believe that thedevice could be used well by taxpreparers during client meetings.Reviewing a tax return and relatedattachments on the iPad would workgreat. Think of auditors performingphysical inventories onscreen. Partnersreviewing billing, WIP, and signing offon expense reports. Imagine the billingand workflow dashboards that could bedeveloped. Of course, all of these ideasrequire that the software vendors createiPad-specific apps that take fulladvantage of the iPad/iOS features thatmake the device so appealing.

Thomson Reuters and CCH bothhave apps released and/or underdevelopment for the iPhone, thoughI’ve not seen any mention of appsdeveloped specifically for the iPad. Ibelieve that it’ll be just a matter of timebefore they release fully functional iPadapps to market.

What about security? If you’resyncing with Exchange, or if you storeany client data on the iPad, you’ll wantto make sure that it’s well protected inthe event that it’s ever lost or stolen.

To enable security, have your IT staffset the Default Exchange ActiveSyncPolicy to do two things: 1) require aPIN or Password, and 2) Auto-Lock after60-seconds (or longer, your preference)so that if it’s left unattended it’lleventually lock itself automatically.

In fact, these policies should be setup for all smart phones, laptops,desktops, etc. — or any device that hasaccess to synchronize data with your

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Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants January/February 2010

corporate messaging and data storagesystems. Until your IT folks get forcedpolicies in place, you can set both ofthese options up manually by updatingthe Settings app within the iPad oriPhone. Go to the Settings app,General, and turn on Passcode Lock.Then enable Auto-lock and set it toyour desired time-out preference.

What about printing? Yes, with thelatest iOS 4.2, AirPrint allows the iPad(and iPhone/iPod Touch) to print eitherto an ePrint enabled HP printer, orthrough a Mac on the same WiFinetwork. Works pretty slick actually.Unfortunately, the accountingprofession has been slow to adopt theMac platform - sadly this feature willhave limited use for most firms.

The iPad solo. I normally play thelaptop/iPad duet when traveling. Niceto have the iPad while waiting at theairport or even on the plane, but it’sbetter to have the laptop once I arrive.So, when do I leave home without alaptop and use only my iPad? Irecently bought the VGA adapter cablefor the iPad, so now I can even dopresentations without a laptop. Thiscable connects the iPad directly to anyVGA projector. I believe this littleaddition will finally free me to travelwithout the laptop, especially for shorttrips.

One question that is never asked butworth your careful consideration is“What % of time do the kids get theiPad?” For a while, I thought I maynever see mine again.

Trey James is the co-founder and CEO of Xcentric,which specializes in Cloud Computing and ITconsulting for CPA firms. Trey brings 20 years ofexperience – a blend of executive, strategic, technicaland operational roles including successful roles withthe regional firms, local firms and leading ITconsultancies to the profession. Trey was selected asone of the “Top 100 Most Influential People” in theaccounting industry for 2009 and 2010 byAccounting Today and as a “Top 40 under 40”honoree by The CPA Technology Advisor in 2006,2007, and 2008. Trey can be reached at678.297.0066 ext. 517 or at info@xcentric.com. Formore about Xcentric, go to www.xcentric.com orfollow them at xcentric.com/blog andwww.twitter.com/xcentric.

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BENEFITS BYLINE from Stormy Blair, Executive Vice President,Robert Ellis & Associates

If you have a health savings account(HSA) in conjunction with an IRS-qualifiedhigh deductible health insurance plan, youneed to be aware of “what’s changing” and“what’s not changing,” effective January 1,2011.

What’s changing: 1. Over-the-counter medicines andsupplies will no longer be consideredan eligible expense unless they arespecifically prescribed by a doctor.

2. The penalty for utilizing your H S Afunds for non-qualified expenses willincrease from 10% to 20%. Thispenalty is in addition to the taxationliability you will incur if you use youraccount for purposes other thanqualified medical expenses. .

What’s not changing:1. Maximum contribution levels are notincreasing. These will remain thesame as 2010.

– $3050 for individuals and $6150

for families.It’s important to remember that HSA

guidelines do not restrict the source ofcontributions to the account holder alone.Both your family members and youremployer may make contributions to youraccount. The cut-off for 2010 tax yearcontributions is the earlier of April 14, 2011,or the date you (as the account holder) fileyour taxes.

While the definitive source for additionalinformation on your HSA account andchanges for 2011 is the IRS website(www.irs.gov.), HSA Bank is anotherexcellent reference site for account holders(www.hsabank.com).

If you have any questions regarding yourcurrent coverage or would like additionalinformation on the expanded selection ofHSA qualified plans endorsed by the MSCPA,please do not hesitate to contact us. As yourinsurance consultant for the Association’sendorsed portfolio, we welcome theopportunity to be of service.

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them into a single, consolidateddatabase of the people you know andcommunicate with. Then, from thevarious social media, including blogsand some sites I normally don'tfrequent, they create a dashboard ofactivity, even emailing you a summaryif you want. Gist makes it possible toproactively keep up with your contacts,perhaps responding, or reaching outwhen appropriate.

I have to say I tried Gist, found itinteresting but since it wasn't integratedwith Outlook not hugely useful since itwas another step I needed to take to useit. I recently tried Gist again, andwould find it useful in integratingvarious social media channels butfound it hard to "tune" to present whatis important to me. It's default settingshighlighted people and companies I'mnot sure were really relevant. But I'msure that if I were to spend more timewith it, letting it know what isimportant, its daily summary emailwould be much more useful.

The other tool I have been using forabout a year, is Xobni(http://www.xobni.com). If you arewondering how they came up with

such an unpronounceable name, it isinbox spelled backwards. I switched toXobni because it integrated withOutlook before Gist had that option.

I have stayed with Xobni because itis really useful. One feature I wouldn'thave expected to use much, because itoverlaps a feature built into Outlook, isits ability to index and search myOutlook PST files. That's a big deal forme because I have pretty much everyemail I have sent or received since 2004when I switched over to Outlook.Before you panic, at the end of eachyear I do an archive to push the emailsfrom that year into its own PST file. Ialso travel a lot. So when I leave town,I use Microsoft's free SyncToy(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52) to copymy PST files onto my notebook. WhenI return, it's the reverse back onto mydesktop. That really messes with theindexing of both Outlook, driven bydesktop search, and Xobni. But withXobni, I can easily tell it to reindex,"finding" all those emails sent/receivedwhile I was traveling.

Xobni works as an add-in toOutlook, adding a display pane to your

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January/February 2010 Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants

CLASSIFIED ADSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

TECH BITCONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

centered professionalism. Send resume inconfidence to P. O. Box 80, Jackson, MS 39205-0080. FAX 601-355-9003.

u u uCALCULATORS PLUS is now handling theMonroe Calculators and supplies. Call ChesterWasser at 601-709-0371 or 888-264-3939 for moreinformation and special CPA pricing.

u u uACCOUNTING PRACTICE SALES – JIMBURFORD, BROKER - WHERE PRACTICE SELLERSAND BUYERS MEET. Some of the practices wenow have available are listed below:– Natchez, MS. Tax practice. Annual gross$73,572.

– Jackson, MS area. Annual gross $183,000.– Jackson, MS area. Annual gross $266,000.– Slidell, LA. Tax and bookkeeping practice.Annual gross $102,000+.

– Monroe, LA. CPA tax and bookkeepingpractice. Annual gross $745,000.

To list your practice with us or to check out ourcurrent listings, call me, Jim Burford, CPA toll free(800) 340-7002 or visit our website atwww.accountingpracticesales.com or e-mail me atjimburford@frontier.com.

main Outlook screen. I use a dualmonitor arrangement on my desktop,leaving a whole wide-screen monitordedicated to Outlook. There is enoughreal estate that I can have my folders onthe left, my inbox along the top, apreview pane below that (99% of myemails I read in the preview pane), aXobni panel to the right of theinbox/preview and finally my to-dopanel on the very right.

When I have an email hightlighted,the Xobni panel shows a picture of theperson (from one of the supportedsocial media profiles), contactinformation, recent emailconversations, files or links we mighthave exchanged, that person's network(combined from all supported socialmedia profiles) and a tabbed option toview that person's various social mediaprofiles (or twitter stream). In otherwords, a lot of information that I canuse when communicating with them.

In my business to business use ofXobni, one "social network profile" thatis interesting is the Hoovers profile ofthe company, derived from the person'semail domain. Obviously if you arecommunicating with someone usingAOL or Gmail, that isn't useful (or evenpopulated), but otherwise you havebasic information about the company aswell as the person.

I like the way Xobni puts almosteverything about a contact in one placewhenever I am looking at an emailto/from that person. I do miss Gist'sproactive notification, especially if itwere turned better. I guess that's onefeature of Plaxo I find so useful. Italerts me about birthdays in mynetwork letting me easily send eCardsand giving me reasons to stay in touchwith an extended network.

There are great tools out there tobring social networking into every daybusiness communications, what tool, orgroup of tools, is working best for you?If you answered none, it's time to tryout one of these tools.

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDJACKSON, MSPERMIT #814

Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and its Education Foundation306 Southampton RowRidgeland, MS 39157

CLASSIFIEDSSend your resume to recruiting@wmocpas.com orfax to 228-762-4498.

u u uReservoir area CPA firm of Fortenberry &Ballard, PC, is seeking candidates to fill positionsin audit, tax , and financial services. We offer acompetitive salary and benefits package, includingbonus opportunities, as well as opportunity foradvancement. Please send your resume inconfidence to 1929 Spillway Road, Brandon, MS39047 or e-mail to pat@fortcpa.com.

u u uWm. F. Horne & Co., PLLC seeks experiencedtax and assurance professionals for theHattiesburg and Laurel, Mississippi area. Excellentbenefits and competitive salary with opportunityfor advancement. To apply, email resume toinfo@wfhorne-co.com or fax to 601-649-5233.

u u uINTERESTED IN SELLING YOURPRACTICE? Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay, P.A., aRidgeland based firm, is interested in acquiringadditional accounting practices. If you arelooking to retire now or in the near future, wewould like to talk with you. Please contactCharles Lindsay at 601-898-8875 or emailclindsay@mclcpa.net.

u u uLocal Jackson CPA wants to purchase smallaccounting/tax practice. Contact me atcpa1900@yahoo.com.

u u uFred T. Neely & Co, CPAs is seeking a seniorlevel audit and tax professional. Competitivesalary, excellent opportunity for advancement,great benefits package and no travel. Please sendresume to P O Box 894, Greenwood, Ms 38935-0894

u u uCPA FIRM seeking experienced or entry levelauditors that live in the Central to South Deltaregion of Mississippi. Competitive salary andbenefits with limited travel. No overnight trips orweekend work. Reply in confidence to File #401,c/o MSCPA, 306 Southampton Row, Ridgeland,MS 39157.

u u uThe firm of GranthamPoole CPAs, pastrecipient of the Mississippi Business Journal’sprestigious Best Places to Work in Mississippiaward, is looking for great staff additions. If youlove tax preparation and planning and enjoytaking excellent care of clients, we may have ahome for you. Full time, seasonal, and part-time

Accountant: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has anopening for a degreed Accountant with 2 - 5 yearsGeneral Ledger, Financial Reporting, and Month-End Close experience. Strong computer andorganizational skills a must. Send ConfidentialResume: HUMAN RESOURCES, P.O. Box 2960,Jackson, MS 39207

u u uCFO/Controller position for large Mississippibased construction company. CPA &construction experience preferred. Respond withresume in confidence to File #111, c/o MSCPA,306 Southampton Row, Ridgeland, MS 39157.

u u uBKD, LLP, the tenth largest accounting andadvisory firm in the U.S., is seeking experiencedaudit professionals with 2 or more yearsexperience for its Mississippi practice. Experiencein healthcare, financial services, and/ormanufacturing & distribution/commercial isfavored though not necessarily required. CPA orCPA eligibility is required. Resumes may be sentto 190 East Capitol Street, Suite 500, Jackson, MS39201, or emailed to: mcarraway@bkd.com.Please visit www.bkd.com for more information.

u u uAre you looking for a successor to yourtax/accounting practice? Solo CPA inJackson metro area is interested in expandingpractice. If you are looking to retire now or inthe near future, please contact me atbrandonmscpa@gmail.com.

u u uHORNE LLP, one of the top 50 accounting andbusiness advisory firms in the country, is seekingexperienced accounting professionals for variousopportunities. Life/Work Flexibility; Fast TrackPromotions; Excellent Benefits Package. Pleasevisit our website www.horne-llp.com for moreinformation. EOE M/F/D/V

u u uIMMEDIATE OPENING FOR EXPERIENCEDAUDITOR Wolfe, McDuff, & Oppie - the firm ofchoice on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has animmediate opening for an experienced auditor.We are looking for ambitious, energeticindividuals who seek a career in publicaccounting. You must be comfortable in a laid-back, flexible environment. We offer acompetitive salaries, bonus opportunities, greatbenefits and excellent growth opportunities.

staff members are all valued at GranthamPoole.Competitive salary, partner track, great benefits,and excellent opportunity for advancement allmake GranthamPoole an outstanding place towork! Send resumes to 1062 Highland ColonyParkway, Suite 201, Ridgeland, MS 39157, fax to601-499-2401 or emaildgray@granthampoole.com.

u u uAlexander, Van Loon, Sloan, Levens &Favre, PLLC, a Gulf Coast based CPA firm,Finalist for the 2006 Best Places To Work inMississippi award, is accepting resumes’ for SeniorIn-Charge Level Auditors. Competitive salary,great benefits, limited travel and overtime –outstanding place to work! Send resume’ to thefollowing address (No Calls): Mail to: Attn:Cindy Moore, 9490 Three Rivers Road, Gulfport,MS 39503; E-mail: cmoore@avlcpa.com; Fax:(228) 863-1165

u u uHADDOX REID BURKES & CALHOUN PLLCseeks experienced audit and tax professionalsinterested in a rewarding career with one of themost established and respected CPA firms in theJackson area. Excellent benefit package,competitive salary, and opportunity foradvancement. Flexible work schedule is anoption. Contact Debbie Holbrook(dholbrook@hrbccpa.com) or mail resume inconfidence to P.O. Drawer 22507, Jackson, MS39225-2507. For more information, visit ourwebsite at www.hrbccpa.com.

u u uKPMG LLP seeks experienced audit professionalsinterested in a rewarding career with one of thelargest and most dynamic CPA firms in the world.Competitive compensation, excellent benefits andample opportunity for advancement are offered.Mail resumes in confidence to 188 E. CapitolStreet, Suite 1100, Jackson, MS 39201, e-mailmflynt@kpmg.com , or visit our website atwww.kpmg.com.

u u uJACKSON CPA FIRM of Breazeale, Saunders &O’Neil, Ltd. is seeking experienced audit and taxprofessionals, both full time and part time. Ourstaff enjoys state-of-the-art technology,intellectually challenging assignments andmeaningful opportunities to enhance professionaland personal skills. In addition to an excellentcompensation package, we offer a familyatmosphere with a strong emphasis on client-

CLASSIFIEDS

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