IPBC's Topics and Tips Newsletter 'Dear TaxDetective®' is a monthly column that answers burning questions about accounting and tax. Remember Dear Ann? Well now's your chance-- ask Dear TaxDetective a tough question. Send your questions to info@ipbc.ca

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Dear TaxDetective®

Copyright 2010 Eileen Reppenhagen

Dear TaxDetective:

I remember studying the accounting principles in my accounting courses years ago. There were rules in a book; I think it was called GAAP, about how to account for various types of assets and liabilities, revenues and expenses. There were some guiding principles, as well as details for each type of financial statement line item. Where can I get a copy of these rules?

Regards, Bobby B Bookkeeper

Tax Detective

Dear BBB, there's a saying that the more things stay the same, the more they change, or maybe it's the other way around. I was introduced to this method of dispensation of rules about financial statement presentation over 25 years ago.

I've never understood the level of protectionism employed to keep these rules closely guarded, but they definitely are that. You would think that with the advent of the internet, this would loosen up, but not in this case. I wonder if the people at CanLII.org might make a dent in this closely held secret about how financial statements are to be presented. I doubt it. There's a buck or two in it for the old guard.

The original GAAP was one small binder; in fact the CICA gave you the binder, which was a special size to hold the half size pages. CICA Handbook revisions were sent out as an update once or twice a year. The revisions came with instructions on removing certain pages and inserting new pages. If you were a student, you would get a copy when you were studying accounting theory, usually fourth level.

These days, the CICA Handbook is an online subscription. Non members can purchase it and it's available through the Knotia Downloads. You'll have to create a profile to login to shop, or call 1-866-256-6842, or email support@knotia.ca. Knotia store sells over 350 CICA titles in various formats.

As a CGA, I paid $440.00 last year for my annual subscription. What's interesting is that this price isn't disclosed unless you sign in to their store. I am required to have a subscription, as I am registered in public practice. The Handbook is accessed through a software install of Folio Views and is read-only.

Effective March 1999, the handbook was divided into two separate handbooks, accounting and assurance. An archive of the old handbook and it's filing instructions and release notes, from No. 73 to No. 97, are not split between accounting and assurance handbooks. The new Assurance Handbook is up to Revisions Release No. 31. The New Accounting Handbook is up to No. 55. There is a separate CICA Public Sector Accounting Handbook that is issued as a separate handbook.

Does it still look the same? Pretty much- there are still accounting standards, accounting guidelines, emerging issues, and a topical index in the accounting handbook. The assurance handbook has Canadian standards on quality control, Canadian auditing standards and other Canadian standards, and a topical index.

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This column is written by Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and Honorary Member, IPBC

Do you have a question about tax? Send Eileen your question for a future column via info@ipbc.ca

Visit her website at www.tax detective.ca

IPBC Members,

We are pleased to be able to offer all IPBC members a 10% discount on the early bird and regular delegate fee for this upcoming conference.

To register click here, and use the special promotion code "SaveTen".

Date: February 9-10, 2010

Location:

Victoria Conference Centre, Victoria, BC, Canada

On-Line Registration: http://www.rebootconference.com/privacy2010

The government of British Columbia and the office of the CIO are delighted to announce the following speakers have been confirmed for this year's international Privacy and Security conference:

· Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada

· Mozelle Thompson, Independent Advisor, Facebook, and former Commissioner to the US Federal Trade Commission

· Patrick Gray, Senior Security Advisor, Cisco, and former FBI agent

· Jules Polonetsky, Co-Chair and Director, Future of Privacy Forum, former CPO for AOL

· Frank Work, Information and Privacy Commissioner for Alberta

· Michael Calce "Mafiaboy" and Craig Silverman, Author of "Mafiaboy"

· Scott Shipman, Senior Counsel, Global Privacy Practices, eBAY

· David Loukidelis, Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia

· Ira Winkler, President Internet Security Advisors Group and Author of "Spies Among Us", "Corporate Espionage" and "Through the Eyes of the Enemy"

· Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario and Author of "The Privacy Payoff"

· Dave Nikolejsin, CIO, Government of British Columbia

· Fred Cate, Distinguished Professor and C. Ben Dutton, Professor of Law Director, Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Indiana University and Senior Policy Advisor, Centre for Information Policy Leadership, Hunton & Williams LLP

· Art Gilliland, Vice President of Product Management, Symantec

· Daniel Solove, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School and Author of "Understanding Privacy" and "The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age"

· Mohammad Akif, National Security and Privacy Lead, Microsoft Canada

· Bill Blair, Chief of Toronto Police Service and President, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police

Register before the early bird deadline and enjoy 2009 rates! Just $400 for public service employees, including the Broader Public Sector and $600 for the Private Sector.

CPE Credits

A reminder that this conference qualifies for CPE credits for most professional associations (e.g.. IAPP, (ISC)2, CAPAPA and ISACA)

For full conference information, agenda, and registration, please visit the web site at: http://www.rebootconference.com/privacy2010

We invite you to pass this announcement along to interested colleagues, and look forward to seeing you in Victoria this February.

IPBC welcomes the following members who joined us in January:

Alberta

Phyllis J. Pawluk, Onoway

Pamela Devins, Medicine Hat

Amanda Aly, Grande Prairie

Jan Penney, Red Deer County

Elaine Parker, Edmonton

Gloria Simoni, Calgary

Ray Labib, Calgary

British Columbia

Cheryl Obermeier, Vernon

Jamal Hossain, Surrey

Kent Sandman, Duncan

Lynn Hyodo, Garibaldi Highlands

Wendy Simpson, Vancouver

Susan Taylor, North Vancouver

Tena Rykes, Vancouver

Wendy Scott, Coquitlam

Mary Breslin, Coquitlam

Dale Emery, Chilliwack

Jaime Rein, Prince George

Manitoba

Shelley Baker, Winnipeg

Ontario

Shibaji Sengupta, Brampton

Eddie A. Alhendy, Mississauga

Monika Lunan, Kemptville

Paul Gallardo, Toronto

Denise Moore, Nepean

Anna Olejniczak, Mississauga

Deborah Shure, Thornhill

Elizabeth Rozon, Kenora

IPBC congratulates the following members who became Certified Professional Bookkeepers(CPBs) in January:

Alberta

Robert Jensen, CPB, Slave Lake

Shelley Christenson, CPB, Calgary

Janna Erker, CPB, Calgary

British Columbia

Shantha Samuel, CPB, Vancouver

Helen Stoutenburg, CPB, Surrey

Brenda Ferreira, CPB, Maple Ridge

Ontario

Kristopher McEvoy, CPB, St. Catharines

Mark Lelievre, CPB, Niagara Falls

Kristi Carter, CPB, Heidelberg

Fatima Rito, CPB, Newmarket

Stephen Tepperman, CPB, Thornhill

Vicky Anderson, CPB, Toronto

Mahad Mohamed, CPB, Toronto

Prince Edward Island

Paul Weeks, CPB, Charlottetown

Yukon Territory

Lori Muir, CPB, Whitehorse

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MannersTV.com provides the answer to corporate business etiquette training in a high tech world by introducing 38 interactive on line video etiquette lessons with downloadable MP3 audio file, an interactive online quiz, and a printable lesson plan.

You and your company's associates can refer to them over and over again. This valuable training is for anyone in a business environment who interacts with customers or office personnel.

Best of all, because the training is all online, users can view it at their convenience--anytime, anywhere, and as often as they wish.

- No need to gather everyone into one room to view a presentation

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For less than $1000 US up to 50 employees in your company can view the complete package of all 38 videos including lessons, audio, quizzes and lesson plans.

Convenient, Affordable, Effective

Visit the web site www.mannersTV.com and view a sample video of what you get at the bottom of the home page.

Click on Order Lessons and preview 30 Second clips of all 38 lessons. Then order lessons for your employees and be prepared to outclass the competition.

Join us for a special 2 hour webinar on Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 at 11:30am PT

"HST Implementation for Ontario & British Columbia"

Garth is a tutorial leader and instructor for the CICA's In-Depth GST Course as well as an instructor for the ICAO's annual Professional Development program. Garth has also presented several papers at the CICA's annual Commodity Tax Symposium.

To make a reservation for this event, please click on the link

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/812556810

The connection details will be emailed to you automatically.

Wednesday February 17th, 2010 at 11:30am PT

Replace Your Clients' Paper Cheques with Electronic Payments using TelPay

Presenter: Marilyn Benninger, CGA Vice President, Business Services, TelPay Incorporated

TelPay is Canada's largest independent processor of bill payments in Canada, celebrating 25 years of innovation and leadership in the electronic payments. Based in Winnipeg, TelPay is responsible for over 21 Million electronic payments worth more than 12 Billion dollars annually. TelPay's focus is to save time and money for businesses of all sizes and industries.

To make a reservation for this event, please click on the link

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/161252251

The connection details will be emailed to you automatically.

April 21st- Brand Me! presented by Matthew Peterson of Accounting Cycle

From The Executive Director's Desk

Imagine networking with some of the top bookkeepers in the country. Imagine the chance to be on the fast track to a more lucrative practice . . . to being a certified professional bookkeeper (CPB) . . . and to receiving greater professional recognition inside and outside of this network. Regional Meetings are a vital part of that formula for success.

They're a unique chance to combine learning - a guest speaker shares expertise that's sure to make your work a bit easier - with fun and powerful networking. Every meeting is free to attend.

RED DEER, AB

Date: Thursday February 11th, 2010

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM (meetings start and end precisely on schedule)

Location:

ABC Restaurant

2085 Gaetz Avenue, Red Deer, AB

You are responsible for your own meal and beverage

Regional Developer: Valerie Rideout, CPB

Presenter: Murray Berezowski from Community Futures Central Alberta

Topic: Commercial Loan Reporting Criteria for Financial Institutes Being Proactive

Non Members are welcome to attend two meetings to evaluate IPBC

To register for this meeting, contact us at info@ipbc.ca

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GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB

Date: Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Time: 6PM to 8:30PM (meetings start and end precisely on schedule)

Location:

Stanford Inn

11401 -100 Ave, Grande Prairie, AB

You are responsible for your own meal and beverage

Regional Developer: Lisa Butler, CPB

Presenter: Scott Mason, CA

Topic: How to recognize when a business should incorporate

Non Members are welcome to attend two meetings to evaluate IPBC

To register for this meeting, contact us at info@ipbc.ca

Saskatoon- March - TBA

In order for you to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

--Bill Cosby

If you are an IPBC member, you should proudly be displaying the IPBC logo along with a link, so your visitor can learn a little about your professional association. Membership in IPBC gives you an edge over your competition.

Show the world that you belong to a professional association for professional bookkeepers by adding a short informational video about IPBC to your signature line in your email program. The link, entitled 'View this short informational video about IPBC' is found below.

In Outlook, click 'Tools', followed by 'Options', 'Mail format', 'Signatures', and 'New' or 'Edit', depending if you already have a signature. Then copy and paste the link, "View this short informational video about IPBC", into this spot. Click 'OK'.

Feel free to contact us at info@ipbc.ca with any questions.

The purpose of the IPBC newsletter is to assist Canadian bookkeepers with tools, ideas, and resources to make your business efforts easier, and to help your business grow by delivering timely and thoughtful information. Do you have a story to share? Words of wisdom? Pass them along to us.

Email karenl@ipbc.ca

View this short informational video about IPBC