Other stuff

Other stuff

Relocation to North Dakota.

by Jim Ulvog
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

In June of this year, I moved my accounting firm to Williston, North Dakota. 

My wife and I have been wanting to be near our son and his family. So the simple reason for the move is “chasing the grandkids.” It is also good to be out of California, with increasing congestion, skyrocketing cost of living, and deteriorating economy.

With the wonders of technology, I will be able to serve my clients just as easily from Williston, North Dakota as from Alta Loma, California. Only visible change on the website will be the mailing address.

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Other stuff

“Top 10 questions that Ministers, Missionaries, and Church Treasurers Ask Tax Preparers”

by Jim Ulvog

Following discussion is cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update. This may be helpful for CPAs serving the NPO community. You can point your clients to the linked article as a way to address common basic questions.

Corey Pfaffe, CPA, provides answers to those top questions at MinistryCPA.

The questions, with links to each answer, can be found here.

You can download a superb 12 page PDF of the full set of answers here.

If you are a pastor, missionary, church treasurer, or on the finance staff of a charity, I recommend you check out Prof. Pfaffe’s superb explanations. Get professional advice to apply the information to your situation or if you need to go beyond the very straightforward answers.

There is a bonus question: (more…)

Other stuff

Tragedy of Fraud series now available in print as well as e-book formats

by Jim Ulvog

tragedy-cover   tragedy-cover

 

Both books in my Tragedy of Fraud series are now available in print format from Amazon.

The newest book:

tragedy-cover

Tragedy of Fraud – Insider Trading Edition describes – Scott London’s long fall from Big 4 audit partner to prison inmate.

Click the link for your reading preference:

First book in the series:

tragedy-cover

Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned – Consequences of fraud spread far. There is a long list of well-earned wages from fraud that will be paid in full.

Available in your preferred format:

Other stuff

Tragedy of Fraud – Insider Trading Edition available at Amazon

by Jim Ulvog

Now available at Amazon:

tragedy-cover

Tragedy of Fraud – Insider Trading Edition: The fall from Big 4 audit partner to prison inmate.

Until April 2013, former KPMG audit partner Scott London was in charge of the audit practice for the southwest region. He was responsible for the audit work of 500 accountants and had the paycheck to go with those duties.

Today he is a prison inmate residing at the federal penitentiary in Lompoc, California serving a 14 month sentence.

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Other stuff

Newest book on differences between audits, reviews, and compilations now available in print and for Nook

by Jim Ulvog

Print copy and Nook e-book are in addition to availability for the Kindle and another half-dozen formats.

audit review compilation cover for wordpress croped

The book is an intentionally short read at about 30 pages. The print copy has 20 pages of text.  Focus is to quickly describe the differences between those levels of services using three illustrations:

  • A football game – How does advancing to the 10-yard line compare to an audit?
  • What would a review look like in a football game?
  • Buying a used car – How does taking the car for a test drive compare to a review?
  • Filling a bucket – How filling it up with water to different levels illustrates the differences between the levels of service.

It also explains the differences in plain language. Well, at least using less accountantese than you would usually get from an accountant.

This is a compilation of posts previously appearing on my blogs, with slight editing.

Where can you find the book?

Print book at Amazon here.

Nook e-book at Barnes and Noble here.

Kindle e-book at Amazon here.

Also available here in other formats:

  • ePub format for your iDevices
  • PDF
  • text
  • Mobi for your Kindle device
Other stuff

“Audit. Review. Compilation. What’s the difference” – New book now available.

by Jim Ulvog

Audit. Review. Compilation. What’s the difference? – Illustrations using a football game, buying a used car, and filling a bucket.

audit-cover

What’s the difference between getting an audit, review, or compilation from your CPA firm? This short, 29 page book will help you understand.

Three illustrations help explain the differences:

  • A football game – How does advancing to the 10-yard line compare to an audit? What would a review look like in a football game?
  • Buying a used car – How does taking the car for a test drive compare to a review?
  • Filling a bucket – How filling it up with water to three different levels illustrates the differences between three levels of service.

This is a compilation of articles at my blog, Nonprofit Update.

The book is now available at Amazon.

Now available here in other formats:

  • ePub format for your iDevices
  • PDF or text
  • Mobi for your Kindle device

Soon to be available at Barnes and Noble.

Other stuff

eBook ‘Tragedy of Fraud’ now available in multiple formats

by Jim Ulvog

Fraud has tragic effects on innocent people who didn’t commit the fraud. The person who did the deed will pay a severe price far beyond what the judge imposes. Just like a stone thrown into a pond causes ripples all across the water, so a fraud ripples out to cause all sorts of harm.

tragedy-cover

Only 99 cents.

Available in Epub for iPad, iBooks, Nook, and Sony Reader.

Also in mobi for Kindle, PDF for desktop reading, and 5 other formats.

Newest versions can be found here.

Has been available at Amazon since February.

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Internal control, Other stuff

Live example of a fraud fiasco

by Jim Ulvog

“Going to meet your Maker with the fresh scent of theft on your hands is not a good way to go…”

is how Charles Hall starts his story of a long ago fraud – Stealing While Dying.

We’ve all seen the situation where the bookkeeper does the main bookkeeping, receives the bank statements, reconciles the accounts, and is an authorized check signer.

In this situation, the most-honest-and-nicest-person-you’ll-ever-meet bookkeeper starting stealing lots of money when she became gravely ill.

His story took place in a for-profit business, but it could easily happen in any church.

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Other stuff

Evaluating a used car as an illustration of the differences between compilation, review, and audit

by Jim Ulvog

(cross-posted from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

You could figure out how good a car is by looking at it from across the street.

Or you could look inside & drive it around the block.

Or you could take the car to your mechanic for a couple of hours to get it really checked out .

We can use that as an analogy of the differences between a compilation, a review, and an audit.

Stand across the street

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Other stuff

“Tragedy of Fraud” e-book now available at Amazon

by Jim Ulvog

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Attestation Update.)

“Tragedy of Fraud – The Ripple Effects from Fraud and the Wages Earned” describes the tragic consequences from fraud.

There are ripple effects that spread out to harm innocent bystanders.  The perpetrator draws a wide range of well-deserved wages that will be paid in full.

The book looks at two fraud incidents to learn what happens after a fraud is discovered. One took place in a local megachurch and the other in the mayor’s office of a small city.

The book closes with a discussion of the fraud triangle. That’s the idea that three components need to be present for a fraud to take place – opportunity, motivation, and rationalization. There are steps an organization can take to reduce those factors.

You can find the book at Amazon here.

This book is a compilation of blogs posts that have been previously published at Nonprofit Update and Attestation Update. The posts have been edited slightly and reorganized for easier reading.

Major sections of the book: (more…)