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☆ Dangers from Hacks Stretch Beyond Broken Computer Systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( James Rundle | Kim S. Nash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. Part of the delay, he said, was in getting details from the cloud company, which he declined to name. Cybersecurity companies should be held to a higher standard than others in relaying information about hacks quickly and thoroughly, Mr. Toubba said. The lessons learned from cyberattacks can be just as important as how a company responds to a breach, security chiefs say. LastPass has also rolled out several security tools in its infrastructure, data center and cloud systems, Mr. Toubba said.

☆ There’s a quicker, cheaper way to go to college, but fewer students are trying it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowHow 'early college' programs workIn some cases, students can even complete an associate degree by the time they finish high school, a type of dual enrollment known as "early college." These programs are not restricted to high school students on a specific — and often accelerated — academic track, as many AP classes are. Early college students are also more likely to enroll in college and earn a degree compared to their peers who were not enrolled in early college programs, according to one study by the American Institutes for Research. Although there are up to 900 early college programs nationwide, according to Zeiser, many are still under the radar. Early College High School is a Title I school in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, which means there is a high percentage of low-income students.

☆ How to Read a Form 1098-E
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

By Kerri Anne RenzulliIf you have student loans, chances are you’ll encounter the IRS’s Form 1098-E. Those with multiple loans across multiple lenders will be sent a separate 1098-E form by each lending institution. But for those who do, this mark indicates that you took out your student loan before Sept. 1, 2004. Instead of relying on the Form 1098-E, you’ll need to request or download records of what you paid in interest and your payment history from your loan servicer, says Greene-Lewis. Who can claim the student loan interest deduction The $2,500 deduction phases out as your modified adjusted gross income rises.

☆ As new data shows inflation rose in January, here's what consumers can expect next
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While the inflation rate is poised to subside this year, "it will not be a straight line," Raymond James chief economist Eugenio Aleman told CNBC.com at the time. The Federal Reserve is tasked with getting inflation under control, while trying to avoid a deep economic recession. What the latest inflation measure showsThe personal consumption expenditures price index, or PCEPI, is the central bank's preferred measure as it seeks to bring inflation down to a 2% target. Based on Friday's data, it's "almost a certainty" the central bank will raise rates by 25 basis points in March, and maybe even higher, Luther said. A period of below 2% inflation would be needed to see prices subside back to where they were, Luther said.

☆ Taiwan Foreign Minister Held High-Level Meeting in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Joyu Wang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s foreign minister traveled to the U.S. this week for an unusual high-level meeting with senior American officials in the Washington area. Photos and video from Taiwan’s state-run Central News Agency showed Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and National Security Council chief Wellington Koo waving as they left the Washington headquarters of the American Institute in Taiwan, along with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and other U.S. officials.

☆ Gas, airfares, car insurance: How transportation costs are impacting high inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Xinhua News Agency | Xinhua News Agency | Getty ImagesMeanwhile, fuel oil dipped 1.2% in January but was up 27.7% for the past 12 months. While high gas prices made headlines in 2022, prompting gas tax holidays in some states, those prices have subsided from last year's highs. Gas prices "did rise in January and that was mostly due to the weather," said Andrew Gross, spokesperson at AAA. Other transportation costs are in fluxNew vehicles are up 5.8% over the past 12 months ending Jan. 30, and up 0.2% for the month. However, used cars and trucks, a category that surged during record high inflation, are now down 11.6% for the past 12 months and down 1.9% for January.

☆ Economists still worry recession could be on the way. But here's how a soft landing may still be possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"We are still on the path to lower inflation rates," House said. Economists said they still expect a recession following the new January inflation data. But the Federal Reserve lacks tools to prompt that area to cool off, he said. The new data shows slowing disinflation, he said, while the Federal Reserve will probably have to hold rates higher for longer. A 'Goldilocks scenario' could bring a soft landingThere is still hope, however, that the central bank may execute a so-called "soft landing," according to House.

☆ A shortage of accountants is pushing the industry to reboot its image to win over young talent: 'You have to sell them'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Erica Sweeney | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Accountants manage financial processes and financial reporting and ensure regulatory compliance. To combat shortages, those in the accounting industry are working to attract more people to the field. Sandy Torchia, the vice chair of talent and culture at KPMG, said the company hasn't been impacted by the accountant shortage yet. How the accounting industry is addressing the shortageMany firms are shifting to remote-work policies and investing in automation and technology to attract and retain talent. Lisa Simpson says the accounting industry needs automation to allow accountants to focus on "higher-value work."

☆ PCAOB Proposes Tighter Requirements for Audit Firms Verifying Outside Information About Clients
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposed tightening the requirements around how audit firms obtain and verify outside evidence about their clients, such as from customers and lenders, a process aimed at preventing fraud. Under the current rule, audit firms must send out requests, typically electronically, asking a third party to confirm the accuracy of certain information, such as the amount of accounts receivable. Audit firms are allowed to assume that the lack of a response is a corroboration of accuracy. The PCAOB now wants audit firms to go a step further by confirming the amounts of cash and cash equivalents held by third parties—typically lenders. The PCAOB last proposed changes to its confirmation rules in 2010, but the proposal, which some audit firms at the time called overly prescriptive, didn’t advance further.

☆ Struggling to Find Accountants, Businesses Boost Salary Offers, Hire Temporary Workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Companies’ accounting and finance departments in particular, which are crucial for managing financial operations, internal controls and financial reporting, are suffering from the lack of personnel. It has 20 to 30 open finance and accounting positions globally, Mr. Juillard said. Companies also try to retain the finance and accounting workers they have. “Securing that talent has been the biggest problem,” Mr. Thorpe said. GEE used to elevate staff accountants to senior accountants in one to three years and to managers in three to six years, Mr. Thorpe said.

☆ More Crypto Exchanges Verify Reserves, But Questions About Assets Remain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Most crypto exchanges are privately held, meaning they don’t have to file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission or get them audited. He added that customers of crypto exchanges should “look for as rigorous of that as you can look for regulatory reporting.”FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sat down with The Wall Street Journal to discuss what happened to the billions of dollars deposited by the exchange’s customers. Photo: Kenny Wassus/The Wall Street JournalSuch a third-party verification represents a step toward more transparency around crypto exchanges, but there are significant shortcomings, some academics said. Coinbase Global Inc. last month reported $95.11 billion in both customer crypto assets and liabilities for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $88.45 billion the previous quarter, filings show. Still, the PCAOB encourages investors to review reports on the work those companies’ auditors have done, Chair Erica Williams said at a conference Tuesday.

☆ Poor sleep can make you prickly. Here’s what to do
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Develop a sleep debt from those worries, and you’ll pay a price in your ability to think, plan and manage your emotions. “Sleep debt, also called a sleep deficit, is the difference between the amount of sleep someone needs and the amount they actually get,” said sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. Research has found many people have little idea how much poor sleep has affected their mood and coping skills, said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, a sleep medicine specialist in the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Loss of sleep can directly affect your ability to control emotions and manage expectations, said Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla of the Mayo Clinic. “Sleep medications are seldom the solution for chronically poor sleep and impaired daytime functioning,” he said.

☆ Audit Standards Overseer Also Backs Startups
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Jean Eaglesham | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An accounting trade body has invested in audit-related tech startups, while setting auditing standards and overseeing millions of audits—prompting concerns within the industry of potential conflicts of interest. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants says its “shark-tank style startup accelerator,” illustrated on its website by a skateboarding man in a suit, is designed to foster innovation.

☆ U.S. Audit Watchdog Looks to Strengthen Rules on Quality Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The regulator inspects audit firms’ approach to quality controls as part of its reviews. Fourteen audit firms issued audit reports for over 100 businesses apiece last year, the PCAOB’s website shows. Audit firms would have to conduct the first evaluation of their quality controls by the following Nov. 30. It is considering revising changes to rules on confirmations, a process by which audit firms obtain and evaluate audit evidence from independent third parties. The regulator is working to update more than 30 audit rules related to 10 of its standard-setting projects, many of which refer to outdated technology.

☆ FTX: Inside the crypto giant's downfall
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Crypto contagionThe crypto industry is on edge, waiting for the next dominoes to fall. Soon after FTX went down, crypto firms were inundated requests from customers seeking to claw their money back — the crypto equivalent of a run on the bank. The pain isn’t confined to crypto companies. SBF had become a fixture in Washington, too, where he regularly traveled to lobby lawmakers for greater regulatory clarity for the crypto industry. “It’s about fraud and the power of virtue signaling.”He added: “This scandal, far from destroying crypto, practically ensures that crypto will be around for a long, long time.”

TAIPEI, Nov 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr will visit Taiwan this week, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said on Wednesday, the latest senior official from the country to visit the island. Carr will meet with "Taiwan interlocutors" to discuss issues including telecommunications and cybersecurity from November 2-4, the American Institute in Taiwan said in a statement to Reuters. China has stepped up military activities near democratically governed Taiwan since August when it conducted blockade drills around the island following a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Taiwan's government says the People's Republic of China has never ruled the island and so its sovereignty claims are void. Reporting By Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ An original Frank Lloyd Wright house in Wisconsin just hit the market for the first time in history and is now on sale for $725,000
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A Wisconsin home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright just hit the market for the first time in its history. The Usonian-style residence, designed in 1954, is listed for $725,000. Wright built hundreds of homes in his lifetime and has been called the greatest American architect of all time. The house at 1425 Valley View Drive in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, made its market debut last week, listing for $725,000. Wright designed more than 1,100 architectural works in his lifetime, of which more than 500 were built, according to his foundation's website.

☆ 5 reasons I pay a CPA $350 to do my taxes, even though I could do them myself
▼ + stars: | 2019-10-14 | by ( Caroline Lupini | Freelance Reporter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A good tax professional goes way beyond preparing your tax return — they can help you plan for the future and avoid costly mistakes. But a few years ago, I started working with a certified public accountant to do my taxes, and I've never looked back. I pay my CPA $350 each year to file my taxes, but I handle my regular bookkeeping on my own. Here are a few reasons why I decided that working with a CPA or an EA (Enrolled Agent) makes a lot of sense. Every year brings tax law changes, whether from new laws passed by Congress, old laws expiring, or regular changes to keep up with inflation.

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