WHAT S NEW IN CHECKPOINT

Transcription

1 WHAT S NEW IN CHECKPOINT This document covers the most recent Checkpoint enhancements as of December 14, PPC s GUIDE TO TAX-RELATED IDENTITY THEFT Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America and according to the Federal Trade Commission, 2014, marked the fifth consecutive year that tax-related identity theft topped the list of identity theft complaints. PPC s Guide to Tax-Related Identity Theft is an all-in-oneresource for handling tax ID theft matters. It provides detailed guidance and practical aids to help you identify and verify when tax ID theft has occurred. It also helps you efficiently and effectively resolve tax ID theft issues for your clients (including how to file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, report the theft to the IRS, handle misuse of a client s SSN, and resolve tax reporting issues) and also advise clients on steps they can take to protect their personal information (before or after ID theft occurs, or the matter is resolved). Practical aids (including resources you can give to clients to help them resolve their own cases) include client letters and handouts, step-by-step checklists, sample IRS forms, scripts for communicating with clients and the IRS, and more. PPC s Guide to Tax-Related Identity Theft is an all-in-one resource for addressing individual and business tax identity theft issues. Business identity theft is often more complex than individual identity theft and can involve misuse of a business s identifying information or misuse of client/customer/other third party data in business s possession. PPC s Guide to Tax-Related Identity Theft provides detailed guidance including practical aids for responding to clients and the IRS and this guidance is both retrospective (how to recognize, verify and resolve tax ID theft issues once they ve occurred) as well as prospective (how to reduce the risk of identity theft happening, or manage postidentity theft considerations once the matter has been resolved). The Checkpoint version includes ongoing updates to reflect new developments and any additional guidance and procedural changes are likely as IRS develops a more rigorous ID theft resolution program 2015 Thomson Reuters/Tax & Accounting. All rights reserved.

2 PPC s Guide to Tax Related Identity Theft is located under Editorial Materials (within PPC s Tax and Financial Planning Library) on the Federal Search screen. PPC s Guide to Tax Related Identity Theft is located under Editorial Materials / PPC s Tax and Financial Planning Library in the Table of Contents. 2

3 CREDITS AND INCENTIVES Credits and Incentives Batch tool simplifies the challenge of processing a large volume of addresses to identify all the available credits for a particular location. Using this dynamic tool, you can: Save valuable research time by finding available address specific statutory and discretionary credits and incentives at a speed of approximately 250 addresses per minute. Confirm qualifications for specific credits with contact information provided for the administrator and issuer website. Research credits that are typically extremely challenging to locate without this tool, such as employee-based credits or WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit). Search by a single address or by multiple addresses to maximize efficiency. Ensure credits and incentives opportunities are never missed and are part of strategic location decisions. License just what they need by either by purchasing the states or number of records they need. Credits and Incentives Batch will help you: Simplify the challenge of processing a large volume of addresses to identify available credits for a particular location a task that is impossible to accomplish without this unique tool. Save valuable research time by locating available location specific credits and incentives very quickly (approximately 250 addresses per minute). Simplify the qualification process by providing all of the necessary contact information in one place, including the website, administrator phone number and . Maximize efficiency by easily searching a single address or multiple addresses. Ensure credits and incentives opportunities are not missed and are part of strategic location decisions. Credits and Incentives Batch has been enhanced to: Provide a complete list of contacts for zone based credits and incentives, giving you an alternative way of easily locating contact information List the updates for zone based credits and incentives for easy reference. Include a new column in the Batch output file to help you quickly identify the jurisdiction of the credit or incentive. Include the 1990 Census Tract information in the Batch output file. Also allows for inclusion of the multiple census tract data (i.e. 1990, 2000, 2010) which can be useful for auditing purposes. Provides a Delete option so you can delete files from the Checkpoint servers as part of your internal security measures. Display a direct link under Tools on the Home page to Pinpointer By Batch for easy access. Credits and Incentives Search By Address has been enhanced to: Include a new column in the Search By Address results to help you quickly identify the jurisdiction of the credit or incentive. Include filters to the Search By Address Results page / Details Table. Include the 1990 Census Tract information in the Search by Address results. Also allows for inclusion of the multiple census tract data (i.e. 1990, 2000, 2010) which can be useful for auditing purposes. 3

4 4 The Newly added Incentive Contact List provides you with an alternative method of locating contact information for zone based Credits and Incentives. Note: This Excel file is initially sorted by State and then ID.

5 5 The Newly added Incentive Update List provides you with a list of what credits and incentives have been added, modified and removed back to March The most recent updates are highlighted for easy identification. The list is sorted by State/Release Date Newest to Oldest.

6 For easy identification, a new Jurisdiction column has been added to the Batch Output file. Note: If there is no credit or incentive for an address, then the Jurisdiction column will be blank. BEFORE AFTER 6

7 BEFORE Filters have been added to the Search by Address Results Details Table so subscribers can easily filter results by Credit Type, Tax Type or Industry. AFTER 7

8 BEFORE The 1990 Census Tract has been added to both the Batch output file and the Search By Address results. Note: Including the multiple Census Tract data (i.e 1990, 2000, 2010) can be useful for auditing purposes. AFTER 8

9 BEFORE The ability to delete a processed Batch file has been added for those customers who require this as part of their internal security measures. AFTER The Status will change to Deleted for files that you have deleted. 9

10 10 For easy access, a link to Pinpointer by Batch has been added to Tools on the Home page.

11 FASB CODIFICATION PENDING CONTENT SYSTEM FASB has introduced new functionality for the FASB Accounting Standard Codification called the Pending Content System (PCS). Pending Content System enables you to tailor your codification display by creating a profile based on the entity type, reporting period, period type, and depending on whether or not you have chosen elect to early-adopt Accounting Standards Updates. When a profile is enabled, the Pending Content System integrates and displays only the amended guidance from pending content paragraphs that are effective under a specific profile, and hides pending content that is not effective. Enabling the PCS makes the codification much easier to read, as it removes the blue boxes containing pending content that is not yet effective for your profile. At the same time, it integrates any pending content that is effective for your profile by replacing current text with pending content. The FASB Pending Content System on Checkpoint offers additional functionality beyond FASB s version that makes it easier for you to get the most out of the PCS. Using the Pending Content System on Checkpoint, enables you to: Save profiles once they have been created Save multiple profiles. Access the profile settings page and edit profiles Toggle between a profile enabled view and standard view of the Codification without leaving the section of the Codification you are in. Export Codification documents with PCS profile enabled. See PCS profile information at top of exported or printed documents. 11

12 After the FASB PCS is added to Checkpoint, when you go to any FASB Codification document, you will see a notification that you now have the option to create a PCS profile. It is not compulsory that you set up a PCS profile, but if you wish to, you can click the link to go to the PCS Profile settings page. In the PCS Profile Settings page, you will walk through a template where you enter information about the entity type, reporting period, period type and whether you want to integrate special cases and/or elect early adoption of any ASUs with future effective dates. 12

13 13 After the user has entered their information, the system displays a list (example below) of the standards the system automatically integrated/not integrated based on the profile information fiscal year beginning date, filing status and period type.

14 Once a profile is enabled (as indicated by the green PCS icon at the top of the page) the blue pending content boxes are hidden. Any current content that has pending content that is not integrated because it does not apply to the active profile is outlined in dotted profiles. Pending content that has been integrated into the text based on the active profile is also outlined in dotted lines. 14

15 Each outlined paragraph will have an information icon in the upper right corner that explains what the dotted boxes mean. You can get a detailed help document outlining all the key functionalities of the FASB PCS on Checkpoint by clicking the Additional Help link at the bottom left of the pop-up window. By clicking the PCS icon at the top of the screen, you can quickly toggle back to the standard view. You can tell they are in the standard view because the PCS icon will be in orange, indicating there is no active profile enabled. 15

16 The FASB PCS on Checkpoint also enables subscribers to print and/or export documents with a PCS profile enabled, and provides a headnote indicating the basic attributes of that profile. 16

17 SALES AND USE RATE LOOKUP Sales and Use Rate Lookup lets you quickly and easily determine the proper sales and use tax rate for transactions in over 6,500 taxing jurisdictions. You can easily search and compare rates using the following criteria: 5 Digit or 9 digit zip code. State, County and City (City is optional) State and City (County is optional) Sales and Use Rate Lookup tool is now enhanced to include the 9 Digit Zip Code(Zip +4) search functionality so you can easily search with greater precision. Using Sales and Use Rate Lookup you can : Quickly and easily determine the proper sales and use tax rates for every city, county and state with prior tax rating dating back to Compare Rates to support and audit trail. Keep current with a monthly of new rate changes sent two days prior to the end of each month. 17

18 BEFORE When searching with a zip code, you could only conduct a search with a 5 digit zip code in both the Rate Lookup and Compare Rates search screens. AFTER You can conduct searches in both the Rate Lookup and Compare Rates search screens using either a 5-digit or 9-digit zip code. 18

19 Note: Zip +4 (9-digit) zip codes require a space, dash or decimal between the zip code and +4. For easy reference, the zip +4 is also indicated within the search results. 19

20 BEFORE Earlier, it was mandatory to enter the county when searching via the State, County and City dropdowns. However, it is possible that you may not know which county is applicable. AFTER If you do not know which county has to be selected, you can search using State and City alone which will help you save time that has to be spent on researching about which county to select. 20

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22 SECPLUS SECPlus on Checkpoint has been enhanced to include new features. The enhancements to Checkpoint s SECPlus enable you to quickly access content that was previously buried in large filings (XBRL), more effectively compare company financial performance particularly in the banking industry (CAC additions) and access a comprehensive range of forms including those for smaller offerings (Reg A forms.) SECPlus is now equipped with Enhanced XBRL rendering using which you can now quickly access a readable version of the XBRL, which allows to view more filing attachments and information that is buried deep inside annual reports, all in one place, more quickly. Additionally, SEC Plus now contains Regulation A Forms, including: 1-A, 1-A-W, 1-K, 1-SA, 1-U, 1-Z and 1-Z-W and amendments thereto. The SEC recently updated the offering limits for registrations under Regulation A. The new 2- tier approach is expected to make those offerings more common going forward. Also, SEC Plus has been amended to include additional Create a Chart data. The following new values have been added to the financial fundamentals Create-a-Charts in SECPlus. Several are specific to banks, and will indicate Bank in the checkbox label. These new values include: Income Statement o Net Interest Income (Banks) o Loan Loss Provision (Banks) o Non-Interest Income (Banks) o Non-Interest Expense (Banks) Earnings per Share (new values for all entity types) o Basic Weighted Average Shares o Basic EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items o Basic EPS Including Extraordinary Items o Diluted Weighted Average Shares o Diluted EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items o Diluted EPS Including Extraordinary Items Balance Sheet o Cash and Due from Banks o Other Earning Assets, Total (Banks) o Net Loans (Banks) o Total Deposits (Banks) o Other Bearing Liabilities, Total (Banks) o Total Short Term Borrowings (Banks) o Total Long Term Debt (Banks) 22

23 To view XBRL documents click the orange XBRL icon next to the filing name. In the resulting pop-up window, you can choose which elements to view, then click on the column title (in this example Finite Lived Intangible Assets) to see the Definition and Details. s 23

24 24 SECPlus now contains Regulation A Forms, including: 1-A, 1-A-W, 1-K, 1- SA, 1-U, 1-Z and 1-Z-W and amendments thereto.

25 These new values have been added to the financial fundamentals Create-a-Charts in SECPlus. Several are specific to banks and will indicate Bank in the checkbox label. The Chart. 25

26 These new values have been added to the financial fundamentals Create-a-Charts in SECPlus. Several are specific to banks and will indicate Bank in the checkbox label. The Chart. 26

27 NEWS The contemporary design and presentation of the newly improved RIA Daily News Update and WG&L Accounting & Compliance Alert s enhances usability and makes it easier for you to stay on top of critical tax and accounting developments that affect your clients and practice. Those of you who currently have access to these s as part of a Checkpoint subscription, and who have previously opted to receive delivery of these updates through the Options link within Checkpoint, will automatically receive the redesigned s starting December 14, The modernized look and feel of these s will help you in quicker navigation and article identification. Also, the Jump to Topics links at the top of the allows you to go directly to the updates that are relevant to your specific area(s) of practice. In addition to this, the enhanced s will display centered text which reduces scrolling and allows you to quickly scan article headlines and summaries to determine relevancy. Following these enhancements you can click the Customize Your News Experience link to go directly to the Options tab within Checkpoint and modify your selections for which daily news updates to receive. The new design also provides you with the ability to link Checkpoint to YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter pages to access training tutorials, expert commentary and more quickly provide feedback via the Feedback link. These enhancements affect the following daily news update s: Corporate Finance Weekly Update Estate Planners Alert Federal Taxes Weekly Alert Howard Zaritsky s Estate Planning Update International Taxes Weekly Newsletter Pamela D. Perdue s Pension & Benefits Update Payroll Guide Pension & Benefits Week RIA Tax Watch State & Local Taxes Weekly Accounting & Compliance Alert Highlights 27

28 PGA ANALYZER OGA Analyzer has been renamed. The new name is PGA Analyzer. BEFORE AFTER 28