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Opinion and Editorial -
In Other Words
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Tuesday, 12 January 2010 21:47 |
Are Swimming Pools Tax Deductible?
By Cyril Uy and Rodel Delizo
For some of us, having a swimming pool may be one of the most exciting additions that a homeowner could have. It can be a place where friends and families gather and play when the weather is warm. But to some homeowners, having a swimming pool is not necessarily for recreational purposes. It can be a place of therapeutic respite. If a medical condition is the driver for use of a swimming pool, the question is then raised, “Are swimming pools tax deductible?”
According to the guidance set forth by IRS Publication 502, medical expenses may include capital expenses such as “special equipment installed in a home, or for improvements, if their main purpose is medical care for you, your spouse or dependent.”
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Opinion and Editorial -
Good to Go
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Monday, 28 December 2009 19:01 |
Personal Gain and Public Accountability
By Grace Espiritu and Romy Devergara
In government, one is faced with two interests: personal gain and public accountability. When there is abuse of power in public office for private gain, there is corruption. A government that is characterized as being unaccountable is a government that proves to be a fertile ground for the cultivation of dictatorship, tyranny, repression, oppression and every other type of abuse of power.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) describes corruption as detrimental to development. Corruption drives away investments and dries up public resources with reduced reserves. It increases costs and breeds wasteful allocation of money. ADB states that corruption weakens public institutions, especially those with distorted interests, those who put personal gains above public interests. These institutions have poor public services, inefficient and ineffective bureaucracy, thus creating public distrust and loss of confidence in the government.
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Opinion and Editorial -
Point of View
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 14:53 |
Analytical Review Importance and Risks
By Hermes Baticulon and Lenard Ibadlit
Analytical procedures are evaluations of financial information made by a study of plausible relationships between both financial and nonfinancial data. Analytical procedures are used in all stages of the audit including planning, substantive testing and final review stage. Auditing standards require the use of analytical review procedures in the planning and final review stages. It serves as a vital planning function in the entirety of the audit procedures.
During the planning stage, the analytical review procedure enhances the auditor’s understanding of the client’s business and helps in identifying significant transactions and events that have occurred since the last audit date. It also identifies unusual transactions and events, amounts, ratios, or trends that might be significant to the financial statements and may represent specific risks relevant to the audit.
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Opinion and Editorial -
Just Our 2 Cents
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Thursday, 10 December 2009 15:14 |
Financial Planning will Make Your Money Work Harder
by Miriam Lopez and Agnes Lizaso
Where do you want to be 10 or 20 years from now? Will you still be working or happily retired? Will you have your own house or still be renting an apartment? Will you be free from debts or still struggling paying your loans? Will your children be in college? Will you have a better car? A new boat? What kind of lifestyle will you be living? Thinking about the future is stimulating and it certainly helps you visualize your goals.
Each individual aspires to live a better life in the future. To have such a life though, one must recognize the requisites, the needed actions to reach those goals. Money is definitely part of the equation; a primary requisite to fulfill those goals.
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Opinion and Editorial -
Back on Topic
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Thursday, 03 December 2009 15:25 |
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The Importance of Understanding the Nature of the Business in a Risk-Based Audit Approach and Its Effect on the Audit Process
by Paolo Espiritu and Rafiq Shikder
Understanding the nature of the business in relation to risk-based auditing is not only part of the audit planning procedures but is essential to the whole audit process. In a risk-based audit the auditor must understand the company’s working environment, the nature of its operations, the market and industry of the company, its reputation and its competition, and other factors that may affect risks in various parts of its operations. Knowledge in these and proper identification of the risks involved should help the auditor identify the related controls and measures needed to mitigate them.
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