May 2007

Dear CCH Learning Center Subscriber,

Welcome to the May 2007 issue of Focus on Learning, the monthly newsletter for the CCH Learning Center that provides insights on how to use the Learning Center to your full advantage and updates on new courses and features available to you. In each issue we highlight a course (or series of courses) on a timely topic, and let you know about new courses released in the CCH Learning Center. We also inform you of new useful features, provide helpful tips on existing features, and help you use the CCH Learning Center to meet your professional development and CPE needs.

New Learning Center Core Library Courses
CCH is committed to keeping you up-to-date and knowledgeable on the latest issues that impact your firm or corporation. Many new or revised courses covering a wide range of topics have been released to the CCH Learning Center Core Library over the past two months, including:

• Depreciation Course - 2007 Edition

• Estate Planning Strategies (Second Edition)

• FASB No. 140: Accounting for Sales, Transfers, and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities 

• Recent Tax Developments: March-April 2007

• Roth 401(k)s 

• SAS 106: Audit Evidence 

• SAS 112: Internal Control 

• Tax Research: Secondary Sources of Federal Tax Law 

New Courses — Specialty Libraries
In addition to the titles listed above, several new courses have been released exclusively to various CCH Specialty Libraries. These new Libraries cover a broad range of courses in specialized topics including accounting and audit, international taxation, sales and use taxation, state taxation, and wealth management. New courses released exclusively to these libraries include: 

• Accounting and Audit: Specialty Library 

  • Balance Sheet Classification: GAAP Level A (Second Edition)

  • Real Estate Accounting: An Introduction 
    




• State Taxation: Specialty Library

  • Business Tax Incentives 

  • Charging Orders: Some of What Practitioners Ought to Know

  • Sales and Use Taxability of Information Services (this course is also available in the Sales and Use Taxation Library)

  • State Corporate Income Tax Apportionment 

  • Streamlined Sales Tax Project (this course is also available in the Sales and Use Taxation Library)

  • Tax Research: Researching State and Local Tax Law 

• Wealth Management: Specialty Library

  • Business Succession Planning: The Debenture Solution 

  • Postmortem Planning: What Executors Must Know 

  • Self-Adjusting GRATs 

Course Spotlight
In June 2003, the FASB added a project to its agenda to codify and improve guidance for measuring fair value. Although fair value information is relevant, practitioners have expressed concerns about the ability to apply a fair value measurement principle. The FASB issued SFAs No. 157 to provide guidance on this issue. The CCH course, Fair Value Measurements: SFAs 157 reviews the impact of this guidance on fair value measurement.

Fair Value Measurements: SFAs 157 also reviews how FASB has concluded that fair value information is relevant and how to apply a fair value measurement principle in compliance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 157.  

In many recent pronouncements, the FASB has concluded that fair value information is relevant and users generally have agreed. At the same time, however, preparers, auditors, and others have expressed concerns about the ability to apply a fair value measurement principle. The FASB believes those concerns largely resulted because of limited application guidance for measuring fair value. FASB issued SFAs No. 157 to address these concerns. This course reviews how SFAS No. 157 and other recent decisions by FASB impacts fair value measurement.  Topics covered include:

• Descriptions of fair value and unit of account

• Valuation techniques

• Market inputs

• Fair value hierarchy

• Restricted securities

• Disclosures

Upcoming Courses
We will release many new courses in the CCH Learning Center in the weeks and months ahead to give you even more choices and more value. Among the new and updated courses that are in development now, look for courses in the following areas soon:

• Accounting and auditing developments

• Bankruptcy abuse

• Consolidated returns

• Estate tax return preparation

• Life Insurance

• Multistate tax issues

• Pension plans

• Personal residence as a tax shelter

• Recent tax developments

• Retirement planning

Audio Seminars
CCH’s wide range of interesting, educational CPE options now includes audio seminars. Each audio seminar allows an unlimited number of users at your firm to get up-to-speed on a hot topic using nothing more than a telephone connection. Plus, participants can earn up to 3 CPE Credits. Learn about upcoming audio seminars here.

CCH’s audio seminars, presented by top experts, are designed to provide you with updated information on the hottest tax and accounting topics. Along with detailed handout materials, each site registering for an audio seminar receives topically-related bonus items such as books, journals, newsletters or self-study CPE courses. Check out the latest Audio Seminars schedule for details on upcoming seminars, including “Maximizing Foreign Tax Credits to Eliminate Double Taxation” on May 31st.