MARCH 2006

Dear CCH Learning Center Subscriber,

Welcome to the March 2006 issue of Focus on Learning, the monthly newsletter for the CCH Learning Center!  In each issue, we highlight a course or series of courses on a timely topic, as well as advise you of new courses released in the CCH Learning Center.  We also inform you of new features, provide helpful tips on existing features, and help you use the CCH Learning Center to meet your professional development and CPE needs.

What’s New

CCH has added a new library to it growing line of Specialty Libraries.  The CCH Learning Center Specialty Libraries are practice area focused and cover a broad range of levels in the key topics of accounting and auditing, sales and use taxation and tax return preparation.  Also, CCH is now reporting courses completed by CFPs to the CFP Board.  Get details on what’s new with the Learning Center here.

Tax Return Preparation Library - This new library offers a comprehensive review of tax preparation for individuals, corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts.  The engaging, web-based self-study CPE courses provide current, line-by-line guidance through the preparation of Forms 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, 1065, and 706.  Written by noted tax experts, commentators and educators, Sidney Kess and Barbara Weltman, these concise, practical courses review all the essentials of tax return preparation in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner.  The courses provide planning tips and practice development ideas, along links to sources of additional information within CCH® Tax Research Network™ (TRN).  Insightful supplementary articles that provide additional information on the course topic and practice aids to help users apply the knowledge gained are also included in each course.

Additional Learning Center libraries focusing on specialized topics will be released for separate sale over the next year. Libraries scheduled for release will cover a broad range of topics, including wealth management, state taxation and international taxation.

Reporting for Certified Financial Planners - Beginning in 2006, CFP Board-registered CPE sponsors must electronically report CFP® licensees completing courses to the CFP Board.  If you are a certified financial planner, and wish to earn Credit for courses you have completed through the Learning Center, we need your CFP registrant ID.  You may enter this information into your Learning Center profile by logging on and going to My Account.  Enter your ID number in the CFP Registrant ID field and click Continue.  You may also go to My Courses and click on Do you have a CFP Registrant ID to enter this information.  CCH will begin reporting all courses you complete through the Learning Center to the CFP Board within 30 days of receiving this information.

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 have been released to the CCH Learning Center Core Library over the past two months to prepare you for the upcoming tax return preparation season.

• Alternative Minimum Tax: Understanding the Problem, Anticipating Solutions

• Circular 230: Staying Compliant

• Deduction for Foreign Dividends Repatriated

• Deferred Compensation Developments

• Financial Instruments: GAAP Level A

• IRS Tax Enforcement: Crackdown on Abuse

• Manufacturing Deduction

• New Tax Breaks from Congress: Energy Incentives, Hurricane Relief and Phased-In Benefits

• New Tax Legislation and Previously Scheduled Changes Effective in 2006

• Pension Plans--Employers: GAAP Level A

• Recent Tax Developments (January-February 2006)

• Revenue Recognition: General Principles (Second Edition)

• Tax Developments for Individuals in 2005 

Course Spotlight

Alternative Minimum Tax:  Understanding the Problem; Anticipating Solutions.  The CCH Learning Center keeps you current with the hottest tax and accounting issues. Many of our new courses are designed to help reassure practitioners that they are not missing out on advising clients about a hot, new tax opportunity, or are aware of brewing controversies. The alternative minimum tax is one hot area that has been heavily covered in the Learning Center. The latest AMT course released to the Learning Center is Alternative Minimum Tax: Understanding the Problem; Anticipating Solutions.

This course reviews the basic structure and current rules governing the AMT. It assesses the impact that the AMT has on a rapidly growing number of taxpayers from an increasingly broad income spectrum; and evaluates the future of the AMT. Topics covered in the course include:

• The growing grasp of the AMT

• Calculating AMTI

• AMTI exemptions

• Planning to avoid or minimize AMT liability

• AMT solutions

• Corporate AMT

• Decedent's estates

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.  Learn more about the new CCH Learning Center courses in development.  Among the new and updated courses that are in development now, look for courses in the following areas soon:

• Accounting and auditing developments

• Compilation and review

• Estate tax return preparation

• FASB 123R

• Fiduciary accounting and taxation

• Recent tax developments

• State tax issues

• Tax Research

• U.S. International Taxation

 

Let Us Know What You Think Please let us know if this Focus on Learning issue has been helpful for you, what we could do to make it better, additional topics you’d like us to cover, etc.  We appreciate your business and value your feedback very much.  Let us know how we can help make this communication vehicle and the CCH Learning Center even more valuable to you by emailing us at learningcenter@cch.com or calling us at 800-344-3734.  You may contact us via postal mail at CCH, Attn: Marketing Communications, 2700 Lake Cook Rd., Riverwoods, IL 60015. Sincerely, Gwendolen Hefty Managing Editor, CCH Learning Center  CCH Tax and Accounting Group