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Understand Your Student Loan Forgiveness or Repayment Program
As the number of student loans has grown, so has the number of student loan forgiveness and repayment programs. Graduates now face multiple options for dealing with their accumulated educational debt. Many of these plans are extremely beneficial in helping graduates eliminate or manage their student loans, but there can be tax consequences.
Loan forgiveness or repayment plans typically fall into three categories:
- 10- and 25-year loan repayment and forgiveness plans
- partial loan forgiveness for entering high-demand fields such as the military, medical profession, federal government, teaching profession and volunteer service
- hardship relief for death or disability (but not bankruptcy)
Generally, if a lender forgives a student loan, that amount immediately becomes taxable to the borrower (graduate). An exception applies if after 10 years an unpaid balance remains but the graduate is employed in public service. For a better understanding of the issues in this area, read Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment: A Road Map.
(Source: Journal of Accountancy, June 2009)
Forecasting the Current Downturn
The current economic downturn has financial managers wondering how accurately they can forecast financial operations and share price in the upcoming period of uncertainty. Authors Tim Koller, Bin Jiang, and Zane Williams take a look into the past four recession in the United States. They found that the current recession is following patterns similar to the previous downturns. It began with a “core underlying shock that then spread through the economy in a fairly predictable way” (Koller, et al, pg 1). Different sectors are being affected to varying degrees, with healthcare and consumer staples, showing more resilience. Stock price and total shareholder return appear to be leading indicators or decline or recover across sectors. So, will this recession take 2 years from which to recover, or closer to a decade? Read Mapping Decline and Recovery to decide.
New Maryland CPA Licensure Regulations
Effective January 1, 2008, the state of Maryland has modified the education requirements that individuals must meet to qualify to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination.
The following changes are now effective:
- Group I—Accounting: Requires one course in cost or managerial accounting.
- Group II—Business-Related Education: Requires a minimum of 21 semester hours in at least five of the following subjects: economics, statistics, corporation or business finance, management, U.S. business law, marketing or business communication.
- Group III—Ethics Education: Requires one course in business or accounting ethics, the philosophy of ethics or a course that examines the framework of modern ethical decision-making.
For more information about Maryland CPA licensure requirements, go to State of Maryland Board of Public Accountancy.
To access information about CPA licensure in a state other than Maryland, visit the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and select your state under State Board Listing from the drop down list to access the state board's Web page.
The Road to CFO
According to Alan Rappeport of CFO.com, “A solid grounding in finance and accounting never gets old for future finance chiefs. But these days, those hoping to become CFOs also need a dollop of charm and a global perspective,” (p. 1, 2008). To learn more about which career paths lead to good CFO positions, and to help develop the necessary personal skills, read The Road to CFO.
Program Changes for Fall 2007
UMUC has revised its graduate programs to reflect the rapidly growing and changing fields of management and technology. For a summary of the changes, please read Fall 2007 Program Changes. Most students will be able to fulfill the new program requirements with only minor modifications to their study plans. Should you require assistance in updating your study plan, or in assessing the impact of the changes on your course of study, please contact Donald Gakenheimer.
New Finance Course Offering
Beginning fall 2007, “FIN 645 Behavioral Finance” will be offered as an elective in the Master of Science (MS) in accounting and financial management (MSAF), MS in financial management and information systems (MSFS) and MS in management with a specialization in financial management (MSM-FM) degree programs.
Behavioral finance is the study of the influence of psychology on the behavior of financial practitioners and the subsequent effect on markets. It is important that financial managers understand not only the theories, concepts and principles of finance, but also know how to avoid the psychological traps inherent in important decision making situations. Biases, heuristics and framing effects have the potential to destroy value in making decisions about capital structure, dividend policy, capital investment, mergers and acquisition and evaluating the risk-reward tradeoffs in operating decisions.
Students beginning their studies before fall 2007 may continue with their existing study plan or revise their plan to include FIN 645. The prerequisites for FIN 645 are “FIN 610 Financial Management in Organizations” and “FIN 630 Investment Valuation”.
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