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STRATEGIC ISSUES...ONLINE 
For week of February 27, 2006, Issue #251
Featured Articles:
1. Why You Should Make Sure Your Beneficiary Designations Are Up to Date
2. Focus on Fraud:  An Inside Job
3. Tech Tip Weekly:  Undeleting a File
 
If you would like to have further information on any of these articles, let us know.  We would appreciate receiving your comments and/or suggestions, anytime!
acarroll@pmcpa.com
 
1.  Why You Should Make Sure Your Beneficiary Designations Are Up to Date
 
Who have you designated as beneficiaries for your insurance policies and retirement accounts?  If you can't remember, you're not alone.  But it's worth checking.  If you make the wrong decision, it could affect who inherits those assets.  In some cases, it could also change the taxes your beneficiaries will pay and the value they'll receive.  Here are some key facts about beneficiary designations.
 
What are they?
 
-When you designate a beneficiary for an account, you are naming the person you want to inherit that account.
 
-Your designation determines who will inherit the assets in the account, regardless of what your will might say.  Generally, the assets will bypass probate and go straight to the person or institution you named.
 
-You can designate a person or group of persons, a charity, a trust, or your estate.  You may also want to designate a secondary or backup beneficiary in case the primary is no longer living.
 
Why are they important?
 
-It's important to keep beneficiary designations up to date because they determine who will inherit the assets in your accounts.  Changing your will won't change the beneficiaries.
 
-There can be tax implications too.  With a traditional IRA, your choice of beneficiary can affect how quickly withdrawals must be made and taxes paid.  That can change the value of the IRA to your beneficiary.
 
How do I update them?
 
-First, find copies of all your current designations.  Contact your insurance company and plan trustees if you can't locate the documents.
 
-Review them and decide what changes you'd like to make.  Make an appointment to go over the changes with your tax or estate planning advisor.
 
-Send your updated designations to the account trustees.  Make sure you receive confirmations and keep copies in your records.
 
2.  Focus on Fraud:  An Inside Job
 
Taken from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Website:
 
Fraud detection representative charged with bank fraud
 
By the Associated Press - February 21, 2006
 
Richmond, Va. -- A federal grand jury indicted a Capital One fraud detection representative Tuesday for bank fraud of more than $82,000, the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.
 
Breaumond W. Rhodes, 35, of Lawrenceville, was indicted on five counts of bank fraud, three counts of exceeding authorized access to a computer and one count of protected computer fraud.
 
Rhodes was responsible for investigating fraud and protecting accounts from fraudulent charges.  The indictment alleges Rhodes added new users to at least 14 customer accounts to make fraudulent charges between April 2005 and September 2005.
 
Rhodes faces up to 30 years in prison for each count of bank fraud and five years on each of the four computer counts.
 
3.  Tech Tip Weekly:  Undeleting a File
 
Sooner or later, your finger will push the Delete key at the wrong time, and you'll delete the wrong file.  a slip of the finger, the wrong nudge of a mouse.  Zap!
 
Scream!  When your tremors subside, double-click the Recycle Bin, and the Recycle Bin box drops down from the heavens.
 
The files listed in the Recycle Bin can be brought back to life simply by dragging them out of the Recycle Bin box:  Use the mouse to point at the name of the file you want to retrieve and, while holding down the mouse button, point at the desktop.  Then let go of the mouse.  MS Windows moves the once-deleted file out of the Recycle Bin and places the newly revived file onto your desktop.
 
-After the file's on your desktop, it's as good as new.  Feel free to store it in any other folder for safekeeping.  Want to return it to its original location?  Don't drag it from the Recycle Bin.  Instead, right-click on it and choose Restore.
 
-Don't expect to find programs deleted from your floppy disks or computer networks.  (You can find other programs for undeleting files from disks at the software store, fortunately.)
 
-The Recycle Bin normally holds about 10 percent of your hard disk's space.  For example, if your hard drive is 8GB, the Recycle Bin holds onto 800MB of deleted files.  When it reaches that limit, it starts deleting the oldest files to make room for the incoming deleted files.  (And the old ones are gone for good, too.)
 
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