AUEC Today December 2013

Scholarships

Internships

Competitions

December 2013

Internships

Scholarships

Competitions

5 Why don’t students apply to internships?

DOE Scholars Program

6 HACU National Internship Program

7 Summer Internship Program of the Berrocal Institute

8 The Other Side of Internships

10 Scholarships and Professional Development

Economic Assistance Program from the Society of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto Rico

11 AICPA Scholarship for Minority Accounting Students

12 Why compete?

Twenty-third National Accounting Investigations Competition

13 5 Tips to Becoming a Successful Young Leader

14 The Business Sector Hysteric with the New Tax

15 Summary of past activities

Additional Content

4

A Proud Sponsor of AUEC

Why don’t students apply to

Internships?

What is the DOE Scholars

Program?

The Department of Energy

Scholars Program is an intern-

ship that offers unique oppor-

tunities that introduce stu-

dents or post-graduates to the

agency’s mission and opera-

tions. Participants in the DOE

Scholars Program gain a com-

petitive edge as they apply

their education, talent and

skills in a variety of settings

within the DOE complex.

List of Disciplines

The U.S. Department of Energy seeks students and post-

graduates for the DOE Scholars Program in the follow-

ing disciplines: Engineering, Physical Sciences, Envi-

ronmental Sciences, Computer Science and Information

Technology, Physics, Business, Policy, Program Man-

agement, Mathematics, Statistics, Safety and Health,

Accounting and Finance, Law, Communications and

other related areas.

Are you eligible?

To qualify for the DOE Scholars Program, you will need

to be a U.S. citizenship of at least 16 years of age. Also

be an undergraduate, graduate or post-graduate of an

Accredited institute of higher education.

This is an equal opportunity program open to all quali-

fied individuals without regard to race, color, age, sex,

religion, national origin, mental or physical disability,

genetic information, sexual orientation or covered vet-

eran’s status.

Why should you apply for the DOE Scholars Program?

The DOE Scholars Program presents you with the op-

portunity to explore a federal career with DOE at vari-

ous stages in your education. Being selected as a DOE

Scholar offers career possibilities with the nation’s lead-

ing sponsor for scientific research, opportunities to learn

from top scientists and subject matter experts and sti-

pends of up to $650 per week.

Application Deadline:

Sunday January 12, 2014

For more information, visit

http://orise.orau.gov/doescholars

Internships are a way of applying everything

you’ve learned in the classroom to real life situations.

These opportunities can also help students understand

whether the field work done in their career area is what

they will be passionate about for the coming years. That

said, if internships provide benefits such as these, then

why don’t more students apply to these in-

ternships? One of the reasons is their lack of knowl-

edge about the internship opportunities available to

them. Also, many students believe that they don’t have

the potential to be picked and therefore, don’t even try

to apply. However, what many students are not aware of

is that there are many more reasons why students should

apply to an internship in addition to those already men-

tioned.

Besides providing students with the opportunity

to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom and to

identify whether an industry is right for them, intern-

ships are a great way to gain preliminary work experi-

ence. This equips students with tangible experience they

can highlight in their resume and that can help them

stand out. Also, when students choose to intern at a

company, they will experience first-hand what it’s like

to work in an office, interact with supervisors and co-

workers, and handle customers or clients. Thus, intern-

ships can help students learn valuable new skills that can

provide future employment opportunities.

Another benefit to completing an internship are

the contacts and connections that students can make

along the way. It is important to know that networking is

often one of the best ways to land a new job and a pri-

mary way to learn about unadvertised job opportunities.

In addition, internship programs can introduce students

to other fellow students and recent graduates in their

field who share the same interests. Overall, internships

provide students with many keys for professional devel-

opment before they complete their degree and with

benefits that can have a long-lasting impact on their pro-

fessional careers after they complete it.

Now, what’s your excuse?

Apply for an internship TODAY

5

Internships

6

Since 1992, HACU has offered one of the best

internship programs in the country because they believe

that participation in an internship should be an invalu-

able opportunity to gain hands-on work experience.

HACU demonstrates their commitment to providing

equal access to such opportunities through the HACU

National Internship Program (HNIP), which in addition

to placing students in federal agencies and private com-

panies, offers many additional benefits which offset or

eliminate many common costs of taking part in an in-

ternship. Unlike so many other internship programs,

there are NO fees to apply for the HACU internship.

Also, all HACU internship positions are PAID.

HACU National Internship

Program

Professional Development

The HACU National Internship Program facilitates pro-

fessional development in two important ways. First of

all, an internship position itself creates daily experiences

through which students can learn more about their par-

ticular field. In addition to giving students daily practi-

cal experience, it also gives interns countless opportuni-

ties to attend networking events, federal job fairs, and

Congressional breakfasts.

In any case, participating in the HACU National Intern-

ship Program is sure to be a life-changing experience

that can stimulate both personal and professional growth

and set the course of your life!

Application Information

Prior to submitting the application for the HACU Na-

tional Internship Program, students must complete the

basic demographics part of the application, provide an

emergency contact, educational background and work

history information. Provide an updated resume. Write a

short essay about the student’s goals and how an intern-

ship can help achieve them. Finally upload require

documentation such as, enrollment verification and offi-

cial transcripts.

Deadline

For students pursuing a 2014 summer internship the

deadline is Monday, March 3. 2014.

For more information, visit http://www.hacu.net/hnip

Internships

7

Internships

Summer Internship Program

of the Berrocal Institute

The José M. Berrocal Institute for Economics and Fi-

nance (the Berrocal Institute) is a GDB subsidiary cre-

ated on September 25, 2002 by resolution of the

Bank’s Board of Directors. The Berrocal Institute’s

key purpose is to recruit young talent to work in the

public sector and to help train new government em-

ployees by providing them with theoretical knowledge

and practical experience in public financing and eco-

nomic related fields.

The Berrocal Institute endorses scientific research and

professional development in the fields of finance, ac-

counting, economy and public administration through

the Summer Internship Program.

Objectives The Summer Internship has three objectives. First is to

recruit talented university students who are willing to

make a commitment to the public sector. Another ob-

jective is to contribute specialized knowledge and ex-

perience in public financing and economy. Finally, the

last objective is to promote analysis and research in

the fields of public finance and economy.

Structure The Summer Internship is a specialized program in

public financing and economics that provides a super-

vised practice experience. The program runs for eight

weeks beginning in May or June and ending in July

every year. It offers conferences, workshops and fo-

rums about analytical processes and how to make the

best economy and finance related decisions when

working for a government agency are offered in the

internship program. Each student is assigned to work

directly for one government agency chief, or his or her

designated representative, who will assign the student

to work on a project of strategic importance to the

public entity or to the government of the Common-

wealth of Puerto Rico. After the internship is over the

student will submit a final report about the assigned

project, which will then be evaluated by his or her su-

pervising team at the agency.

Eligibility To be eligible for the internship, students must be cur-

rently enrolled in undergraduate and graduate studies

in the areas of finance, economy, accounting, statis-

tics, marketing, human resources, information systems

and other areas related to public administration and

have at least a 3.0 grade point average. Also, students

are strongly encouraged to demonstrate academic pro-

gress and leadership in extracurricular activities and

community service.

Application process for the Internship Students will need to complete the online application

that will be available on January 15, 2014. The appli-

cation deadline is February 28, 2014 at 5pm EST.

As part of the online application, you will be asked to

complete a short essay explaining what you know

about the government of Puerto Rico and its role in

the economic development of the island, why you are

the ideal candidate for the Program, why you are inter-

ested in public service and in which of the participat-

ing agencies you would like to work during the sum-

mer. Also, students will have to upload and submit

their résumé and their transcript of approved courses

via the online platform.

For more information, visit http://www.gdb-

pur.com/principalsubsidiaries/jose-berrocal.html

8

The Other

Side of

Internships

By: Iván Ortiz Rivera

Internships provide many professional and academic

related benefits that most students are already aware of.

Without question, the primary objectives of any student

who aspires to obtain an internship should be to grow

professionally and to gain experience through a job re-

lated to their academic field. However, there is another

side to internships, a personal side, in which interns can

experience an incredible amount of growth and satis-

faction but not really be aware of it. That is the side in

which I focus on in this article.

I’ve had the opportunity of interning twice before in

Washington, D.C. through the HACU National Intern-

ship Program and the experiences have been incredibly

enriching for me not only at a professional level, but

also on a very personal level. It is hard to summarize

everything the experiences taught me, but I will share

the lessons that stood out most in an attempt to express

that internships transcend beyond professional growth.

Some of the benefits I experienced and the life lessons I

learned through my internships include:

The effects of an eight hour work day

My job at the federal agency The Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation (PBCG) represented my very

first full-time work experience, and it taught me just

how rigorous working an eight hour day is and the time

-consuming effect it can have on your day (and life) as

a whole. Every day, I would wake up at 5:00 am to

catch my daily commute at 6:00. From there, I took a

one hour train ride to get to the workplace and would

get there by 7:00. Of course, this is where my day

really began. After a long eight hour day, I got off work

at around 4:00 and would normally go to the agency’s

gym for about an hour or two. This meant that I was

leaving the agency at around 6:00 pm to catch my one

hour commute back to the apartment (if I wasn’t engag-

ing in any extracurricular activity that evening). If

you’re doing the math with me, this means that on a

regular day I was getting home at around 7:00 pm! Oh,

and now I had to do a little thing called cooking (which

I will get to further down in the article)! So when all

was said and done, I was eating supper at around 8 pm

and then calmly sat down to watch TV for an hour or so

in order to clear my head. Before I knew it, it was al-

ready 9 o’clock and I was left wondering where my

time had gone. Of course, the beauty of it all was that I

had to wake up to do it over again the next day!

Being “independent”: cooking, cleaning, grocery

shopping and paying for everything

Living on your own hundreds of miles away from your

parents and family while on an internship certainly pro-

vides a taste of the independence many of us want at

this stage of our lives, but it also comes with its fair

share of challenges. I learned this the hard way, espe-

cially the first time around. For someone such as my-

self who has been blessed with parents who have pro-

vided me with everything throughout my lifetime, hav-

ing to do absolutely everything on my own was some-

thing new, and it’s safe to say that at first it was like

hitting a wall. For the first time in my life I had to cook

my own food (needless to say this was an adventure by

itself), choose and buy my own groceries, budget my

money, pay for my housing and transportation, and be

completely self-sustaining. All this being said, I can

honestly say that this was the area in which I experi-

mented the most growth and maturity because I learned

to appreciate and not take for granted what I’ve had

throughout my life and also what it took to survive on

my own. Without question, the independence an intern-

ship brings is something that every student should as-

pire to experience because after all, this is the reality

that awaits us in the near future.

Me at the

Ballpark at

Camden Yards

in Baltimore,

MD

Internships

9

The exposure to different lifestyles and cultures

Living in another country for two months opens up

your mind and exposes you to different lifestyles other

than your own. Sure, at first there will be an adjust-

ment period, but you can only grow as a person from

such an experience. In my case, although Washington,

D.C. isn’t exactly going to the other end of the world,

you’d be surprised to know how different of a place it

really is from Puerto Rico. First of all, there is an in-

credible amount of diversity in the nation’s capital.

People from all nationalities live amongst each other

there, which gave us visitors the chance to interact

with people from different backgrounds all in one

place. Second, people in general are much less extro-

verted and outspoken than those of us here in Puerto

Rico. It’s no exaggeration when I say that I have never

encountered a quieter train ride than the Metro ride in

Washington, D.C. There are also several unwritten

rules (such as keeping an appropriate distance from

one another when speaking) that distinguishes our cul-

ture from that of the United States. On the other side,

Washington, D.C. is one of the cleanest and most ar-

chitecturally beautiful cities in the United States, and

it also has the distinction of having a very profes-

sional, fast pace feel. All of these differences can lead

to somewhat of a culture shock at first, but as I men-

tioned at the beginning, you can only grow (and also

learn to appreciate your own culture) while being ex-

posed to a different one.

Recreational and extracurricular activities

Whenever I think about my internship experiences, the

first thing that usually comes to mind is all the cool

stuff I got to do while I was abroad. Regardless of

your internship’s location, you will probably be able

to visit places and do memorable things that you oth-

erwise wouldn’t have gotten the chance to do.

Whether it’s visiting all the nearby landmarks and his-

torical places, taking road trips to the nearest cities, or

just engaging in your favorite hobby, the recreational

aspect of an internship while abroad always seems like

the one interns enjoy most. While in Washington,

D.C., I was able to visit most of the monuments, mu-

seums, and historical landmarks, enjoy the city life

and cultural events the nation’s capital had to offer,

and most importantly for me, go to a ton of Major

League Baseball games without ever getting tired of

them. I also had the opportunity of going to nearby

cities such as Baltimore and New York City (while

going to baseball games at these places as well, of

course).

Friendships and long lasting relationships

Extracurriculars may be the first thing that come to

mind whenever I think about my internships, but the

great relationships that I made amongst co-workers

and fellow interns are unquestionably what I cherish

most about them. Internships give you the opportunity

to meet many people, create professional connections

and develop numerous relationships that may last a

lifetime. Today, I still keep in touch with some of the

interns who shared the experience with me and also

with fellow co-workers and supervisors. Regardless of

whether it’s with housemates, coworkers, fellow in-

terns, or just people who may somehow cross your

path, while on an internship you will develop new

friendships and long lasting relationships that you oth-

erwise would have never had the chance to: that’s a

guarantee.

Me and my fellow interns in front of the

White House

All in all, these are some of most notable benefits and

learning experiences that internships bring to the table

in addition to the professional and academic benefits

all students seek to gain. After both of my internship

experiences have concluded, I have repeatedly said

that as much as I grew from a professional stand point,

I learned and grew just as much from a personal one.

Keep this in mind and use it as motivation to apply to

all internship opportunities available to you, because I

assure you that an internship is much more than a

summer job. It is without a doubt a life changing ex-

perience for the better.

Internships

10

Scholarships and professional

development

For many college students, financial assistance is a ne-

cessity, particularly those planning careers that require

many years of education. There are three common ways

to finance college education: grants, loans and scholar-

ships. Scholarships have unique benefits, making them

the most desirable form of financial aid. Like grants,

scholarships do not have to be repaid. But grants are

often need-based, while many scholarships are merit-

based or awarded as recognition for certain achieve-

ments. This gives anyone a fair chance to obtain them.

Scholarships provide more than financial benefits: they

can also help the professional development of students.

Earning a prestigious or merit-based scholarship can

make you a more attractive job candidate. Employers

who understand the competitive nature of the scholar-

ship will recognize it as an accomplishment. Generally,

a merit-based scholarship demonstrates to future em-

ployers that you have exceptional ability in the aca-

demic, athletic or artistic realm. Competitive scholar-

ships are accomplishments worth listing on your re-

sume and can help you stand out when you search for a

job.

The following articles describe some scholarships, par-

ticularly for accounting students. If you’re an account-

ing student you should definitely take a look and apply

for them. These scholarships are opportunities that will

not only help you financially in your pursuit of a col-

lege degree, but also will help you in your profession

development because of the process to obtain it.

Economic Assistance Program

from the Society of Certified

Public Accountants of

Puerto Rico

The Society of Certified Public Accountants of Puerto

Rico, for the last couple of years has helped exceptional

bright students that are economically disadvantaged to

become CPA’s though their Financial Aid Program.

This program, consist of up to $ 2,500 per candidate

and comes Scholarship Fund College of CPA. This

Scholarship Fund thrives on individual contributions

and levying of charitable activities, among others.

Each applicant is awarded up to $ 2,500 to cover the

costs of certification examination for Certified Public

Accountant and the review course, with no limit quanti-

ties to one or the other. The program awards a mini-

mum of $ 20,000 annually in scholarships subject to the

availability of funds.

Some of the Eligibility Requirements are: At the time

of application, the person must meet the requirements

established by the Board of Accountancy to take the bar

examination Authorized Public Accountant; The appli-

cant must have a grade point average of at least 3.30 on

a 4.00 scale; The applicant must demonstrate financial

need; The applicant must be a resident of Puerto Rico;

and The applicant must demonstrate good moral char-

acter.

The deadline for applications is May 31, 2014.

For more information, visit www.colegiocpa.com

Scholarships Scholarships

11

Scholarships Overview The AICPA Scholarship for Minority Accounting Stu-

dents provides financial awards to outstanding minority

students to encourage their pursuit of accounting as a

major and their ultimate entry into the profession.

Scholarship funding is provided by the AICPA Founda-

tion, with contributions from the New Jersey Society of

CPAs, the Accounting Education Foundation of the

Texas Society of CPAs, Virgin Islands Society of CPAs

and Robert Half International. The AICPA Minority

Scholarship was created in 1969 with the purpose to in-

crease the representation of ethnically diverse CPA pro-

fessionals. For over four decades, this program has pro-

vided over $14.6 million in scholarships to over 8,000

accounting scholars.

AICPA and Accountemps offer the AICPA/

Accountemps Student Scholarship to provide financial

assistance to outstanding accounting students who dem-

onstrate potential to become leaders in the CPA profes-

sion. This scholarship grants financial assistance to out-

standing full-time undergraduate or graduate-level ac-

counting students who demonstrate potential to become

leaders in the CPA profession. Applicants must have a

GPA of at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) and be a U.S. citizen

or permanent resident.

Application Instructions

All applicants must submit a completed scholarship ap-

plication by April 1, 2014 at 11:59 p m EST. Students

selected to advance to the second round will be notified

via email by May 1, 2014.

Round 1 Application Materials All AICPA scholarship applicants will be asked to pro-

vide the following information with the applications:

Two essays, Résumé and names and email addresses of

two references to provide future letters of recommenda-

tion (one must be either a faculty member OR a licensed

CPA).

Essay 1 for the AICPA Scholarship for Minority Ac-

counting Students must answer the following ques-

tions: Why do you want to become a CPA and how will

attaining this licensure contribute to your goals? How do

you plan to become a licensed CPA?

Essay 1 for the AICPA/Accountemps Student Schol-

arship must answer the following questions: De-

scribe one or two values/characteristics that effective

CPAs possess. Provide a recent example of when you

have demonstrated these qualities. Why do you believe

that obtaining a CPA will be beneficial to your career

path and how do you plan to achieve your license?

Essay 2: If selected as an AICPA scholarship recipient

you will serve as an AICPA Legacy Scholar. Describe

how you would spread the message about accounting

and the CPA profession in your community and school.

Please be specific in your response.

AICPA Legacy Scholars Overview As the authority on all things accounting, the AICPA

designed the Legacy Scholars program to help scholar-

ship recipients develop the beyond-the-classroom skills

it takes to not only break into the biz, but also maintain

a successful career. Things like leadership, communica-

tion and networking skills.

To do that, AICPA Legacy Scholars engage in at least

eight hours of community service per semester. The

possibilities are nearly endless. You could create a new

accounting-related group on campus or teach seniors

how to avoid financial scams. Perhaps assist a professor

with accounting research, help veterans prepare their

taxes, or even present to high school students on the

awesomeness of being a CPA. After the service is com-

plete, you’ll share your experience by writing a blog to

help other aspiring CPAs.

Scholarships

For more information, visit

https://www.thiswaytocpa.com/education

12

Why compete?

By: Frances Cruz

As we all know competition is something we have done

throughout our history. Some people are born to com-

pete, while others simple don’t like it. Personally, I be-

lieve the main reason why people do not compete is

because they are scared. Just the fact of losing may

cause much embarrassment to some, so they prefer to

avoid competition.

What many do not know is that you NEVER lose when

competing. Yeah, it might sound weird, but if we ana-

lyze it there is something that all competitions have in

common. This is that they all require some type of

preparation. For example, if you compete in a mara-

thon, you have to exercise every day to gain strength. If

you're going to compete in an accounting bowl, you

have to practice the exercises over and over to under-

stand the accounting concepts that could be examined.

Preparing yourself gives you the experience that will

help you succeed in any competition. Therefore, this

experience gained throughout the preparation process is

the real grand prize of all competitors. Sometimes, it

can be even more valuable than the trophies for first,

second or third place, as this will serve as a base for the

future of those who participated in the competition.

There is nothing to lose when you compete, but rather a

lot to gain. This is why, I urge you to compete in all

competitions you have a chance to because the experi-

ence of simply competing can give you the edge you

will need to succeed in your personal and professional

life.

Twenty-third National Accounting

Investigations Competition

The Twenty-Third National Accounting Students In-

vestigations Competition will be held on April 25,

2014 at the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez Cam-

pus. This competition is organized to provide the coun-

try’s accounting students with an opportunity to share

ideas and concerns related to the challenges represent-

ing various problems of the accounting profession.

The primary purpose of the competition is to get ac-

counting students to propose solutions to current prob-

lems related to the accounting profession. These pro-

posals are to be based on an analysis of related litera-

ture, field research, or both. This competition allows

the student to face the challenge of producing intellec-

tual contributions to the accounting literature in

Puerto Rico.

The papers are to be submitted to the Evaluation Com-

mittee no later than February 28, 2014. Also, those

works that will be competing for the top three places

will give an oral presentation at the plenary session of

the competition on April 25, 2014.

For more details, contact [email protected]

Competitions

Competitions

13

5 TIPS TO BECOMING A

SUCCESSFUL YOUNG LEADER

Leaders bring change and innovation to society. With-

out great leaders organizations would collapse from

the inside. Employers and employees have become

aware that developing leadership is the key to the suc-

cess of their business and because of this real-life ex-

perience has become more important than the standard

GPA. So, you want to be that game changer but feel

like you are too young for the job? Here are five tips

that will help you become a successful young leader.

Volunteer.

Before you leave college, join student associations or

clubs. Most of these organizations are looking for peo-

ple who would do work for free. This is not a hobby.

Playing an active part in the development of some-

thing bigger, especially if you find your way up to the

board, will boost your morale; the extra responsibility

will make you more cautious and trustworthy; and

working for free will make you more humble.

Do your homework (Learn and adapt).

Before, during and after college: life changes. To get

good grades you need to prepare before the exam, and

the same applies to everything in life. If you want to

be successful at work or at a job interview, you need

to prepare yourself. Find information about the work

you will be doing, about the company and their culture

and, if you can, about your boss. Only when you are

informed can you make the right decisions (Thank

God for the Internet, by the way).

Identify areas where you can provide help (and offer it).

There will always be areas where you can provide

your experience (see why it is good that you volun-

teer?) and even if you don’t have the experience you

can provide a lending hand to someone who does.

Having a positive attitude towards doing work and

helping others will get you far.

Communication is a must.

How else will people know what a great leader you

are? But remember that trust is a two way street. You

can’t just go around talking about yourself; listening is

an important part of communication. A good leader is

always a good communicator. Also, don’t limit your

communication to co-workers; it’s always a good idea

to communicate with supervisors. Find those people

who are sought as leaders in work or in college and

look for their advice to climb the ladder.

Do your work.

Leadership is about overachieving but we can’t go

over if we forget about our regular tasks. It’s impor-

tant that we don’t neglect our regular duties in order to

focus on “being a leader”. How will you be trusted to

lead if you can’t even get your job done? Start by cov-

ering your bases and then work your way to the top. A

great leader can be a good boss but he/she also needs

to be a good employee.

*Based on Forbes’ “10 Steps You Can Take To Become A Suc-

cessful Young Leader At Work”. http://www.forbes.com/

pictures/fhgh45gee/youre-never-too-young-to-be-a-leader/

The Business Sector Hysteric

with the New Tax

By: Giancarlo Esquilín, Senior Accounting Student

The approval of the consolidated budget of the Com-

monwealth of Puerto Rico for the fiscal year 2013-14

brought a lot of changes in the Internal Revenue Code

for a New Puerto Rico 2011. All these happened be-

cause Puerto Rico’s Government is facing one of worst

situations in its economy and a deficit of over $2,000

million that affects the financial development and li-

quidity of the Government Development Bank (GDB).

In this article, we are going to discuss the implementa-

tion of one of the most important changes in the tax

laws for corporations and pass-through entities (i.e. part-

nerships, corporations of individuals) that form part of

the “Tax Burden Adjustment and Redistribution

Act” (Act 40-2013). This is the “Special Additional Tax

on Gross Income” (“special tax”), a new tax that would

impact all entities with more than one million

($1,000,000) in gross income. Is important to say that

the idea of this new tax came from the private sector,

because the main idea to balance the budget from the

Treasury Department was an extensive application of

the Sales and Use Tax (SUT) Business-to-Business

(B2B) that was reduced due to the earnings that they

expect from the special tax. After various discussions

and criticism about this new act, the government ap-

proved the Act 117-2013 that amended various sections

of the new tax.

As a general rule (and when it’s general, there is always

an exception), any individual over his distributable par-

ticipation from gross income, and in the case of any cor-

poration dedicated to doing business in Puerto Rico ex-

cept financial businesses as defined in the section, will

be imposed, charged, and shall pay for any taxable year

an additional tax over on gross income (GI). The pro-

spective tax rates are as follows, if GI were: from $1

million but less than $3 millions, .20%; in excess of $3

millions but less than $300 millions, .50%; in excess of

$300 millions but less than $600 millions, .70%; and it

continues up to .85%. In the case of financial institu-

tions (as corporations), they are subject to a flat rate of

1%. Financial institutions taxed as partnerships, could

take a 50% of credits for their partners based on the par-

ticipation for their personal tax returns.

And then we have our exception rule, known as the

waiver. It transfers the power to the Secretary of the

Treasury Department (“Secretary”) to reduce the tax rate

for those that it applies, but no less than .05% (not for

financial institutions). For this, the person should dem-

onstrate to the Secretary that the tax would cause an un-

due economic consequence because it means a signifi-

cant amount when compared with the gross margin. To

approve this reduction, the Secretary would take into

consideration the economic position of the industry, the

normal gross margin of similar businesses, and the eco-

nomic challenges that it faces during the period. The

taxpayer should present the Secretary with an “Agreed

Upon Procedures” prepared by a Certified Public Ac-

countant (CPA) with license in Puerto Rico and who is

part of a peer review program. All waivers should be

presented before January 31, 2014 (Administrative De-

termination 13-21).

As we mentioned before, it came from the private sector

but they probably did not know how much it would cost

them. That’s why the Chamber of Food Marketing, In-

dustry & Distribution (MIDA by its Spanish acronym)

filed a lawsuit against the government, asking the San

Juan Superior Court to declare the new tax unconstitu-

tional. They said that for some businesses the tax would

result with other taxes in 80% of revenue, which in

some cases exceeds 150%. In the debate, lawyers repre-

senting the government won the battle demonstrating

that there are processes, like the waiver, that enable

businesses to demonstrate to the Secretary that the tax

affects them to the point where they can’t pay the addi-

tional tax. The court ruled the Department to prepare the

bylaws of the waivers to assure a detailed process that

would be equal for each taxpayer.

In the accounting perspective, the most important issue

is that this tax is against the gross income. It charges a

number that does not take into consideration the varia-

tion in cost of goods sold, utilities, and other taxes that

are already implemented in our Code. At the same time,

the government applied sales and use tax for some ser-

vices between businesses, eliminated the retailer exempt

certificate for some businesses, and applied taxes for

bank services. All these changes probably will be dis-

cussed later in other articles, as well as how we should

prepare for the tax season that starts soon.

For more information about all these changes, you can look

into the Act 40-2013, Act 117-2013, and Circular Letters, Ad-

ministrative Determinations, Administrative Bulletins, all

from the Treasury Department.

14

Accounting Bowl awards activity

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The Accounting Major Bowl com-

petition that took place on Novem-

ber 21, 2013, intended to measure

the students' knowledge in the areas

of intermediate accounting, auditing

and cost accounting. This activity

which was attended by twenty-six

(26) association members was made

in order to recognize all students

who took the challenge to partici-

pate in the competition. First they

gave out the certificates of the com-

petition participants and were then

the first three places were awarded,

the first place was awarded to José

F. Rodríguez, the second was

awarded to Kelvin Diaz and the

third place to Kenneth Ramirez and

Frances Cruz. At the end there was a

small pizza party for the students

that attended the activity.

PWC office visit

Thursday, December 5, 2013

We started the day, when nineteen

(19) students of the University of

Puerto Rico at Humacao visited one

of the Big Four accounting firms,

PWC. The firm as an ice breaking

activity offered a small snack before

the scheduled conference.The con-

ference was led by Mariela Guerra.

At the conference the students

learned more about the values of the

firm, the services that provides in

Puerto Rico and the growth opportu-

nities it offers. As to the end of the

activity the students were offered a

small tour around the office.

Mentorship Program information

section

Simultaneously, at the University of

Puerto Rico at Humacao, the stu-

dents José F. Rodríguez and Frances

Cruz gave a small orientation on a

pilot mentoring project for thirty-

nine (39) students in our university.

This project is part of their duties as

AICPA Scholars. At the conference,

students learned about the mission

and tasks of the project and the re-

quirements to be eligible. Also,

questions about registration process

were answered.

UPRH’s Christmas Celebration

Finally, we participated in the

Christmas activity of the University

of Puerto Rico at Humacao. This is

a cultural and recreational event that

takes place every year, for the en-

joyment of the entire university and

external community. Each year the

presence and participation of student

organizations is requested, we were

no exception. We call the presence

of all our association members with

the intention of supporting the activ-

ity and also take the opportunity to

fraternize. With a presence of thirty-

eight association members (38),

who enjoyed good music, artistic

participation of the choir, the corps

de ballet and free local food and tra-

ditional lighting of the holiday

lights. It was an activity where we

had a nice and pleasant time as the

great family we are.

Summary of Past Activities

15

Medtronic’s office visit

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Nineteen (19) students of the Uni-

versity of Puerto Rico at Humacao

visited a well known pharmaceutical

in the eastern area of Puerto Rico,

Medtronic. On this visit, students

were offered a small snack before

the scheduled conference. At the

conference, students were able to

learn more about accounting proc-

esses in the use of cost accounting

in this industry. Finally, students

were offered a small tour in the

pharmaceutical, so that they can un-

derstand more the terms described

in the conference.

UPRH’s Annual Christmas

Concert

Friday, December 13, 2013

Ten (10) association members, de-

cided to enjoy Christmas music at

the annual concert of the Choir of

the University of Puerto Rico at

Humacao. This choir is composed of

several members of the Accounting

Association. The Christmas concert

this year was composed of two

parts, first a musical work with

members of the choir and then the

Christmas concert. It was a great

experience. Let Christmas begin!

Surviving the Finals Party

Also that day, fourteen (14) associa-

tion members met at Hannan's Pub

after finishing one of the most diffi-

cult weeks for college students,

THE FINALS. Here association

members listened to music, danced,

played pool and of course talked

about final exams. It was an activity

that allowed them to lose some

stress and start the awaited vaca-

tions.

Gathering at Chillis’ Restaurant

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

After the last day of the final exams,

twenty-eight (28) association mem-

bers went to celebrate at the Chilli's

Grill & Bar Restaurant. Members

were very delighted of exquisite

Mexican food. This day marked the

end of the semester and the abso-

lute. Now what remains is to share

the gift of happiness!

AUEC Bowling Night

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The "AUEC Bowling Night", had a

participation of over forty members

and eight teams. Members shared

over two hours of play with their

friends as they competed to be

crowned the best team. As a partici-

pation award each team received a

snack.

Summary of Past Activities

16

17

Summary of Past Activities

Hakata

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Hakata is a tradition of the town of

Caguas wherein the first or second

Thursday of the month youths

gather in the town’s plaza to share

good music and enjoy different

foods. This is one of the strategies

implanted by the town of Caguas to

strengthen the economy of their

small businesses. In this activity,

twenty-nine (29) AUEC members

gathered and shared with friends in

a familiar environment while buying

food and contributing to various

small businesses.

“Parranda” to Senior Center

Friday December 20, 2013

The gathering activity in the Senior

Center, Home Care Inc. in Humacao

was held for the purpose of sharing

and bringing joy to these elderly

people. We joined the University

Student Association Social Worker

to fulfill our mission. It was a time

of reflection and solidarity with our

neighbors.

“Paranda” to Hospital Ryder

Monday, December 23, 2013

he activity at the Hospital Ryder in

Humacao was carried out with the

purpose of sharing and bringing joy

to these people who were at the hos-

pital on this holiday season. Over

ten (10) members of AUEC took a

bit of Puerto Rican tradition to these

patients through a “parranda” ac-

companied with typical Christmas

music and sweets. We joined the

University Association of Social

Work Students to fulfill our mission.

It was a time of joy but also of soli-

darity with those who are less fortu-

nate than ourselves.

“Paranda” to Casa de Todos

Saturday, December 28, 2013

In conjunction with various groups

such as the University Association

of Social Work Students, Troop 32

of the Boy Scouts of Humacao, and

the Juncos fire department, AUEC

participated in an unforgettable day

for the children of Hogar Casa de

Todos in Juncos, a house whose

children were once victims of differ-

ent types of abuse and are now pro-

tected by the State. The day began

with a “parranda” for the children.

The kids then enjoyed a day full of

games with the Boy Scouts Troop.

To finish off the activity, AUEC and

AUETS members provided the chil-

dren with coloring books as a gift

and a small snack. This activity

gave the AUEC members the oppor-

tunity of bringing happiness to chil-

dren through music and games on