Diane Q. Vaughn, MS, CPA After working for public accounting firms in Colorado since 1984 and growing tired of larger firms' inefficiencies, client complaints about constantly being shuffled from one accountant to another, and overhead restraints, Diane started her own practice in October 2004 and is loving it! She has finally been able to focus on client service instead of accounting firm owner egos. Because of her public accounting background, she has extensive experience with a wide variety of businesses. Her business clientele has included restaurants, construction companies, law firms, financial planners, medical/dental and veterinary practices, chiropractors, physical therapists, personal trainers, plumbers, traders (with and without a mark-to-market election), retail stores, real estate brokers, rental real estate companies, software consultants, homeowner’s associations, property management companies, retail stores and other assorted service businesses. After receiving her Masters degree in 1994, she expanded her knowledge in the taxation area (tax planning, research, and compliance for individuals and businesses). In addition to providing taxation services, Diane consults with clients regarding their accounting systems to help them generate accurate financial reports to enable them to make the decisions that are crucial to the success of their business. Diane's philosophy revolves around personal attention to each and every client, with a special interest in tax planning and minimizing tax liability. By taking the time to know you and your specific situation, she can apply her knowledge, experience and integrity to benefit you in ways you will truly appreciate. Personal Interests Diane grew up in rural northeast Montana in farm and ranch country. The daughter of wheat farmers, she enjoys the outdoors and wide open spaces. In her spare time, she dabbles in genealogy. She has been to Norway (where her mother's parents were born) twice to visit with relatives. (Uffda!) Her father's paternal ancestors were Mennonites (Germans from Russia) and came to Nebraska in the late 1800's to escape religious persecution. (When Alexander II revoked the privileges offered to the Germans who had settled in Russia more than a century earlier under Catherine the Great, such as exemption from military service and religious freedoms, the emigration of the Germans from Russia to the Americas began.) Professional License Diane was certified with the Colorado State Board of Accountancy in 1996. Individual Registration No. 16463, Firm Registration No. 12746. See what it takes to become a CPA and to maintain a CPA license in Colorado. Education Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, 1984 (Concordia is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) Masters of Science in Business Administration, Taxation Emphasis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 1994
Publications Published in the April 1996 issue of National Public Accountant, “Get Out Your Crystal Ball! Do Practitioners Have a Duty to Predict Retroactive Tax Legislation?" Buy a copy of the article on Amazon. This article was adapted from her Colorado State University thesis. U.S. v. Carlton (92-1941), 512 U.S. 26 (1994), one of 1994's most closely-watched tax cases, was handed down by the United States Supreme Court on June 13, 1994. At issue was a 1987 congressional amendment retroactively limiting the availability of an estate tax deduction for sales of employer securities to employee stock ownership plans. The case received intense scrutiny because of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (1993 Tax Compromise) enacted in August 1993 which raised estate and income taxes retroactively back to January 1, 1993. The passage of the 1993 Tax Compromise renewed the public outrage and the interminable debate surrounding the constitutionality of retroactive taxes. The Carlton decision attempted to further clarify Congress' power to enact retroactive legislation.
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Fort
Collins, CO 80526