A Proud Sponsor of AUEC

Technology you have been missing on! 4

Email App 4

Calendar App 5

Dropbox 5

Pocket 5

Evernote 7

Google Drive 7

Linked in 8

Duolingo 8

iOS vs Andriod 9

Do I have to file a Tax Return? 11

Summary of Past Activities 12

For students

nowadays, there

really is an app

for everything.

There are finance

apps, camera

apps, game apps,

reading apps,

cooking apps and

every kind of app

you can imagine. With so many apps to explore

through, it can be nearly impossible to separate

the useful apps from the not so useful ones. Just

one look at the App Store or Google Play is

enough to get your brain spinning. Never fear.

Here are 9 apps you must have that are guaranteed

to help you thought your college and professional

career.

Don’t you hate to take out your computer every

time you want or need to check your email? Well

not anymore! By just using your phone’s email

application you can have your emails arrive di-

rectly to your phone in a matter of seconds. Al-

most every smartphone in the world has some sort

of email application, but for some reason people

may find this somewhat useless because they may

think it’s way too hard or complicated to use. Well

I’m here to inform you that having these kinds of

applications is a must have on your phones, lap-

tops and even tablets. When you’re accepted in

the UPR college system, no matter if it’s the Rio

Piedras or Humacao campus, we all get assigned a

school email that we have access to throughout

our college degrees. We can use this email to

communicate with our professors or classmates

for different circumstances. Here’s an example:

have you ever had the experience of showing up

to a class, waiting for the professor to arrive, but it

turns out he or she never shows up and you later

realize that he or she sent an email notifying that

there would be no class? It’s possible that you

never got it because you didn’t have your laptop

to check. Well, by having your email account or

accounts synced in to your smartphone you will

automatically be notified of each and every email

you receive throughout the day. Not only can you

receive emails but you can also send as many

emails as you need to with the touch of a button.

Since I began using this application, I’ve been

able to constantly communicate with professors

for whatever the circumstances throughout my

college degree. Whether you’re late to class or

can’t come to class, you can just write an email

using your email application and send it instantly.

However, college students aren’t the only ones

who can have this type of application. Business

people, such as project managers and even CEO’s

can find uses for them. Let’s say you’re an impor-

tant CEO and want to inform your Board of Di-

rectors about a meeting you would like have, but

you’re not at your office or have your laptop with

you at the moment. What can you do? Easy! Just

take out your smartphone to send an email to the

Board of Directors. As a college student, you

should stay informed at all times and with the ad-

vancement in technology it’s now possible. So

instead of questioning “how I’m I going to send

my email?”, just take advantage of these applica-

tions and I guarantee you will not have to suffer

again.

Technology you have been missing on!

4

The Calendar

app on your

phone is a vital

app to have on

your phone or

tablet. Its versatil-

ity makes it a

must have app to

download. Using

the Calendar app

we can make

notes of important events that are coming up, such

as when an assignment is due for school or to re-

member an important appointment. Furthermore,

it can be used for work and school schedules.

There's also the more basic use for the Calendar

app, which is simply to inform the user of the

date. If you like to keep your days organized and

like making schedules for your days, the Calendar

app will be extremely useful.

Dropbox is a must have app on any phone or tab-

let if the user likes to download a lot of music,

take many pictures and record videos. Dropbox is

an application used to store information and files

uploaded by the consumer. It's great for college

students, as it stores all assignments and will keep

them safe no matter what. Additionally, if the stor-

age on the consumer's phone or tablet is running

low, the consumer may simply upload photos,

files, documents, videos, music, etc., onto Drop-

box and store them there as opposed to on their

phone, tablet or computer. The greatest advantage

of uploading to Drop-

box is that it can be

accessed from any

electronic device. Ac-

cordingly, if the con-

sumer loses their

phone, tablet or lap-

top, they won’t lose

their important documents as well. If you have a

lot of files and documents that you don’t want to

lose, Dropbox will definitely be of aid.

¿Has it ever happened to you that you find some-

thing interesting on the internet and saving it (so

you can read it or watch it later) becomes a com-

plicated process? Surely it has happened to all of

us at least once. However, there is an effective

way to make our life easier: the app called

“Pocket” (formerly known as “Read it later”).

Pocket is a free service that allows us to save the

things we like that we cannot read or see at that

precise moment. Its slogan is “when you find

something you want to view later, put it in

Pocket”. No lies! This

app really offers a beauti-

ful way of reading those

things you saved for later.

The view is very clear

and easy on the eye and it

shows thumbnail images

and nice fonts.

When you download the app, you start by creating

an account with a user name and password. Once

the account is made, you can start to store your

favorites or interesting articles. Honestly, your

experience with this app will be great because it’s

very useful and you can have it in all your elec-

tronic devices. You just have to email the URL to

the contact Save to Pocket that it comes with an

email, and then you open the app to download the

article or video to your Pocket app and it will be

there whenever you want to read it.

This valuable app is a tool that all students should

use in their lifestyle because it allows everyone to

have what they need in an easy and simple way.

Are you ready to enjoy it? Once you do, you will

surely appreciate those who were inspired to cre-

ate this app.

5

“Evernote: Our new personal journal”

Throughout our lives we take notes to remember

important information, such as doctor appoint-

ments, class schedules, staff meetings or maybe

even just to remember a favorite song. Have you

ever wanted to find a way to make this process a

little easier? Well there is such an application that

does those things and more, and it’s called Ever-

note. Evernote is a cross-platform app that serves

many purposes—it can be your digital file stor-

age, note-taking tool, daily journal, task or project

management system, recipe-keeper, and more.

The goal of this application is to help the world

remember everything, communicate effectively

and get things done. It can be used on your per-

sonal computer, tablet, smartphone and it’s com-

pletely free. Let’s say you’re a project manager

and you want to share with your colleagues the

notes you’ve taken throughout a project. With Ev-

ernote you can share those notes and much more

information in a matter of seconds.

Evernote has a variety of different products that

can help you in every aspect of your life. As col-

lege students, we like to be informed about what

goes on in our classes and to have a schedule of

assignments we must hand in. Personally, as an

accounting student and future CPA, this applica-

tion has changed my perspective on note taking in

such a tremendous way. If I’m reading an article

about taxes on the Internet but don’t have the time

to read it completely, I can just save the article on

Evernote and read it later no matter where I am.

Even after you’ve graduated and are in the real

business world, Evernote can make your meetings

and presentations more interesting to make. No

matter if you’re an accounting or a biology stu-

dent, Evernote is a must have application because

of how you can apply it to your college or every-

day life.

When we talk about effective document manag-

ing, we talk about Google Drive. Through a slight

research on the Apps' Market we can appreciate

that the Google Company knows how to develop

the best apps focused in the business world. With

Google Drive, they create a place where you can

store all your files in one place. It’s pretty awe-

some because you can access your documents,

pictures and more from anywhere and share them

with your contacts.

For an accounting or business student this app is

extremely useful because it provides certain func-

tions that help while working on a research pro-

ject or similar assignments. Google Drive offers

collaborative editing on documents, spreadsheets,

presentations, and more. We can do so much with

it that it’s surprising! This app makes hard and

difficult tasks simple. Give it a try and you’ll see

that it’s worth downloading it.

7

We know that it’s difficult to always have our

professional resume on hand if we talk about

those printed on paper. However, there exists

something that that may come in handy. In this

new era, almost everybody has connection to

the internet and the “Apps World”. To solve this

problem while using technology, experts have

created the app called LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a social networking app mainly

used for professional networking. With this app,

it’s easy to get connected and expand your net-

work while also directly obtaining information

in your activities feed.

This app allows the registered users to maintain

a list of contacts called “Connections”. If you

open a LinkedIn account or profile, know that

you can invite anyone at any time, to become a

connection.

Why you should use it? That’s very easy to ex-

plain. LinkedIn is a good way to introduce your-

self to employers who are also registered on the

page. By letting others know about your experi-

ence, abilities and skills, it may open opportuni-

ties for you in the workplace.

All of us must take advantage of this app be-

cause as students we need those contacts or con-

nections for possible internship or job opportu-

nities in the future. Take the time to create

yours! It can only take you 10 minutes to update

your profile daily. You will not regret it!

Duolingo is a useful app that you have to

download to your phone or tablet if you want to

know and learn a lot more English and other

languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, Por-

tuguese and German in a way that’s totally free.

Some users who have already tried it say that

it’s better than Rosetta Stone and book learning

of any kind. You can study from anywhere, be it

your home, the beach, library, cybercafé, office,

and during your free time in college. When you

have the chance, you can connect at any time of

day and drive your own class schedule accord-

ing to your family and work life. Learn while

playing, losing your lives to wrong answers and

while practicing against the clock. It has audio

exercises, speech recognition and images for

your better learning. It’s an addictive app that

you have to download.

8

iOS vs Android

Google's Android and Apple's iOS are operating systems used primarily in mobile technology, such as

smartphones and tablets.

Android, which is Linux-based and partly open source, is more PC-like than iOS, in that its interface and

basic features are generally more customizable from top to bottom. However, iOS' uniform design ele-

ments are sometimes seen as being more user-friendly.

Which do you think

is the best?

9

Do I have to file a tax return? Giancarlo Esquilin

Senior Accounting Student

Certified Tax Return Specialist

That’s a good question and you will soon have the answer

with this article. Many people hate this season, the next

upcoming months, and obviously, the day when they have

to send the check in order to the Secretary of the Treasury

to pay their income taxes. But it is our responsibility as

citizens; we have to contribute to our government (even if

we believe that they do not use the money in a good way)

to maintain the services that are provided for the commu-

nities. Now that you are clear about why you should pay

[income] taxes, I will let you know if you have to.

First we should know what gross income is, and gross

income means all income from whatever source derived,

including but not limited to wages, salaries, interest, and

rent, among others. As a student, you probably relate

more to salaries and wages, even if you are not a full time

employee. Remember, income is income, even if you re-

ceive the payment in cash and there is no evidence in

checks or other document.

All this being said, are you now scared that the Treasury

Department will take your money because you are not a

good citizen and you did not file tax returns in previous

years? Take it easy. Not everyone should file a tax return,

even if you have some income during the year. The Inter-

nal Revenue Code (“the Code”) requires taxpayers who

have more than $5,000 in gross income to file a tax re-

turn. Better now? Keep reading. Now, you might be ask-

ing yourself: “do I have to pay income taxes because my

income is $5,001 or more?” The answer is: probably not.

Due to the changes in our tax system, many taxpayers

with less than $20,000 do not have to pay income tax

thanks to some credits and benefits due to low income.

Check this now. If you have more than $5,000 in income,

you are clear that you have to file a tax return. You also

know that if you have less than $20,000 in income, you

probably do not have to pay income taxes. Now, why you

should file a tax return even if you do not have to pay

taxes? First, law requires it. Second, you will probably

not pay taxes thanks to the credits calculated after the tax

liability, so you have to demonstrate why you are not pay-

ing taxes. Third, you will probably receive a tax reim-

bursement (I am not sure if on time, but that is not the

issue here). Fourth, if you receive a document, for exam-

ple a W-2, the Treasury Department already knows about

the income that you receive, and you will be liable to pen-

alties if you don’t file. So, do it.

Now, you should know some tips when filing your tax

return:

If you will pay for the preparation, be sure that

the preparer is certified. If not, look for another

one.

Discuss the tax return with the preparer if you

have any doubt.

Attach the required documents to the return. Also

keep a copy of them.

Sign your return.

Don’t send the return via mail; be sure that it is

stamped by the Treasury Department.

When you go to the Treasury Department, take a

copy of the return with you and be sure that they

put a stamp on it too.

Keep a copy, PLEASE.

Remember that income is calculated on a calendar-year

basis, from January to December. The due date for filing

a tax return is April 15, 2014, for income related to the

taxable year 2013. Please be sure of the information that

you put in the return and take into consideration that

when you sign it, you are confirming all the information.

If you have any doubts, contact a tax return specialist.

In the meantime, good luck waiting for your tax reim-

bursement, I’ll be waiting for mine too!

*The information provided here does not constitute

professional tax advice.*

11

Basic Concepts of Investigation

Thursday, January16, 2014

Forty-seven (47) AUEC mem-

bers assisted to this in order to

become familiar with the re-

quirements for the “National Ac-

counting Students Encounter”

research competition. Our lec-

turer for this activity was profes-

sor and CPA Carmen Medina,

who educated us on the subject

with a dynamic presentation.

Among others things, she dis-

cussed what a research is, the

steps and the sources of informa-

tion used to develop it, the es-

sential parts of the written pro-

ject and oral presentation, the

participation rules of the compe-

tition, and the prizes that will be

awarded at both the National

Competition and the AUEC

competition.

CIA Review

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Members of the University Ac-

counting Students Association of

the University of Puerto Rico at

Humacao participated in the

JLMA Open House and lecture

on the CIA exam. The confer-

ence was hosted by the CPA

Juan Lorenzo Martinez, who was

accompanied by the electoral

Controller. The talk mostly con-

sisted about the eligibility re-

quirements and the review

courses for the Certified Internal

Auditor certification

Tips for the CPA Exam

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Through this activity, we were

introduced to the young CPA

Ismael A. Vélez De la Rosa, the

highest score of the 2013 CPA

exam and a role model to the

sixty-five (65) AUEC members

who participated in this confer-

ence and aspire to the most im-

portant certification of our pro-

fession, the CPA. CPA Ismael

Vélez told us about his personal

experience while preparing for

the test and showed how his

preparation consisted mostly of

effective planning and good time

management. As a whole, this

activity was highly motivational

especially for those students

seeking the certification, because

the words and experiences of a

young student such as ourselves

demonstrated what we too can

accomplish with the right effort,

organization, and use of the tools

we have at our disposal today.

Summary of Past Activities

12

Baseball Game Final Series

Saturday, January 25, 2014

AUEC members and baseball

fans gathered at the Yldefonso

Solá Morales Baseball Stadium

in Caguas to enjoy one of the

games of the Final Series of the

Roberto Clemente Professional

Baseball League between the

Mayagüez Indios and the Caguas

Criollos.

All about Taxes

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Forty-nine (49) AUEC members

assisted this conference in order

to learn more about the field of

taxes from the renowned tax ex-

pert and former President of the

College of CPA's, Kenneth

Rivera. He began the conference

by explaining a little of the his-

tory of personal taxes in Puerto

Rico. Then he spoke of all per-

sons and entities that are re-

quired to pay taxes and the dif-

ferent types, such as the SUT,

VAT and excise taxes. Without

question, the conference was

great learning experience for all

those who attended, regardless

of whether or not the field of

taxes is where they aspire to

make their careers.

The Impact of Enron in the Ac-

counting Profession

Thursday, January 30, 2014

This activity was attended by

more than sixty (60) members of

our Association that wanted to

learn about the history of Enron

and the consequences it had on

our profession. To speak on the

subject, we invited the CPA Juan

Zaragoza, one of the former part-

ners of the now defunct firm Ar-

thur Andersen LLP., the firm

responsible for auditing Enron at

the time of the fraud's discovery.

Zaragoza spoke to us from a

firsthand perspective about En-

ron, its impact on his profes-

sional life, and about the subse-

quent emergence of Zaragoza &

Alvarado LLP, the firm of which

he is co-founder. It was an excel-

lent conference, full of interest-

ing details about the historic

case. We were also given the

opportunity to ask questions on

issues that have arisen as a result

of the Enron case. As you can

see, the conference met our ob-

jective of contributing to stu-

dent's education about the pro-

fession's past, present and future.

Summary of Past Activities

13