401(k) Funds to Hit $2.5 Trillion by ‘08

Cerulli Associates, a Boston-based financial services industry researcher, projects that 401(k) assets will reach $2.5 trillion by 2008–up $700 billion from 2003. And plans geared to small businesses are growing the fastest. That’s a challenge for small business owners trying to keep up with the competition — and an opportunity for experts ready to help.

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Posted on July 30, 2005
Filed Under BSG ENTREPRENEUR | Leave a Comment

Is Business Too Good for Your Own Good?

Business is good, but CPAs say the workload never eases up.

by Rick Telberg
At Large in the AICPA Insider

CPA across all areas of the profession this summer are confirming the best hopes and worst fears that the profession felt when the year was beginning. Yes, business is up across all sectors and should continue to improve, especially for public practice firms, but there are not enough people to handle the work.

Our readings are showing that two-thirds of CPAs in all sectors of the accounting profession are enjoying better business than last year. Asked to look 12 months into the future, roughly the same number expect their business conditions to be even better, although members in public practice are slightly more optimistic than members in business and industry.

[SURVEY:If so many professionals are working so hard, are business conditions to blame?]
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Posted on July 29, 2005
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 3 Comments

SURVEY PREVIEW: The CPA Optimism Index Results

Business isn’t bad. In fact it may be better than some other parts of the typical professional’s life these days.

Early results from the Optimism Index suggest that at mid-year 2005, accountants and financial managers are:

1… Most optimistic about the future of their own businesses…

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Posted on July 29, 2005
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Four Pictures LA Show

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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AAM show

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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Plostock and Frank at NY Show

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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Tech ‘05

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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How Happy Are You With Your Payroll System? Results

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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Top 2 Rules for Consultants

Hiring a Consultant? Or Is Your Firm Doing Consulting?

Rule No. 1: Know the industry.
Rule No. 2: Deliver quick results.

Clients are looking for quick results from consulting engagements that draw on in-depth understanding of industry-specific dynamics. Kennedy Information research finds that results are most efficiently generated by consultants who can solve industry-specific problems with fast solutions.
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Posted on July 28, 2005
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Opti index leftovers?

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Posted on July 28, 2005
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Salaries for 2005 Finance Grads Looking Up

Job market for undergrads, which tanked back in mid-2001, is roaring back.

Of course, that’s not, at first glance, good news for employers. On the other hand, it does mean, for the firms and companies who can be competitive, that they may be able to widen their leads over also-rans with better talent.

“Not all employers feel the economy is performing strongly; but they feel compelled to add workers after 3? years of very limited hiring,” says a survey of 582 employers conducted by Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute (CERI), according to Monster.com. Read more

Posted on July 27, 2005
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | Leave a Comment

11 Questions You Should Be Asking

A few easy-to-ask, feel-good questions can get a client or prospect comfortable and talking. It’s up to you know how to listen and how to find ways to help.

From Bob Burg, author of “Endless Referrals,” here are the first three to get started.

1. How did you get your start in the “widget” business?

2. What do you enjoy most about what you do?

3. What separates your company from your competition?

And here are eight more… Read more

Posted on July 25, 2005
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CPAs: You Need a Vacation

If wishes were horses, CPAs would be on their way to the beach.

by Rick Telberg
At Large
(first appeared in the AICPA Insider)

And if our straw poll means anything, it would be a beach in Hawaii.

The statistical side of the survey showed most accountants and finance managers taking between two and four weeks off, with only 8 percent getting a week, and 9 percent getting more than five weeks, as we first reported in last week’s AICPA Career Insider.

Still, 59 percent saw some of their hard-earned vacation days untaken, and 69 percent thought they deserved more vacation than they got. Just over half said they could be tempted to take another job that offered more time off.

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Posted on July 25, 2005
Filed Under BSG BUSINESS BUILDER | 2 Comments

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