Corporate Fraud Surges 50% in 2 Years

BSG ADVISORY: Firms should be making fraud a key wedge issue in marketing, while financial executives must join with other departments to take a strategic role.

LONDON (press release) — Rising economic crime poses a growing threat to companies, with nearly half of all organisations worldwide being victims of fraud in the past two years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Economic Crime Survey 2005. The number of companies reporting fraud increased from 37 percent to 45 percent since 2003, a 22 percent increase. The cost to companies was an average US$1.7 million in losses from “tangible frauds,” those which result in an immediate and direct financial loss. These include asset misappropriation, false pretenses and counterfeiting.
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Posted on November 29, 2005
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Blog, Blog, Blog

Accountants jump on the blogging bandwagon. But look before you leap.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

Kids do it. Pundits do it. Curmudgeons and goofballs do it. And yes, even accountants do it. They blog.

Blogs are, of course, “Web logs,” the cyberspace equivalent of diaries, except that they aren’t kept under lock and key in boxes under beds. They’re unfurled on Web sites for all to see - all who care to look, anyway. If the term “blog” sounds too radical or off-putting, then just consider blogging a really simple content management system.
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Posted on November 28, 2005
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PFP Study: Hot Niche Shows No Signs of Cooling

New study from Bay Street Group shows CPAs surging into personal financial planning services

Key Data Points:
 Tax, Accounting and Financial Professionals are practically unanimous in agreement that the Baby Boom generation IS NOT ADEQUATELY PREPARED for retirement.
 Professionals seem to agree most often that a reasonable rate of return on retirement investments over the next 20 years should be ABOUT 5% TO 6%.
 Most of today?s Baby Boomers should expect a retirement lasting AT LEAST 20 YEARS.
 Baby Boomers may be in for a rude awakening: Professionals believe most RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ARE UNDER-FUNDED and the Boomers will need to WORK LONGER and to an OLDER AGE than they currently expect.
 Professionals are widely involved in RETIREMENT PLANNING, utilizing TAX, ESTATE AND TRUST STRATEGIES, and are routinely involved in SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT ISSUES.
 The CPA?s biggest reservation about working with an outside financial services provider is that the provider is, too often, TOO ?SALESY.?
 More than 8 in 10 CPAs see the profession becoming MORE INVOLVED in Personal Financial Planning Services over the next three to five years.

Download the pre-publication Executive Preview here: BSGPFPTrendsExecPreviewNov05_wbdr.pdf

The study is still open and underway. It’s not too late to add your point of view and get the results. Read more

Posted on November 21, 2005
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Getting Reliable Marketplace Info

http://webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=15941&pg=pracacc&print=yes

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By Jeff Stimpson

If you want honest opinions about your firm, nothing beats a roomful of people who, theoretically at least, don’t care if you like what they have to say about you. Advertisement

A focus group, as opposed to a firm’s established “advisory board,” typically consists of clients and local business leaders offering insights to manage practice development. The group itself often meets just once, though as a concept focus groups can be ongoing. Often essential are clear objectives, participants who represent the market, and a neutral facilitator. When well done, focus groups can reveal attitudes, opinions, feelings, and perceptions that other data-collection methods may not.

Above all, partners shouldn’t pigeonhole focus groups as only capable of benefiting makers of consumer-oriented products: They can really help an accounting firm pinpoint marketing and other operations.

The Nebraska-based firm Contryman Associates has been conducting focus groups for four years, according to Linda Slothower, marketing director. Slothower says her firm began the groups with one office, and now four of the firm’s five offices host them annually. “We’ve gained many referrals from the groups’ members, and enhanced relationships with them. The groups have proven to be very beneficial, in many cases confirming things that we’ve known needed to be done, and provided ammunition to make the needed changes.”

Lisa Rozycki of the LR Marketing Group, Wyomissing, Pa., conducted focus groups as a marketing director in an accounting firm in specific industry niches. “You can obtain great feedback from the group that you wouldn’t normally get from a mailed client satisfaction survey,” she notes. “The added benefit is that ‘A’ clients are genuinely interested in helping the firm succeed, and will cross-sell each other at the meeting on services that they’re currently using from the firm. It’s also another way to show these clients that you value the relationship you have with them.”

An Alternative: In-Depth Interviews

Smith & Gesteland in Madison, Wis., has been using another useful tool in gathering market intelligence: in-depth interviews (IDIs). “It’s been a great alternative,” says Neil Fauerbach, director of business development and marketing. “So much so that we’re willing to pay the premium of doing IDIs over focus groups.”

Interviews are conducted with select clients, prospects, and lost clients, using a professional researcher to conduct the interviews. “We pay a stipend of $100 to the participants in exchange for about an hour of their time,” says Fauerbach, adding that the discussion gathers information about participants’ motivations, their experience with other service providers, their pet peeves, their experience with S&G, “and anything else that comes up.”

“We used this same researcher to conduct IDIs with 10 of our referral sources to gather data and feedback that we fed into our strategic plan,” he adds. “The value of using an outside expert trained in interviewing is that the data gathered is very pure and very deep. Since the participant is anonymous, they feel free to discuss sensitive issues. She’s also very good at analyzing the data, developing conclusions, and creating recommendations.”

Groups’ Makeup

“We usually have about 12 participants,” Slothower says, “selected to represent a cross-section of our firm’s better clients, with a mix of male and female, industries represented, age groups, and other factors. We also include a couple of non-client referral sources or business leaders, and sometimes a prospective client.” Adds Rozycki, “There were 10 to 12 people in each group, selected based on whether they were an ‘A’ client. We gave each partner an opportunity to suggest a participant from his or her client base.

“We used clients, but I’d agree that getting feedback from referral sources in the marketplace would be very beneficial,” adds Rozycki. “It all depends on your needs. What information are you seeking? Is it client-service related, or are you interested in what’s truly going on in the marketplace?” Sam Patrick, president of Patrick Marketing & Communications in Greenville, S.C., and a former marketing director for the firm Elliott Davis, has helped conduct focus groups some 40 times. “I like group sizes of six to eight, for manageability,” he says. “They typically are comprised of the target we identify, and usually a mix of customers and non-customers. For new product or service lines, they’re non-customers. We strive to achieve a balance, and also to identify and represent groups of greatest potential.”

Consultant Allan Boress (www. ihatesellinginstitute.com) says that a limit of 10 is a good number of participants. “Over that is unmanageable,” he says. “I ask clients to select each group at random, based on whether they are an ‘A,’ ‘B,’ or ‘C’ client. Most firms want their best clients (that is, their best friends) in such groups to minimize negative feedback and limit damage. This is totally unacceptable. It must be a random cross-section.” Boress has also had accounting firm clients invite business leaders in, “gather their advice, and then do nothing. This just makes them look bad in the entire business community, not just in their own client group!”

Ruth Dumesic, director of business development for the Madison, Wis., firm Suby, Von Haden & Assoc., says her firm has used clients to determine interests in topics for seminars, but has also used business leaders and non-clients when looking for more in-depth information on service needs. It involved an internal meeting to discuss the purpose and goals, and who would be involved from an internal and external source. “We didn’t use an outside facilitator,” she adds. “We felt that we had organized it appropriately to handle it internally.”

Edmond Russ, partner and chief marketing and sales officer for Chicago-based Grant Thornton, says his firm started its Business Leaders Council in 2000, and since that time, Council members meet twice a year as a facilitated focus group, in the fall and spring. The Council currently consists of 37 business leaders and executives who discuss economic, business, and competitive issues that affect the growth and profitability of companies.

Russ says groups consist of 37 participants. “All are clients selected on the basis of the forward-looking, innovative quality of the CEO. Recently, we’ve been diversifying the membership by inviting executives from organizations with higher revenues ($500 million to above $1 billion).” Members come from a cross-section of industries and markets nationwide. “Although we have 37 in the pool, generally 16 to 20 attend any given session, so it’s a manageable group,” Russ adds.

By way of follow-up, GT commissions an independent market research firm to complete telephone interviews with 300 business leaders and senior execs at companies with annual revenues between $50 million and $2 billion.

Planning and Preparation

Russ says “substantial” strategic and tactical planning went into organizing the GT group, including: establishing the mission of the group; defining criteria for CEO and company selection; site selection and arranging transportation, lodging, and meals; planning the agenda and process; identifying internal and external facilitators; and evaluating the session and recommendations for improvement of the next session.

Slothower says Contryman team members in an office brainstorm about who would make good participants. Office managers and other shareholders help determine issues to be addressed and questions to be asked.

“Preparation is key,” adds Patrick, “as is moderation of the groups. Other keys are involving all parties, clearly articulating the goals of the group, keeping the discussion on track, and avoiding domination by a single person.” A/V aids are also useful, he adds.

Jeffrey Pawlow, CEO and managing shareholder of The Growth Partnership consultancy in St. Louis and a facilitator of focus groups for a small but growing number of accounting firms, advises inviting a cross-section of noncompetitive key clients. Invitation is via a call from the partner in charge of the account, followed by a formal invitation. “We’ll probably invite 25 people, with the expectation that we’ll get 15 to 18,” he says. They’re greeted at the door by the firm’s managing partner, who then disappears for the two to three hours during which Pawlow takes participants through a series of questions about what participants view as their dream relationship with the firm in question. The session is tape recorded, and the execs of the firm listen to the tape after the group disbands.

Using Groups for Clients

Focus groups can send opinions in more than one direction. Five years ago, for instance, Atlanta-based Porter Keadle Moore thought it would benefit clients who were organizing or had recently opened a new bank if they were provided a forum to exchange ideas and share detailed financial information with other banks that were facing similar issues, recalls Laura Snyder, director of marketing. She says her firm started facilitating free quarterly meetings for executives of newly formed bank clients.

PKM is one of the only firms in Atlanta with banking specialization, generating 65 percent of its $8 million in annual revenue from banking clients in 2004. The original marketing efforts were low-key, often just involving asking new-bank clients if they’d be interested in such a group. Invitees were limited to paying clients. Meetings are quarterly.

“This group has proved very beneficial to our clients, and has given us a business development value-add that’s helped us grow this niche within our banking practice,” Snyder says. “We currently have about 80 members of the group representing 45 banks, as compared with about 30 members representing 20 banks in 1999. Based on the success of this group, we also formed a CFO/controller group for our more experienced bankers and those who’ve outgrown the issues discussed in the first group’s setting.”

The CFO events run about four hours, the first half devoted to a structured discourse of hot topics for the quarter, possibly featuring an outside speaker. The second centers on a more informal, roundtable discussion of topics gleaned from attendees, usually by e-mail, before the meeting. CFO/controller events are also open to prospects, charge an admittance fee, and feature discussions on business management issues, such as profit enhancement and growth, rather than on day-to-day operations as in the group for new banks.

PKM has leveraged these meetings and seminars to quietly promote its leadership and expertise. Feedback has been “fabulous,” says Snyder.

“Non-sales-oriented activities such as these give firms an advantage, and demonstrate to the clients that the firms are there to help.”

The Facilitator Question, and Cost

Hiring a market research firm to conduct focus groups can run thousands of dollars. Rozycki says she co-facilitated the first group with an outside facilitator, who charged $1,500, and took them over herself afterwards. Other prices for facilitators range from $3,000 to $5,000.

Outside facilitators can be important, however, as Pawlow says a good facilitator can head off the managing partners’ most common fears about focus groups in general: that the “unvarnished opinions” of one unhappy key client can “poison the entire group,” though once the group perceives him accurately as “outside the firm,” they speak freely.

“I don’t think an insider can emotionally detach themselves in order to conduct a legitimate conversation,” Boress says. “Also, clients and referral sources are much more likely to be open with strangers.”

“We use a professional facilitator from Harris Interactive, a research firm which also conducts the subsequent survey,” says Russ. “The facilitator does an excellent job of drawing out members’ issues, concerns, and ideas, and keeping the pace of the meeting going. In addition to this typical normal facilitation, Harris employs proprietary software during the session that enables all attendees to voice their opinions and thoughts electronically, and facilitates the capture, analysis, and prioritization of participants’ input.” Cost, he adds, is approximately $20,000 per session.

It’s worth it, he adds. “The focus group component uncovers the key issues that form the questions for the survey. Together, the two components help us understand the business issues that the leaders of our client organizations are facing.”

Sometimes you can find a good facilitator right in your firm. Slothower’s firm uses an employee of one of Contryman’s affiliated companies, an experienced business consultant who’s been with the firm for a number of years. “As marketing director, I’m also part of the facilitation team. The only outside costs we incur are lunch for participants, and a small gift, so our costs are less than $30 per person,” adds Slothower.

“Depending on the complexity of the topic, outside moderators can be extremely helpful,” says Patrick, who says one group he participated in once came down to a shoving match between other participants. “Also, inexperienced moderators can end up not getting you the information you need.” There are many reliable providers of this service in virtually every market of size, he adds, including many who specialize in consumer goods, retail, financial services, and other areas. “I’ve paid as much as $3,500 per day for a good moderator who conducted multiple groups in a single day,” Patrick adds.

Other potential costs of groups, he says, include facility rental. “It’s better to be in a place where observers are not visible to the group, which requires a one-way mirror set-up,” he notes.

Resulting Follow-Up Action

Slothower cites several initiatives of her firm that stemmed directly from a focus group: updating and remodeling offices; increased focus on timeliness, with systems developed to address this; additional detail on invoices; involvement by more than one team member for every key client; greater focus on offering ideas to clients, rather than waiting for them to ask about something and simply responding; annual, rather than occasional, client-appreciation events; discussions of the broader range of services provided by the firm; and more frequent visits to key clients’ businesses.

Focus groups can help launch niche efforts and programs, if only by giving the champion partner of the project more confidence and peace of mind. Patrick recalls launching an eldercare program at his firm based on “confirmation of the opportunity” through focus groups. “We also launched an advisory board in a tough market based on positive reaction to the idea,” he says.

“One of the themes we often hear is group members wanting the firm to be more proactive in telling them things that help them run their business better,” Pawlow notes. “Many participants said they wanted our partners to be more proactive in bringing ideas to them,” Rozycki recalls. “That was an eye-opener for some partners, who had been contacting clients infrequently.”

Misconceptions and Best Practices

Among the biggest misconceptions accounting firms might have over using focus groups, Russ warns that the forum might be “misused as an opportunity to sell accounting services, rather than to elicit important information of benefit both to focus group participants and to readers of the survey results.”

“I think accountants are very risk-adverse, and view this form of gathering feedback as very risky,” says Rozycki. “They’re often afraid to hear what their clients think of them. They don’t like criticism. But wouldn’t you want to find out what you need to improve on before it’s too late?” Boress maintains, further, that accounting firms will go out of their way to not learn how poorly they might be servicing clients.

“It’s very hard to remain independent when asking pertinent questions about the firm or its services. I’d use an outside resource that’s independent of the accounting firm,” says Dumesic. “For example, a marketing research department of a local college or university, or an actual research consultant.”

“It’s important to use unbiased questions,” Dumesic also warns. “Many people are wise to how they think they should respond in focus groups, and that’s not getting to the purpose of what you want from a group. You want truthful, honest answers to questions, not answers on how participants think they should respond.”

Russ advises being clear about the expected outcome, the questions to be posed, the related quantitative study to be done, and the benefits to participants for taking part.” Often, he even asks CEOs why they’d want to take the time to attend GT’s focus group. “Many respond that they first came as a favor to the engagement partner who has served them so well,” he reports, “but after participating in their first session, they realized that they’re the ones who derive the most benefit. They find the interaction with their peers extremely helpful in understanding their own current business issues, and in uncovering new, creative ways to deal with them.”

Worth the Effort

Focus groups are no cure-all, Patrick stresses, and don’t replace quantitative homework and thoroughly researching an opportunity.

“They’re time-consuming whoever organizes them,” says Slothower, “but the benefits far outweigh the cost.”

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Posted on November 21, 2005
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CFOs, CPAs Succeeding Together

With financial executives off-loading finance work to accounting firms, both sides may be profiting.

by Rick Telberg/At Large

Rick Telberg

You’d better watch out. Companies are looking for you? big companies. And they want to hit you with some money? big money.

Why you? Because you’re an accountant. You know money. Finance. Numbers. Technology. You can be trusted with somebody else’s payroll. Their accounts receivable. Their payables. Their purchasing, revenue accounting, general accounting. These are the activities that big companies most often outsource, and lately they’ve been outsourcing like never before.

Finance and accounting (F&A) market advisors agree, almost without exception, that companies were outsourcing F&A jobs more often in the third quarter of 2005 than in the first half of the year. Some see whole new markets in F&A outsourcing, from asset management for hedge funds to complex financial product development. And that goes without mentioning Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.

And let’s make it clear: We’re not talking about offshoring here. This is finance and accounting work that’s going largely to U.S.-based, U.S.-owned firms. Some of the biggest players are household names - Accenture, EDS and IBM, for example. They may not be, strictly speaking, “CPA firms” but they are, nevertheless huge employers of accountants, financial managers and CPAs. The fact is that if you’re a financial manager, you’re probably looking to streamline non-strategic departmental functions. And if you’re an accounting firm or business services provider, you’re probably picking up some of that business.

Take mid-sized TAD Accounting, for instance, which boasts that “Our mission is to be a pioneer and leader in the outsourced bookkeeping and accounting industry.” Or national powerhouses Protiviti or Jefferson Wells.

That makes for a lot of potential customers for auditors who want to branch out into something new, different and lucrative. In some cases, these are opportunities for firms looking to branch into an area that fits the skill set of their personnel. It’s far easier to train staff to process accounts receivable than to conduct audits. In a market short of personnel, maybe the solution is a new market.

Interestingly enough, the biggest outsourcers today are financial services companies - companies that can relate to professionals of the accountancy persuasion. According to FAO Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., three-quarters of financial services companies polled between July and September indicated they were using or interested in using third-party assistance for some kind of enterprise service.

The company-wide scope of these outsourced services is especially interesting because large companies constitute the largest share of interested buyers of financial and accounting services. Well over a third of enterprise-wide finance and accounting outsourcing contracts were for amounts over $500 million. A fifth were for $250-to-$499 million. And the average value of contracts is expected to rise as companies get used to outsourcing more kinds of services.

Contracts were not only big but long - most spanning five years or more. Fewer than half as many extended from three to five years, and virtually none were for less than three years.

Financial services companies aren’t the only ones interested. Half of all consumer packaged goods and retail companies expressed interest. Thirty-eight percent of manufacturers may outsource soon. A quarter of healthcare, utility and business services companies also expressed interest. So did a quarter of governments.

The most commonly outsourced activities are transactional in nature, jobs handling accounts payable and receivable, payroll and so on. The general objective is, of course, to reduce costs, streamline business processes and upgrade information technology systems. But some companies are looking for longer-term benefits, such as transforming the internal environment of an entire enterprise or knitting together the disparate systems of various operating units.

Talk of outsourcing today comes under a dark cloud with visions of crackly phone calls to Bangalore or Seoul, but many companies, large and small, would prefer to trust their business to the shop down the street, the auditor who already knows the company, its culture, its people, its problems and its aspirations.

Clearly, the opportunities for CPA firms, from the sole practitioner to the international firm, are huge. Everyone wants to outsource. It’s just a matter of who wants to do the work. Read more

Posted on November 20, 2005
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Burgum Steps Aside at Microsoft

Exec in charge of small business software division steps aside

SEATTLE — Doug Burgum is leaving his leadership position as senior vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions to take a newly created “chairman” job in the division.

Burgum came to Microsoft five years ago when the Redmond software giant bought Great Plains Software Inc., where he was president. The acquisition was part of Microsoft’s effort to get into small- and medium-size-business software.

Microsoft recently revamped the product line under a new name, Microsoft Dynamics. Still, the unit has continued to lose money. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Microsoft Business Solutions reported an operating loss of $12 million on revenue of $181 million. The compares with a loss of $31 million on revenue of $156 million in the same period a year earlier.

In an e-mail to employees Thursday, Burgum said that the recent launch of the Dynamics product line made it the right time to leave his position. He said he would stay in charge until a replacement is found.
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Posted on November 18, 2005
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MYOB Launches BusinessEssentials v2

Suite Delivers New Features for Small Business Owners

ROCKAWAY, N.J.(BUSINESS WIRE)–MYOB US, Inc. has released BusinessEssentials version 2, a basic small business management and accounting suite that includes enhancements to its accounting software component, BusinessBasics, as well as business tools including financial forecasting and logo design software, business planning aids, and small business training books. Read more

Posted on November 17, 2005
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SOX Boosts Corporate Tax Execs,Too

New Regulations Prompt Extensive Tax Department Changes to Meet Increased Company Demands

NEW YORK (press release) — There is a clear link between Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance work and dramatically higher profiles for senior tax executives, particularly with audit committees and boards of directors, according to a survey of senior tax executives by KPMG. Read more

Posted on November 17, 2005
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Small Biz Owners Flock to Blogs

So what are you doing about it?

If you’re not blogging, you may be missing a key ingredient in reaching your target customer. A new survey of small business owners by Warrillow & Co. shows that Web-centric entrepreneurs are twice as likely (at 20%) to be reading blogs than the general adult population. As a group, these entrepreneurial bloggers represent over 700,000 small businesses.

Aggregator Opportunities for Reaching Bloggers
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Posted on November 16, 2005
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MIP Fund Accounting Gets Customizable Sage Info Center

AUSTIN, TX (from a press release) — Sage Software said its Sage MIP Fund Accounting solutions for nonprofit and government organizations have been enhanced with Sage Information Center — a dynamically updated source of relevant product information, tips, announcements, training information, and access to Sage Software’s regional training calendar, and customer feedback links. Read more

Posted on November 16, 2005
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Creative Solutions Upgrades Web Builder

DEXTER, Mich. - Creative Solutionssaid its web building and hosting service, Web Builder CS, now offers Forefield Knowledge Trust Content as a core feature. Web Builder CS customers can now access more than 350 financial-planning articles, 500 frequently asked questions (FAQs), and 200 interactive tools that they can post on their websites for use by their clients. Access to Forefield Knowledge Trust Content is available with the October 2005 release of Web Builder CS.

Forefield Inc. is a leading provider of online content and solutions that facilitate the communication of client-centric financial planning knowledge and advice that is current, concise, and compliant. Content offered through Forefield is consistently updated to ensure timely information and relevant facts.
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Posted on November 16, 2005
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Louisville Firm Re-Orgs for Corporate Structure

Jones, Nale & Mattingly Restructures “to Enhance Growth and Client Service”

LOUISVILLE, K.Y., — Jones, Nale & Mattingly PLC says it is is transitioning from a traditional partnership structure to a corporate model. The firm has created a Board of Directors that is responsible for managing the overall direction of the organization. The board has the authority to develop policies and strategies that are designed to achieve the firm’s mission and vision.

By streamlining its business structure and clearly defining leadership responsibilities, Jones, Nale & Mattingly says it will be able to more effectively manage client relationships and service teams going forward.

As part of the restructuring, the firm announced that R. Wayne Stratton, CPA/ABV/CFE/CrFA, has been named Chair of the Board. In his new role, Mr. Stratton, who has over 35 years of experience with JNM, is responsible for the overall management of the Board of Directors.

“This new structure clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of our leadership,” said Wayne Stratton. “The structure promotes innovation and enhances our ability to proactively provide comprehensive, strategic financial solutions for our clients. This is a natural next step toward maximizing the potential of our firm.”

The firm also announced that Jon Meyer has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, charged with implementing the policies of the board and managing the day to day operations of the organization. In his role as CEO, Mr. Meyer will report to the board regarding matters of policy.

“Our firm is dedicated to serving middle market companies and their families throughout Kentucky, wherever they need help around the globe,” Jon Meyer said. “This new structure is a continuation of our long-held approach to provide clients — our neighbors — with simple access to the products, service and expertise they need to guide their business and financial success.”

In addition to the appointments of Stratton and Meyer, the firm announced the following members of the company’s board of directors:
— David Price, Technology Director
— Ken Lear, Audit Director
— Dennis Martin, Tax Director Read more

Posted on November 16, 2005
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CCH Rolls Out CCH@Hand Version 2.0

RIVERWOODS, Ill. (from a press release)? CCH has released Version 2.0 of CCH@Hand?, an application that speeds and integrates tax research with the workflows of accountants, tax preparers and lawyers. Read more

Posted on November 16, 2005
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