CFOs Go Back to Basics

With SOX shock wearing off, finance execs focus on management issues.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

CPAs’ intensive focus on financial reporting and compliance issues that began with the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley accounting reform law of 2002, may be starting to share priorities with other pressing business matters ? improving organizational performance and staffing.

CPAs in all fields of the profession are three times more likely to be increasing their focus on organizational/performance and staff recruitment/retention than they are to be increasing their focus on compliance and governance, according to a Bay Street Group study.

While not downplaying the significance of financial reporting, CPAs are facing the bitter reality of squeezing out profits with a reduced employment pool. “We’re all trying to do more with less,” says Greg Libertiny, president of a consulting firm in Ridgewood, N.J. Read more

Posted on April 30, 2006
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | Leave a Comment

IRS: 2006 Tax Filing Season Sets Records

Use of tax professionals rises 9.4% to 50 million returns

WASHINGTON (from the IRS) ? The Internal Revenue Service said the 2006 filing season set a series of records, highlighted by 70 million tax returns being filed electronically this year and home computer usage jumping 18 percent.

The jump in e-file reflected a larger increase in the use of electronic services. The IRS saw new records in filings from home computers and the use of IRS.gov.

?We saw a surge of e-filing at the end of the tax season, particularly with people using software on home computers. Compared to recent years, we had much more e-filing in the weeks leading up to the deadline, signaling that more balance due filers are embracing this service,? said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. ?Overall, we received more tax returns electronically this year than the number of paper returns we processed for the entire United States in 1966. E-file is changing the way the nation does taxes.? Read more

Posted on April 27, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

Top 10 Issues for Your Next Strategy Session

The hot topics your firm can’t afford to ignore. What’s on your agenda?

by Rick Telberg
At Large

With tax season officially over, if not forgotten, and desks cleared for the summer, accounting firms are turning their attention to planning for the future.

It’s a season for rest and recreation, as well as catching up on CPE and investing in new systems, equipment and software. But before any final decisions are made, many firms will be gathering their staffs and executive teams for some soul-searching strategy sessions. These partner retreats, often held at a comfortable resort, can be mere formalities. But the best of them will tackle tough issues ? the kind of issues that no one really wants to confront but once a year, in a neutral setting at that.
Read more

Posted on April 23, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

Tips for Managing Work-at-Home Staffers

Staffers, supervisors learn how to succeed.

by Rick Telberg
On Careers

Public practice CPAs appear to be leading the way for Corporate America in developing the concepts and methods for working from the friendly confines of their homes.

CPA financial managers in business and industry are also adopting new work-at-home flex schedules for valued professionals. And yet, many still have reservations and are seeking guidance on how to do it effectively, while also convincing upper management it truly is the wave of the future.

Ava Idom, owner of a small business in Dallas, recalls that when she allowed several employees to work from home on a full-time basis, “all of them failed to produce and all of them were subsequently fired.” Instead of taking care of business, her at-home crew opted to watch television, play video games and do their housework. Read more

Posted on April 19, 2006
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | 9 Comments

ProSystem fx Profit Driver Adds Benchmarking

New financial diagnostic and analytical solution from CCH

RIVERWOODS, ILL. (from CCH) - ProSystem fx Profit Driver now empowers accountants to advise their clients on how they stack up against a number of important financial benchmarks and lay out specific steps for improvement against those benchmarks.

?Increasingly, clients look to their accountants to tell them how they are doing, and more importantly, how to do better. With its new benchmark data, Profit Driver lets accountants do that in depth, with real substance,? said Stuart Gill, CCH product manager. ?Profit Driver also allows the accountant to become a trusted advisor and coach, showing the client just what needs to be changed and just how much improvement is possible.?

Benchmarking data can be selected by industry and specific criteria of the business based on sales size, total assets size or historical data. ?Traffic lighting? can be used to immediately identify how a business compares to industry standards for classic financial ratios, identifying both areas of the business where a client excels and where there is room for improvement compared to competitors.

?What if? analysis is integrated with the benchmarking data. This allows users to show what the financial ratios and statements would be for a business if it matched the industry standards. Profit Driver?s goalseeking function crunches the benchmarking data and provides guidance for success, with specific targets for how to attain those goals in all areas where a business needs improvement. Reporting on the benchmarks is also available.

About ProSystem fx Profit Driver
ProSystem fx Profit Driver is a financial diagnostic and analytical solution that transforms client data into an interactive strategic planning tool, enabling professionals to instantly show their clients the outcomes of what-if scenarios and develop detailed plans for reaching goals. Profit Driver integrates with the ProSystem fx Office, as well as data in spreadsheet form. Read more

Posted on April 18, 2006
Filed Under BSG MARKETPLACE - Products, Services and Vendors | Leave a Comment

The End of Tax Season 2006

How are you going to celebrate?

Here are a few ideas and responses from around the profession.

The beginnning of financial planning season!!
Todd Mussard, Appalachian Tax & Accounting, Johnson City, TN

My daughter’s birthday is on April 16, she wants to go skiing so that is what we will do.
Taylor Welz CPA/PFS, CFP, Bowman and Company LLC, Stockton, CA

Vacation in May with the family.
Steven R Perryman, Perryman & Associates, Springfield, Missouri
Read more

Posted on April 17, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 2 Comments

Cheers! You Survived Tax Season ‘06!

Practitioners report few glitches, solid business results.

JOIN THE STUDY, GET THE FACTS: How does your tax operation compare to others? Join the study panel, be among the first to get the benchmarks in your free Executive Preview and the pre-2007 Tax Season Survival Guide.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve lived through another tax season. And if you’re one of the thousands of tax practitioners who joined our tracking polls during the season, you’re probably more than satisfied with how it all went. Early reports from the home stretch indicate, in round numbers, that about 40 percent of practitioners were enjoying a smoother season than in 2005, with about 35 percent calling it even. One in four practitioners (25%) said it was worse. Read more

Posted on April 16, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

CFOs: Half Don’t Cover Staff CPE

They’re missing a valuable aid to recruitment and retention

MENLO PARK, CA. (Robert Half) — As demand intensifies for skilled accountants, some companies are pulling out all the stops to recruit top candidates. But a survey shows half of chief financial officers polled said their organizations do not reimburse staff for the continuing education units required to maintain their professional certifications.

CFOs were asked, ?Does your company reimburse its employees for the continuing education units needed to maintain their professional designations, such as CPA or CMA??

Their responses:
29%: Yes, full reimbursement.
17%: Yes, partial reimbursement.
50%: No reimbursement provided.
4%: Don?t know/no answer.

?Companies that support continuing education signal they are committed to the professional development of their staff, which could give these firms an edge in their recruitment and retention efforts,? said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International Inc. and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies? (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). ?While education benefits rarely are the sole criterion for accepting a position, they can tip the scales in an employer?s favor in a competitive hiring environment.?

Messmer noted that support of ongoing learning can help businesses beyond their recruiting efforts by helping them to develop a more skilled workforce. ?Employees who earn professional accreditations establish themselves as leaders in their field and, in the process, gain insight into industry trends and best practices.?

Posted on April 14, 2006
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | 1 Comment

Tax Pro’s Running 6% Ahead of Year-Ago in Filings

Practitioners filed 42 million returns as of April 8.

That’s 6.5% more than the year-ago week. The stats:

Posted on April 13, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 1 Comment

FLASH REPORT: What Do Clients Really Want?

In critical rating, CPAs fail clients — and they don’t know it.

According to the early results of the comprehensive soon-to-be-released Bay Street Group study, “What Clients Really Want,” 4 in 10 CPAs believe “nearly every client” would be good a referral source.

Big mistake!

In fact, only about half of all finance managers in business and industry say they’re happy enough with their current CPA firm to recommend them.

Source: Bay Street Group

The survey is still open as we gather more data. Join and get your FREE Executive Preview.

Posted on April 12, 2006
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 2 Comments

CPAs: The Start-Up’s Best Friend

Calling all finance pros: You have a duty to foster economic democracy.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

The seventh annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report has pulled together research from 35 countries and come up with data that could prove a useful to entrepreneurs from Timbuktu to Kalamazoo.

One finding could go without saying: the entrepreneur in North America is more likely to succeed than the budding business person in a nation with a struggling economy. The reasons are several, and the solutions apply to entrepreneurs everywhere. CPAs who advise entrepreneurs would be wise to look at the factors that support or suppress new businesses.

Financial support was seen as a very significant factor in success the report said. In high-income and middle-income countries, entrepreneurs with ample income were more likely to start their own business. It’s safe to say that someone setting out in a new venture would be wise to hang on to independent income until the business is firmly on its feet. Read more

Posted on April 8, 2006
Filed Under BSG ENTREPRENEUR | Leave a Comment