… And a Prosperous New Year!

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Posted on December 31, 2006
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What Do Young CPAs Want?

Most important attributes, according to young CPAs:
— 74% say good compensation
— 67% say comprehensive resources to get the job done
— 63% say an ethical leadership culture
— 51% say flexible hours
— 49% say support for continuing professional education
Source: 2006 CCH Young Accounting Professionals Survey Read more

Posted on December 28, 2006
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Your Next Merger Partner

How long before a U.S. CPA firm is acquired by an Indian company?

That’s the question we should be asking after considering these two developments:

1) Damian Wild in the UK reports that in November 27,565 students sat for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s common proficiency test, its new CA curriculum. More than 18,000 passed. (As a comparison, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales has 9,928 UK students, and the U.S. produces about 50,000 accounting graduates a year. “India often gets overlooked given the current global sinophilia. But with accountancy firms contracting out work there,” Wild says, “accountants cannot afford to.

2) Reliance Gateway Net, VSNL, Scandent and GHCL aren’t household names, but they may be signs of bigger things to come, according to Wharton. They’re just a few of “the growing number” of Indian businesses that have acquired U.S. firms in the past few years. “Over the last decade, Indian firms in various industries — most visibly in information technology but also in areas like auto components, the energy sector and [food products] — have been slowly building up to become emerging multinationals,” says Wharton management professor Saikat Chaudhuri.

The outsourcing phenomenon, in which Western firms have hired Indian companies for call center work and other tasks, has reaped benefits for Indian managers, exposing them to Western companies and management practices and, at the same time, demonstrating to non-Indian firms that India is a reliable source of low-cost, yet high quality, products and services, according to Wharton.

So, we ask: Which U.S. CPA firm will be the first to go global in a deal with an Indian company. Maybe an Indian company that is today an outsourcing provider for a U.S. CPA firm? Read more

Posted on December 26, 2006
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2006’s Big Lesson: Get Creative

Seven steps to unlocking the innovation engine in your office.

Join the Brainstorming Session.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

Does creativity belong in finance and accounting? Or is that a Pandora’s box we’d best leave shut?

If there’s any single lesson to be learned from the year 2006, it’s that creativity is an essential ingredient to success in the finance, accounting and tax profession — if not the essential ingredient. Creativity is the foundation for all innovation, all new ideas. It turns challenges into opportunities. It turns failure into success. But it doesn’t always come naturally. It takes learning and practice. And it’s rarely taught or nurtured well — or consistently. Read more

Posted on December 17, 2006
Filed Under BSG BUSINESS BUILDER | 3 Comments

AICPA Insider Newsletters Post 39% Revenue Gain in 2006

Strong debuts by corporate finance and wealth spin-offs fuel growth.

from AICPA Custom Media Solutions

Riding the wave of digital adoption across the media landscape, the AICPA’s Insider™ electronic group posted a nearly 40 percent gain in advertising revenue in 2006 thanks to the introduction of two new titles — CPA Corporate Finance Insider and CPA Wealth Management Insider — and the generous support of elite sponsors IRS, Thomson Corporation, TIAA-CREF, Paychex, Advance Settlements, Microsoft, SAP, Intuit, Tax Talk Today, Surgent McCoy, Robert Half International and jobsinthemoney.com.
Continued here…. Read more

Posted on December 15, 2006
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Staffing Crisis: What Would Santa Do?

Learn from the mistakes of 258 firms.

Join the study; get the best practices white paper.

by Rick Telberg
On Careers

Everyone in the finance and accounting business knows how hard it is to recruit and retain good professionals. There just aren’t enough to go around.

But it doesn’t seem to be a problem for Santa Claus. He employs an army of elves (presumably some are CPAs), working year-round for who-knows-what in wages. So why do the elves stay?

You can separate the world into two kinds of places: those who are getting by, and those in crisis or teetering on it. Santa’s workshop goes in one category. Most finance and accounting offices go in the other.

If Santa Claus has a secret, it’s this: His elves work with a sense of shared purpose. But is that enough for CPAs? Read more

Posted on December 13, 2006
Filed Under BSG FINANCE PROFESSIONAL | 1 Comment

WHITE PAPER: Recruiting the Best Talent

“CPA wanted…” just won’t cut it anymore.

Instant Download

Analysis by Bruce W. Marcus
GET THE FREE DOWNLOAD: A White Paper Offered in partnership with The Marcus Letter

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“CPA wanted. At least 5 years experience with audits. Tax experience a plus. Benefits.”

It’s amazing how much recruiting advertising is as sparse as that, seeking accounting professionals with the same limited imagination that a storekeeper might use to hire someone to sweep the floor.

No wonder recruiting is such a problem for accounting firms and finance departments.

In these days of acute shortages of trained and experienced professional personnel, in an era of intensive competition between firms for superior personnel, it’s startling to see recruiting techniques that may have worked in the depression years, but are certainly not up to the needs of today’s accounting firms.

Of all the competitive points faced today by accounting firms, perhaps the most urgent is recruiting. With the explosion of work caused by new regulation, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, with the shortage of much needed skilled professionals, especially those versed in new regulations and technologies, with the competition for this kind of talent most urgently needed in smaller communities and particularly in smaller firms, with greater demands from an increasingly sophisticated clientele, new views of recruiting become a major concern.

MORE…
– 9 Essential Ingredients to Fixing the Problem
– 4 Management Techniques You Must know

GET IT NOW: Recruiting the Best Talent in a Competitive Environment. FREE DOWNLOAD. Read more

Posted on December 12, 2006
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Small-Office CPAs Face Top Work Challenges

More than half chalk it up to isolation from peers. What’s your stand?
[As seen in the AICPA Insider™]

by Sukanya Mitra
[Managing Editor of the AICPA Insider™ electronic newsletter group]

The right attitude and self-discipline will take you a long way toward working successfully outside a large office, according to three out of four (74%) accountants responding to a recent poll of CPA Insider™ readers conducted by Bay Street Group LLC. Read more

Posted on December 11, 2006
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‘Tis the Season for Gearing Up

What’s on your holiday wish list? Sound off here.

by Rick Telberg
At Large

That shiver you feel could be the first chilly breezes before winter. Or it could be the imminent start of busy season.

With tax prep being a core revenue-producing application in many practices, the time to consider what your office will need is well before the end of the year. But let’s not forget auditors and finance managers. They’re facing busy seasons of their own. And many will have the same questions, issues and wish lists.

Judging from the buzz in the profession, the top issues this year seem to be paperless office, dual monitors, Microsoft Vista and possible post-holiday hardware price cuts.

It doesn’t matter whether the upcoming tax season is your first as an independent preparer or you’ve been grinding out returns for years — it pays to completely assess your needs each and every year. In performing this assessment, consider five critical areas: software, hardware, infrastructure, procedures and — the new one this year — connectivity. Read more

Posted on December 10, 2006
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Financial Consulting Group Funds Research Initiative

Private Entities Research Effort Marks First Time a College or University Focuses on Valuation Research

TAMPA, FLA. (News Release) – The Financial Consulting Group L.C. has entered into an agreement with the University of South Florida School of Accountancy to fund and support the Private Equities Endowed Research Initiative at USF. The School will conduct research to create and manage value in closely-held profit and non-profit entities. Read more

Posted on December 9, 2006
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Marketing to Small Business: Tips from the Leaders

If you’re marketing your services to small and mid-sized business (and what CPA firm isn’t?), then take a look at what leading marketers are saying.

SMB marketers are spending most of their money on direct mail and telesales for generating leads. But according to Warrillow & Co., they are shifting big dollars into electronic media:
– Email marketing
– Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
– Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The Question: How long can CPA firms stand by the sidelines? Read more

Posted on December 8, 2006
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So Who Likes Red Ink?

How NOT to use color in financial reports.

by Rick Telberg
for Hewlett-Packard

Save 10%

With color printers becoming commonplace in business, it’s surprising so few tax and accounting professionals have taken a moment to learn a few basic rules about how to use color effectively.

After all, crunching numbers is only part of your job. And crunching numbers, by itself, isn’t enough these days. The numbers are useless - even your analysis is useless - if you can’t communicate effectively. This is where the smart use of color in printed reports becomes essential. You don’t need a degree in art or design. But some guidelines may help. Read more

Posted on December 7, 2006
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Financial Software: The CPA Wish List

What professionals are looking for.

Join the study; get the instant download.

by Rick Telberg

If only software lasted as long as a good hammer, wouldn’t that be nice? You buy Hammer version 2.0 not long after you buy your first house, use it for 50 years, then hand it down to the next generation.

But it isn’t often you hear a CPA say, “Son, I used this software application before you were born, back when we didn’t even have fax machines, and it’s still got a lot of good use in it. I hope I can trust you to take care of it, appreciate it and hand it down to your children.”

It’s good that software obsolesces, of course. A little expensive, but good. Yesteryear’s software seems dumber than your father’s hammer, and the version that just came out practically guarantees to let you do a week’s worth of work before lunch on Monday. Read more

Posted on December 6, 2006
Filed Under BSG MARKETPLACE - Products, Services and Vendors | 1 Comment

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