3 Reasons the Deals Aren’t Stopping for Busy Season

robert_fligel_headshot.jpgAt one time, you could count on busy season to provide respite from mergers and acquisitions and talent snatches.

But not this year.

Robert Fligel (pictured), the New York-based CPA firm broker and headhunter, reports that unlike past busy seasons, this busy season is as busy as ever.

“My theory is that it might have something to do with more partners looking at the slowing economy as a time to sell while other forward thinkers are thinking growth by acquisition,” Fligel says. “Whatever it is, we are seeing an extremely active market unlike past busy seasons which tend to be the quietest historically.” Read more

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Posted on February 29, 2008
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What CPAs Can Learn from Starbucks about Hiring (and Keeping) Gen Y Workers

starbucks-worker-800x600.jpgGen Y workers (ages 26 and younger) know what they want-in particular, a good work/life balance and ready opportunities for advancement.

But this doesn’t mean that they aren’t a dedicated workforce capable of loyal service. The lessons here come from the restaurant business, but they apply just as well to CPA firms. After all, companies like Starbucks, McDonald’s and T.G.I. Friday’s probably know a thing or two about hiring and keeping Gen Y employees. Read more

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Posted on February 29, 2008
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Lessons Learned from “The Bouncing Czech”

brian_rowbotham.jpgBrian D. Rowbotham (pictured) spent 14 years investigating the international fraud case of Robert Ian Maxwell. So he knows a thing or two about forensic auditing.

The Maxwell Communication Corp. case was one of most spactacular business scandals of the 1990’s. Maxwell (“The Bouncing Czech”) died, somewhat mysteriously, while at sea on his yacht. His empire quickly crumbled in a sea of chaos and confusion, leaving $4 billion in debts and $2 billion in assets. Rowbotham & Co. was brought aboard by one of the jilted banks to work with Price Waterhouse and Robson Rhodes.

The story about Maxwell’s rise and fall is dramatic enough. But Rowbotham’s lessons for CPAs, as told to Damien English at CalCPA, are especially interesting and useful. Read more

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Posted on February 28, 2008
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Did You Know?

In the next 8 seconds…

Bert Trexler, chief executive of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, has been using the video to open his state-of-the-state presentations.

It’s a sobering and thought-provoking 8 minutes.

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Posted on February 28, 2008
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Now Available: “At the Crossroads” by Gale Crosley

Gale Crosley’s highly anticipated new book, “At the Crossroads: The Remarkable CPA Firm that Nearly Crashed, then Soared,” is now available.

I’ll just repeat what I told Gale when I had the privilege of reviewing the galleys:

gale_crosley_headshot.jpg“At the Crossroads” is a compelling fable with an inspirational lesson for every CPA firm. It’s an entertaining page-turner of a novel that shows how a little vision, courage, and knowledge can transform any group of also-rans into a team of true champions. More than merely a lesson in business, Gale gives us a lasting lesson in life. Every managing partner should take a dose of this book each morning before going into the office. Every aspiring CPA should embrace the message. They won’t succeed without it.

Congratulations, Gale!

Get it in hardcover, 194 pages, from Wiley & Co.: For under $20 at Amazon. 

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Posted on February 27, 2008
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CPA Preaches a “Happiness-Centered” Business Model

Howard Cox (pictured), CPA, CMA, CIA, has started a blog for his firm, Somerset CPAs in Indianapolis, that shuns the usual tax and accounting advice.

Instead, he positions “Somerset Business Success Strategies” as “Your playbook for creating happiness and building business value.”

He quotes Forbes magazine from 1917: “Business was originated to produce happiness, not pile up millions.”

Nice thought. Interesting ideas. Worth watching. Check it out, here.

Hat tip to my friends at SmartPros.

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Posted on February 27, 2008
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Do You Know Where Your Trash Is Today?

Another kind of “data dump”

Stunned shoppers couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw 20 to 30 garbage bags filled with confidential client files spilling out of an accounting firm’s front door onto the sidewalk.

Read more

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Posted on February 27, 2008
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