PODCAST: CPAs Find Friendlier Workplaces

podcast_icon.jpgEight in 10 report employee-centric HR policies.

by Rick Telberg
On Careers

Listen to the podcast, recorded by Bill Sheridan at CPA Success.

Finance and accounting employers are among the most progressive in American business with all but a few adopting leading-edge employee-centered human resources strategies.

To be sure, no single staffing strategy stands out as a remedy for today’s understaffing and workplace morale woes. But that’s not stopping accounting firms and finance departments from trying anything they can think of.

The human resources strategy aimed at achieving a reasonable work-life balance appears to be gaining ground, according to a new CPA Trendlines study. In the study, 41 percent of CPAs said a balanced work-life strategy is in effect at their workplaces.

Read the original article, here… 

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 31, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

Scrap Independence?

The survival of CPA firms could depend on it.

That’s the heretical advice of Jim Peterson (pictured), once an in-house lawyer for Arthur Andersen, now a practicing multinational attorney and columnist for the International Herald Tribune.

He writes:

I say it is time to stop making nice and to discard a 150-year-old piece of conventional wisdom. The concept of auditor independence does not serve the interests of investors. Read more

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 1 Comment

All in the Family? NOT!

Joel Rosenthal exits namesake Alpern Rosenthal for arch-nemesis Schneider Downs.

Alpern Rosenthal shareholder Joel Rosenthal (pictured), son of one of the firm’s namesakes, is leaving the firm to lead the business advisory practice at competing accounting firm Schneider Downs & Co.

Rosenthal, son of Alpern Rosenthal founder Irving Rosenthal, was with the firm for nearly 24 years, most recently serving as shareholder of the auditing department.

Starting April 1, Rosenthal will lead Schneider Downs Business Advisors, a practice group providing business valuation, due diligence, litigation support and other services. Read more

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

FIRMS TO WATCH: Clayton & McKervey Surges with “Razor-Sharp Focus”

But that “razor-sharp focus” can cut two ways.

C&M specializes in clients with cross-border needs. But IFRS experience can be hard to find

We first reported on the Detroit-based local firm with global reach last year (in “28 Firms Win AAM Awards“) and again last month (in “FIRMS TO WATCH: Clayton & McKervey Surges with ‘Razor-Sharp Focus.’ ”

Now the prolific and insightful Dona DeZube writes about the firm’s recruiting strategies at JobsInTheMoney.

What kind of recruits is the firm looking for?

Read more

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES], Firms to Watch | Leave a Comment

CPA Recruiting on Campus: An Inside Look

shelley-032908.JPGAccounting student Shelley (pictured) is blogging through the CPA firm recruiting process. And, she’s having a ball!

She’s joined the Professional Program in Accounting at Texas A&M (Class of ‘09) at College Station. It means she’ll stay at A&M an extra year, but graduate with a BS and a Masters. Read more

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 30, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 3 Comments

Scrap GAAP? PwC Chief Pushes IFRS

PwC Executive Says Changing Standards Will Improve U.S. Competitiveness

Dennis Nally (pictured), PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. chairman, called for a shift in accounting standards away from U.S. GAAP toward International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In his speech, Nally urged members of the Financial Executive Institute to embrace the rapid and often disruptive changes brought about by globalization as an
opportunity to address systemic problems that impact America’s long term competitiveness. He argued that global economic and cultural integration coupled with the rapid growth of emerging economies will demand more engagement and cooperation from the United States, citing the transition of accounting standards as a prime example. Read more

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 29, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

“I’ll Buy Your Violets.”

…But Not From Your Ad

By Bruce W. Marcus
The Marcus Letter

We have a paradox in professional services marketing. It’s called advertising.

On the one hand, the past few years have seen a rash of law and accounting firm advertising. On the other hand, as the economists say, everybody has an opinion about it, most of which is skewed by every possible wrong reason for judging advertising.

And if there is a third hand, it’s that based on my experience in advertising for law and accounting firms, I’m not really sure that most of it it works. I do know with a great certainty that it doesn’t work for professional firms the way it works for products. In fact, I’m not sure that may of the advertising agencies doing some of these ads really understand that difference. And that opinion is from someone – namely me – who has done a lot of successful advertising. There you have another paradox.

Continued….

Bookmark and Share

Posted on March 29, 2008
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | Leave a Comment

keep looking »